Scott Gosslee is always up for the next challenge, whether that’s helping fund a new development, building out a team, or even establishing a new line of business.

As someone who enjoys the thrill of deal-making, Scott has worked at the intersection of real estate and finance at several points throughout his varied career. He began his career in lending to real estate investment trusts (REITs) during the REIT IPO craze in the ‘90s, and saw firsthand the excitement of getting in on the ground floor of the Next Big Thing. From there, he moved to the principal side of real estate investing, helping raise equity for both industrial and retail projects across North America.

Finally, when COVID-19 chilled investor appetite, Scott pivoted again — this time back to his roots in banking. He now leads BankUnited's commercial real estate lending team in Texas and the Southwest, where he’s played a pivotal role in building the team from the ground up.

With decades in the industry, Scott knows his clients have seen it all — but he’s learned that there’s always a path forward, even in difficult markets.

“I graduated from college and started my first job in lending at the height of the Resolution Trust Corporation financial crisis, and saw firsthand how credit and liquidity were essential for a healthy market,” he explains. “I also served as a COO for a real estate investment platform during the 2008 financial crisis. I had to learn to raise capital and manage retail real estate in a market where both of those things were very difficult.”

So, as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic rippled across commercial real estate, he was committed to helping his clients weather the storm. 

“We’re at such a unique point in time right now. Rates have fallen for most of my career, which has created a new expectation of rock-bottom rates, and the renormalization of higher rates is hitting the commercial real estate sector hard,” he explains. “To succeed, developers and investors need to pair the lessons learned from elevated rate environments of the past and apply them to the unique pressures they’re facing today”.

And when one client came to Scott for help securing the capital for a new student housing development, he had an opportunity to test his adaptability.

Scott’s client had an exciting opportunity over the horizon: a student housing development that promised a solid rate of return. They’d secured a purchase and sale agreement for a highly desirable plot of land. But that agreement was about to expire, and they still didn't have the liquidity to complete the project before the next school year.

“The project was phenomenal on paper. The sponsors came from bigger development shops and had great track records and reputations. But they had just recapitalized their business and bought out some of their partners, so they weren’t as well-capitalized as they’d like to be,” he says. “I could relate — I had recapitalized a business when I worked in retail investing, and I understood their concerns firsthand.”

Scott needed to find innovative ways to help the client obtain the capital they needed while easing their concerns that cost overruns might undermine their business's financial resilience. He also needed to find it quickly to help the client complete the project and begin realizing returns.

“I needed to think like a principal: What could I advise the client to do on their end that could make it work?” he explains. They came up with a solution together: Leverage cash collateral accounts to shore up equity upfront and create enough liquidity to cover potential overruns. Then, Scott helped structure the loan across multiple credit groups to manage risk on the financial institution’s side.

In the end, the client was able to secure the capital they needed to complete the project on time, and with a comfortable level of financial risk, and the bank scored an opportunity to enrich the local community with quality student housing.

“Deals can get complicated when you’re bringing three or more parties to the table, but everyone worked together to find a solution,” Scott says. “We knew the development was an ideal opportunity; it just needed to get built.”

After a career full of pivots and shifts, Scott has embraced his next professional role as a mentor to the next generation of CRE talent.

“I joined BankUnited to launch our Texas CRE team, and for the first six months, it was just me in our 4,000-square-foot space,” he says. Since then, he’s built a team of 4 people and growing. They hail from all walks of life, from a seasoned relationship manager bringing decades of experience to a young underwriter eager to learn.

“One thing we all share is a commitment to teamwork and working with integrity,” Scott says. “We’re here to deliver on what we promise and to be transparent with prospects if we’re not the right team to realize their vision. Relationships are what set you apart in CRE, and we’re proud to do everything we can to help our clients find the right fit.”