GUARANTY
AGREEMENT
This Guaranty Agreement (this
“ Guaranty ”) is made as of the 29th day of
June, 2009, by Sun Communities Operating Limited Partnership, a
Michigan limited partnership (“ Guarantor ”), in
favor of Bank of America, N.A., a national banking association
(together with its successors and assigns, “ Lender
”).
Recitals
Knollwood Estates Operating Company
LLC, a Michigan limited liability company, Sun River Ridge Limited
Partnership, a Michigan limited partnership, and Sun Countryside
Gwinnett LLC, a Michigan limited liability company (collectively,
the “ Borrower ”) have requested that Lender
make a loan (the “ Loan ”) to Borrower evidenced
by a Promissory Note of even date herewith in the original
principal amount of Eighteen Million Five Hundred Forty One
Thousand Two Hundred Fifty and No/100 Dollars ($18,541,250.00) made
by Borrower to the order of Lender (as the same may from time to
time be amended, supplemented, restated or otherwise modified, the
“ Note ”). Certain terms and conditions of the
Loan are set forth in the Term Loan Agreement of even date herewith
between Borrower and Lender (as the same may from time to time be
amended, supplemented, restated or otherwise modified, the “
Loan Agreement ”). As a condition precedent to making
the Loan, Lender has required that Guarantor execute and deliver
this Guaranty to Lender. Any capitalized term used and not defined
in this Guaranty shall have the meaning given to such term in the
Loan Agreement.
Agreements
For good and valuable consideration,
the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, and in
order to induce Lender to make the Loan to Borrower, Guarantor
hereby guarantees to Lender the prompt and full payment and
performance of the indebtedness and obligations described below in
this Guaranty (collectively called the “ Guaranteed
Obligations ”), this Guaranty being upon the following
terms and conditions:
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Section 1
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Guaranty of Payment.
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Guarantor hereby unconditionally and
irrevocably guarantees to Lender the punctual payment when due,
whether by lapse of time, by acceleration of maturity, or
otherwise, of all principal, interest (including interest accruing
after maturity and after the commencement of any bankruptcy or
insolvency proceeding by or against Borrower, whether or not
allowed in such proceeding), prepayment premiums, fees, late
charges, costs, expenses, indemnification indebtedness, and other
sums of money now or hereafter due and owing, or which Borrower is
obligated to pay, pursuant to the terms of the Note, the Loan
Agreement, the Mortgage, the Environmental Agreement, any of the
other Loan Documents, or any Swap Contract, as the same may from
time to time be amended, supplemented, restated or otherwise
modified (collectively, the “ Indebtedness ”).
The Indebtedness includes all costs and expenses incurred by Lender
in seeking to enforce Lender’s rights and remedies with
respect to the Indebtedness, including court costs, costs of
alternative dispute resolution and reasonable attorneys’
fees, whether or not suit is filed or other proceedings are
initiated thereon. This Guaranty covers the Indebtedness presently
outstanding and the Indebtedness arising subsequent to the date
hereof, including all amounts advanced by Lender in stages or
installments. The guaranty of Guarantor as set forth in this
Section is a continuing guaranty of payment and not a guaranty of
collection.
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Section 2
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Primary Liability of Guarantor; Environmental
Obligations.
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(a) This
Guaranty is an absolute, irrevocable and unconditional guaranty of
payment and performance, and Guarantor shall be liable for the
payment and performance of the Guaranteed Obligations as a primary
obligor. This Guaranty shall be effective as a waiver of, and
Guarantor hereby expressly waives, any right to which Guarantor may
otherwise have been entitled, whether existing under statute, at
Law or in equity, to require Lender to take prior recourse or
proceedings against any collateral, security or Person. It shall
not be necessary for Lender, in order to enforce such payment or
performance by Guarantor, first to institute suit or pursue or
exhaust any rights or remedies against Borrower or other Person
liable on such indebtedness or for such performance, or to enforce
any rights against any security given to secure such indebtedness
or performance, or to join Borrower or any other Person liable for
the payment or performance of the Guaranteed Obligations or any
part thereof in any action to enforce this Guaranty, or to resort
to any other means of obtaining payment or performance of the
Guaranteed Obligations; provided, however, that nothing herein
contained shall prevent Lender from suing on the Note or
foreclosing the Mortgageor exercising any other right under the
Loan Documents.
(b) Suit
may be brought or demand may be made against Borrower or against
any or all parties who have signed this Guaranty or any other
guaranty covering all or any part of the Guaranteed Obligations, or
against any one or more of them, separately or together, without
impairing the rights of Lender against any party hereto.
(c) The
liability of Guarantor or any other Person hereunder for Guaranteed
Obligations arising out of or related to the Environmental
Agreement shall not be limited or affected in any way by any
provision in this Guaranty, the other Loan Documents or applicable
Law limiting the liability of Borrower, Guarantor or such other
Person, or Lender’s recourse or rights to a deficiency
judgment.
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Section 3
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Certain Agreements and Waivers by
Guarantor.
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(a) Guarantor
agrees that neither Lender’s rights or remedies nor
Guarantor’s obligations under the terms of this Guaranty
shall be released, diminished, impaired, reduced or affected by any
one or more of the following events, actions, facts, or
circumstances, and the liability of Guarantor under this Guaranty
shall be absolute, unconditional and irrevocable irrespective
of:
(i) any
limitation on the liability of, or recourse against, any other
Person in any Loan Document or arising under any Law;
(ii) any
claim or defense that this Guaranty was made without consideration
or is not supported by adequate consideration or that the
obligations of Guarantor hereunder exceed or are more burdensome
than those of Borrower under the other Loan Documents;
(iii) the
taking or accepting of any other security or guaranty for, or right
of recourse with respect to, any or all of the Guaranteed
Obligations;
(iv) the
operation of any statutes of limitation or other Laws regarding the
limitation of actions, all of which are hereby waived as a defense
to any action or proceeding brought by Lender against Guarantor, to
the fullest extent permitted by Law;
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(v)
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any homestead exemption or any other exemption
under applicable Law;
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(vi) any
release, surrender, abandonment, exchange, alteration, sale or
other disposition, subordination, deterioration, waste, failure to
protect or preserve, impairment, or loss of, or any failure to
create or perfect any lien or security interest with respect to, or
any other dealings with, any collateral or security at any time
existing or purported, believed or expected to exist in connection
with any or all of the Guaranteed Obligations, or any impairment of
Guarantor’s recourse against any Person or
collateral;
(vii) whether
express or by operation of Law, any partial release of the
liability of Guarantor hereunder (except to the extent expressly so
released) or any complete or partial release of Borrower or any
other Person liable, directly or indirectly, for the payment or
performance of any or all of the Guaranteed Obligations;
(viii) the
death, insolvency, bankruptcy, disability, dissolution,
liquidation, termination, receivership, reorganization, merger,
consolidation, change of form, structure or ownership, sale of all
assets, or lack of corporate, partnership or other power of
Borrower or any other Person at any time liable for the payment or
performance of any or all of the Guaranteed Obligations;
(ix) either
with or without notice to or consent of Guarantor, any renewal,
extension, modification, supplement, subordination or rearrangement
of the terms of any or all of the Guaranteed Obligations and/or any
of the Loan Documents, including material alterations of the terms
of payment (including changes in maturity date(s) and interest
rate(s)) or performance (including changes with respect to the
construction of the Improvements) or any other terms thereof, or
any waiver, termination, or release of, or consent to departure
from, any of the Loan Documents or any other guaranty of any or all
of the Guaranteed Obligations, or any adjustment, indulgence,
forbearance, or compromise that may be granted from time to time by
Lender to Borrower or any other Person at any time liable for the
payment or performance of any or all of the Guaranteed
Obligations;
(x) any
neglect, lack of diligence, delay, omission, failure, or refusal of
Lender to take or prosecute (or in taking or prosecuting) any
action for the collection or enforcement of any of the Guaranteed
Obligations, or to foreclose or take or prosecute any action to
foreclose (or in foreclosing or taking or prosecuting any action to
foreclose) upon any security therefor, or to exercise (or in
exercising) any other right or power with respect to any security
therefor, or to take or prosecute (or in taking or prosecuting) any
action in connection with any Loan Document, or any failure to sell
or otherwise dispose of in a commercially reasonable manner any
collateral securing any or all of the Guaranteed
Obligations;
(xi) any
failure of Lender to notify Guarantor of any creation, renewal,
extension, rearrangement, modification, supplement, subordination,
or assignment of the Guaranteed Obligations or any part thereof, or
of any Loan Document, or of any release of or change in any
security, or of the occurrence or existence of any Default or Event
of Default, or of any other action taken or refrained from being
taken by Lender against Borrower or any security or other recourse,
or of any new agreement between Lender and Borrower, it being
understood that Lender shall not be required to give Guarantor any
notice of any kind under any circumstances with respect to or in
connection with the Guaranteed Obligations, any and all rights to
notice Guarantor may have otherwise had being hereby waived by
Guarantor, and Guarantor shall be responsible for obtaining for
itself information regarding Borrower, including any changes in the
business or financial condition of Borrower, and Guarantor
acknowledges and agrees that Lender shall have no duty to notify
Guarantor of any information which Lender may have concerning
Borrower;
(xii) the existence
of any claim, counterclaim, set-off or other right that Guarantor
may at any time have against Borrower, Lender, or any other Person,
whether or not arising in connection with this Guaranty, the Note,
the Loan Agreement, the Environmental Agreement or any other Loan
Document;
(xiii) the
unenforceability of all or any part of the Guaranteed Obligations
against Borrower, whether because the Guaranteed Obligations exceed
the amount permitted by Law or violate any usury law, or because
the Persons creating the Guaranteed Obligations acted in excess of
their authority, or because of a lack of validity or enforceability
of or defect or deficiency in any of the Loan Documents, or because
Borrower has any valid defense, claim or offset with respect
thereto, or because Borrower’s obligation ceases to exist by
operation of Law, or because of any other reason or circumstance,
it being agreed that Guarantor shall remain liable hereon
regardless of whether Borrower or any other Person be found not
liable on the Guaranteed Obligations, or any part thereof, for any
reason (and regardless of any joinder of Borrower or any other
party in any action to obtain payment or performance of any or all
of the Guaranteed Obligations);
(xiv) any
order, ruling or plan of reorganization emanating from proceedings
under Title 11 of the United States Code with respect to Borrower
or any other Person, including any extension, reduction,
composition, or other alteration of the Guaranteed Obligations,
whether or not consented to by Lender, or any action taken or
omitted by Lender in any such proceedings, including any election
to have Lender’s claim allowed as being secured, partially
secured or unsecured, any extension of credit by Lender in any such
proceedings or the taking and holding by Lender of any security for
any such extension of credit;
(xv) any
other condition, event, omission, action that would in the absence
of this paragraph result in the release or discharge of the
Guarantor from the performance or observance of any obligation,
covenant or agreement contained in this Guaranty or any other
agreement;
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(xvi)
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any early termination of any of the Guaranteed
Obligations;
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(xvii) Lender’s
enforcement or forbearance from enforcement of the Guaranteed
Obligations on a net or gross basis; or
(xviii) any liability,
irregularity or unenforceability in whole or in part (including
with respect to any netting provision) of any Swap Contract or any
confirmation, instrument or agreement required thereunder or
related thereto, or any transaction entered into thereunder, or any
limitation on the liability of Borrower thereunder or any
limitation on the method or terms of payment thereunder which may
now or hereafter be caused or imposed in any manner
whatsoever.
(b) In
the event any payment by Borrower or any other Person to Lender is
held to constitute a preference, fraudulent transfer or other
voidable payment under any bankruptcy, insolvency or similar Law,
or if for any other reason Lender is required to refund such
payment or pay the amount thereof to any other party, such payment
by Borrower or any other party to Lender shall not constitute a
release of Guarantor from any liability hereunder, and this
Guaranty shall continue to be effective or shall be reinstated
(notwithstanding any prior release, surrender or discharge by
Lender of this Guaranty or of Guarantor), as the case may be, with
respect to, and this Guaranty shall apply to, any and all amounts
so refunded by Lender or paid by Lender to another Person (which
amounts shall constitute part of the Guaranteed Obligations), and
any interest paid by Lender and any attorneys’ fees, costs
and expenses paid or incurred by Lender in connection with any such
event.
(c) It
is the intent of Guarantor and Lender that the obligations and
liabilities of Guarantor hereunder are absolute, irrevocable and
unconditional under any and all circumstances and that until the
Guaranteed Obligations are fully and finally paid and performed,
and not subject to refund or disgorgement, the obligations and
liabilities of Guarantor hereunder shall not be discharged or
released, in whole or in part, by any act or occurrence that might,
but for the provisions of this Guaranty, be deemed a legal or
equitable discharge or release of a guarantor.
(d) Guarantor’s
obligations shall not be affected, impaired, lessened or released
by loans, credits or other financial accommodations now existing or
hereafter advanced by Lender to Borrower in excess of the
Guaranteed Obligations. All payments, repayments and prepayments of
the Loan, whether voluntary or involuntary, received by Lender from
Borrower, any other Person or any other source (other than from
Guarantor pursuant to a demand by Lender hereunder), and any
amounts realized from any collateral for the Loan, shall be deemed
to be applied first to any portion of the Loan which is not covered
by this Guaranty, and last to the Guaranteed Obligations, and this
Guaranty shall bind Guarantor to the extent of any Guaranteed
Obligations that may remain owing to Lender. Lender shall have the
right to apply any sums paid by Guarantor to any portion of the
Loan in Lender’s sole and absolute discretion.
(e) If
acceleration of the time for payment of any amount payable by
Borrower under the Note, the Loan Agreement, any other Loan
Document, or any Swap Contract is stayed or delayed by any Law or
tribunal, all such amounts shall nonetheless be payable by
Guarantor on demand by Lender.
If, for any reason whatsoever,
Borrower is now or hereafter becomes indebted to Guarantor, until
the Guaranteed Obligations are paid in full
(a) such
indebtedness and all interest thereon and all liens, security
interests and rights now or hereafter existing with respect to
property of Borrower securing such indebtedness shall, at all
times, be subordinate in all respects to the Guaranteed Obligations
and to all liens, security interests and rights now or hereafter
existing to secure the Guaranteed Obligations;
(b) Guarantor
hereby assigns and grants to Lender a security interest in all such
indebtedness and security therefor, if any, of Borrower to
Guarantor now existing or hereafter arising, including any
dividends and payments pursuant to debtor relief or insolvency
proceedings referred to below. In the event of receivership,
bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement or other debtor relief or
insolvency proceedings involving Borrower as debtor, Lender shall
have the right to prove its claim in any such proceeding so as to
establish its rights hereunder and shall have the right to receive
directly from the receiver, trustee or other custodian (whether or
not an Event of Default shall have occurred or be continuing under
any of the Loan Documents), dividends and payments that are payable
upon any obligation of Borrower to Guarantor now existing or
hereafter arising, and to have all benefits of any security
therefor, until the Guaranteed Obligations have been fully and
finally paid and performed. If, notwithstanding the foregoing
provisions, Guarantor should receive any payment, claim or
distribution that is prohibited as provided above in this Section,
Guarantor shall pay the same to Lender immediate