For over 25 years, John has been involved with sponsors and issuers of real estate-related securities, including single family rental "SFR" portfolios, ranging from small to multi-billion dollar securitization transactions, to funds formed to acquire and originate performing and non-performing real estate loans and SFR portfolios, to operating companies that purchase and originate for portfolio. He has also closed several corporate acquisitions, roll ups and/or debt and equity financings for specialty finance companies. John's securitization practice includes hundreds of millions of dollars of securities backed by aircraft leases and aircraft-backed notes. Mr. Steele also represents companies in obtaining and working out warehouse lines of credit utilized in the acquisition and redevelopment of SFR's and in portfolio lending strategies. John served for two years as CFO of a large mortgage company involved in the origination of commercial and residential mortgage loans originated for the securitization markets.

Representative Experience

• Representing borrowers in over $1 B of warehouse lines to and many portfolio purchases by an aggregator of SFR portfolios.
• Representing investment banks as placement agent in secured debt transactions.
• Representing the two largest securitizers in hundreds of millions of dollars of rated asset-backed notes backed by precious metals loans.
• Securitized hundreds of millions of dollars of energy savings performance government contract payment streams.
• Closed tens of billions of dollars of asset backed securities, backed by residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, auto loans, secured business loans, tax liens and other financial collateral and warehouse lines of credit secured by same collateral.
• Closed several acquisitions and/or debt and equity financings to specialty finance companies.
• Closed acquisition and resecuritization of hundreds of millions of dollars of securities backed by aircraft leases and notes, as well as direct issuances of bonds secured by aircraft leases.
• Represented funds that own and acquire distressed loans, mortgages and asset backed securities.

Education
JD, University of Florida Levin College of Law, cum laude, 1980