Small Multifamily Loans

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Agency Won’t Touch a Building in Transition

If your building is stabilized and seasoned, go get an agency loan. Nothing below competes with that pricing.

Small-balance agency is in good shape — Freddie folded its Small Balance Loan program into its conventional business in April, Fannie’s small loan program runs to $9M, and banks, conduits and debt funds all quote the range. $3–10M multifamily is not an underserved niche.

But every one of those executions requires stabilized occupancy. Fannie wants 90% physical for twelve months, with a path down to ninety days. CMBS wants in-place NOI. So the moment your building is in transition — mid-renovation, in lease-up, half-built, or carrying six months of rents instead of two years of financials — none of that capital is available to you. Not at $3 million, not at $30 million. The constraint was never loan size. It’s the condition of the building.

That window between "I bought it" and "it qualifies" is where deals die. One of the lenders in our network is built for it.

To stabilization — up to $10M

  • Bridge to stabilization, purchase or refinance

  • Value-add capital with rehab budgets and fast draws

  • Ground-up construction with in-house fund control and interest reserves

  • Construction completion for stalled projects

  • Balance-sheet capital, asset-based underwriting — the property’s plan, not two years of tax returns

And a takeout, if you still need one

Most small-balance bridge lenders hand you back at stabilization and wish you luck. This one can hold the asset five years — so you’re not starting a new lender’s underwriting from scratch the month your bridge matures. One year interest-only, then a 30-year amortization with a year-five balloon; up to 75% of purchase price, 70% LTV on refinances, 65% on cash-out; 1.15x minimum DSCR; no unit cap, with short-term rentals underwritten on market rents. Non-recourse for a 0.5% rate increase, zero prepay for 0.375%.

On price: this costs more than bank or agency debt, and it is not hard money. The five-year loan starts at 8% for purchases, 8.49% on refinances and 8.99% on cash-out, with the bridge above that — a real premium to a bank execution, and well short of the double-digit rates the hard-money market quotes on a building in this condition. You’re not choosing it over 6% agency debt. You’re choosing it because until the building is fixed and leased, agency debt doesn’t exist for you at any price.

If you have a building in transition — an acquisition under contract, a stalled rehab, a lease-up that’s behind, or a bridge maturing before the property will qualify for permanent debt — send us the basics and we’ll tell you quickly whether it fits.

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Nathan Whigham
President
CA DRE Broker License: 01793655

EN Capital Contact Info:
www.encapital.com
[email protected]
Direct Line: 310-465-9253