Posts Tagged ‘commercial mortgage loan’

Multi Family Lenders

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Property investment has become an extremely popular way for folk to try and make cash.  Owning a loft or multi family housing unit could be a way to wealth, however , property investing needs lots of time, data and up-front capital. Apartment building financing, or multifamily property financing, is in a constant state of change.  As a result, multifamily finance providers must have in depth knowledge and awareness of available debt programs and be ready to quickly investigate financing options.

Most multi family or apartment loans have a thirty-year term with interest rates from 4.7% to 6.625% for loans up to $3 million.  I learned that the majority of the time these’smaller loans’ carry a little higher interest than loans exceeding $3 million and are termed as ‘recourse’ loans ; in other words, if you welch on the loan the lender may take ‘recourse’ by seizing your private assets.  Loans above $3 million are named as ‘non-recourse’, meaning private assets are defended in the event of a borrower default.  In addition, most banks offer basic options like fixed and adjustable rate loans.

There are two primary methods to pursue multi-family buildings that leave your valuable liquidity intact.  One is to secure seller aided financing to complement a loan, leaving you with little or even no money of your own in the deal.  The second is to use others’s money ( or OPM ) in place of your own cash.  Each has its advantages and drawbacks and my focus in this article is to help illustrate how your show of the upsides to a multi-family investment can help you attract funding.  The key to captivating funding is to recollect why you are making an investment in these properties in the first place.  Multi-family properties are ideally acquired at a discount, are located in areas where time and natural market conditions will increase their value, and produce cash flow.  This time tested advantage of multi-family property ownership is a massive and when securing funding for your deals.

I strongly recommend that you summarize your loan eventuality on one 8.5 X 11 inch bit of paper.  You could be tempted to write down a multi-page outline full of details, projections and analysis.  Do not.  The target of the first approach is to get a loan officer interested, nothing more.  A borrower who has a bank asking for information is in a much stronger position than a borrower who is sending information uninvited.  This strategy of approach will generate replies from interested lenders as-well-as denials from banks who can not help you.  Those that are interested will request additional information and if the deal fits with their standards they may issue a term sheet.  The key is to get them calling you, pique their interest first and then sell them the deal when you get them on the phonephone.  Before you know it you’ll be sat at the closing table.