© 2024 Arizent. All rights reserved.

Morgan Stanley Preps CMBS Backed by U-Haul Storage Facilities

A second bank is marketing commercial mortgage bonds backed by a portfolio of self-storage facilities.

MSJP 2015-HAUL will issue $170 million of securities, $90.7 million of which are rated by Moody’s Investors Service.

The notes are secured by a single fixed-rate whole loan secured by a fee interest in 105 self-storage properties manged by U-Haul located in 35 states.

collateral improvements are represented by 2,663,398 SF of rentable area contained within 32,519 self-storage units. Both interior and exterior storage are present, of which 13,298 units (40.9%) are climate controlled. The portfolio also contains 319 RV parking spaces and additional U-Box space (portable storage units). C

The loan pays interest of 4.865% and amortizes fully over a 20-year period, eliminating the risk that it will be difficult to refinance.

Among other strengths of the deal, according to Moody’s is the fact that the collateral benefits from the affiliation with a nationally recognizable brand. The sponsor is AMERCO, the parent company of U-Haul and a leading do-it-yourself storage and moving company, with a portfolio of 491,000 self-storage units and more than 44.2 million square feet of self-storage space across the U.S. and Canada.

Moody’s concerns include the property age. The portfolio facilities are on average 48 years old. Moreover only nine properties have been renovated since 2010. Only 40.9% of the portfolio’s units are climate-controlled.

Location is another weakness 33 of the 105 properties are located in secondary or tertiary markets.

Moody’s assigned a preliminary ‘Aaa’ rating to a $59 million senior tranche with a loan-to-value ratio of 58.4% and an ‘Aa3’ rating to $31 million tranche with an LTV of 70.0%.

morgan Stanley's deal comes two market two month's after a similar deal from Bank of Ameririca; the $274.4 million BAMLL Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust 2015-HAUL refinanced a 20-year, fixed-rate mortgage secured by 60 self-storage properties owned by Mark V. Shoen, the son of the founders of U-Haul.

Like Morgan Stanley's deal, Bank of America's was backed by a loan that fully amortizes and has low leverage.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM ASSET SECURITIZATION REPORT