"The loans on the properties were due to mature by the end of this year, and they wanted to do it now rather than later," comments OMC Capital senior managing director Kevin Kent. "Their bank actually called them and told them to contact us."

Kent tells GlobeSt.com the hotels are all unflagged, but the borrowers had been around for awhile and knew the industry, which raised OMC Capital's level of comfort. "We decided to take a chance on them," Kent comments.

The deal brings OMC Capital's total transaction volume to close to a quarter of a million dollars since its May 2009 launch. The private commercial mortgage REIT was formed to acquire or originate debt for financing of senior housing, multifamily and hospitality product. Kent says OMC Capital will look at anything that can boost returns through repositioning, capital improvement or financial reorganization, so long as it fits into the hospitality, multifamily or senior housing component.

"We're dealing more with the private guys than the institutions," Kent says. If the institution has a single asset, "we'll take a look at it," he explains. "But if it's a portfolio, probably not." Furthermore, he continues, CMBS-backed assets are off-limits. "Those tend to have a lot of junk in them," he comments.

Kent says since the company's launch in the spring, it has bought and originated debt for product in Texas, though now the company's scope is national. "We're finally climbing out of an isolated footprint," he says.