(To read more on the debt and equity markets, click here.)

HEBRON, MD-Porter Mill Road Properties received approval for land it owns here to be developed into a mixed-use community days after it received last-minute funding. Richard DeVincentis and Larry Higgins of Porter Mill had planned to get its parcel approved for a mixed-use community and then sell off pads to developers/builders. The project would have as many as 2,400 residential units, offices and apartments, twin and single-family homes, estate homes, a school, condominiums, age-restricted villas, medical offices, assisted living, senior apartments and commercial areas.

Porter Mill intended to use its raw land as collateral for a loan it needed to complete the transaction. As the purchase date drew nearer, the bank began pulling back, citing restrictions and red tape. It approached Hackensack, NJ-based Kennedy Funding, a direct private lender that specializes in using raw land as collateral.

"Hardly anyone in the industry does this," Jeffrey Wolfer, Kennedy co-CEO tells GlobeSt.com. "Banks just do not want the hassle of taking raw land as collateral. Also, they prefer having an income stream from a building." Last year Kennedy Funding did approximately $150 millions in loans based on raw land.