Multifamily Lending

When recently asked about which skill I felt was the most important for a real estate developer to possess, I was stumped for about thirty seconds (which is an eternity when someone is staring at you and waiting). My mind raced. How could I not just rattle-off something well thought out and brilliant? Shouldn’t this be a question that every developer must be able to answer without flinching? Well- I flinched. But at the end of that short eternity, my answer was ‘They must be great storytellers.’

 I say this for one simple reason: At his most basic level, the developer is a master salesman. We sell our visions and dreams to our investment committees, the communities in which we work, municipalities, equity partners and debt providers, and eventually to the end user.

Regardless of our role within an organization, we will be asked throughout our careers to participate in, lead or evaluate various corporate initiatives. After all, most of what a company really ‘is’ is a series of interrelated initiatives.  These could range from the acts of sales, operations, marketing, and acquisitions to finding efficiencies, fixing problems launching new products, etc. Generally we would like to succeed in whatever initiatives we are involved. And hopefully we have positioned ourselves for success through our understanding and expertise, our dedication and will to succeed, and our preparation and focus. Additionally we may have benefited from multiple books, papers and degrees which exist to provide us tools or help train us to succeed at whatever task we undertake. But invariably, there will be times when success is not an option or when we fail after seemingly doing all of the ‘right’ things. In those cases what do we do?

Our next step should be to perform a postmortem. Think of the postmortem as a forensic analysis of the results of the initiative. Admittedly, the specifics of every project are going to be different. But if we were to approach each postmortem as its own totally unique situation, then it would virtually be impossible to be efficient in our analysis. Over time, we also need the ability to connect the information that we gain to make better future decisions. This is the exact same process that our minds go through as the act of learning. The problem with our mind is that it does not always evaluate the information clearly and unemotionally. That is why we must take a scientific approach to the data and performing our analysis.

Let me begin by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. For those of you who regularly read my scribbles, you are used to some pretty meaty topics. In light of the Holidays, this one will be a bit frothier. In each blog that I write there are certain themes which remain pretty consistent. One of my favorites is that real estate development is about the coolest industry on the planet. After all, our job is to make the world a better, more usable, more beautiful place.

Often my intended audience is the real estate developer (my hope is of course that there is some part of my subject matter which translates to my non-developer audience- or at least helps you better understand those temperamental developers who constantly tell you ‘We can’t afford that.’). Today, I would like to remind us all of something that is very easily glossed over as we perform our day-to-day tasks.

I have been fortunate to have the occasion to work with a group of promising young folks and get to hear their hopes and expectations. As I listen, I can’t help but think back to my own career path and chuckle at how little changes generationally. Their wants are no different than mine were at their age. Their frustrations that it all happens too slowly are the same. Their fundamental lack of understanding is heartwarming, as are their expectations.

 Since early in our careers, those of us who are smart, hard-working and motivated have generally focused on the idea of ownership. We see the entrepreneurs who employ us and want to be similar. They embody a version of our concept of success. When we are young, being a partner means having a seat at the grown-ups table. It’s our opportunity to affect change or enable our visions. It’s the gateway to profit and security. There may even be a little pride in the title of ‘owner’ which we covet- if we’re confident enough to admit it.

But because we are smart, hard-working and motivated; we also want things well before we’re ready for them, before we even understand what it is that we think we want. Of course we don’t recognize that we’re not ready; after all we have been told that we are bright and unique snowflakes since we were three years old. So I thought that I might offer some ‘tough love’ advice and words of wisdom to the throngs of audacious talented youth, who will one day, be ready to lead.

If you have not already heard Fannie Mae is in the process of changing their loan documents.  This is the first major rewrite of Fannie docs in about 10 years and this is a substantial change from previous documents, both in form and content.   Since Fannie is one of the largest multifamily lenders and anyone financing a property is, or should be, getting a Fannie quote, you need to understand these changes. 

Ok, before you fall asleep or click off this article because this is legal stuff and that’s your attorney’s responsibility and you really don’t care, take a moment.   While this stuff is a little dry, it’s important.    Anyone refinancing a small or larger property should be looking at a Fannie loan as a possibility and you need to understand the terms you are getting before you start the loan process.   If you wait until your attorney gets involved it’s too late, you have already spent your due diligence funds and may even have already signed a commitment tying you to the deal.  So take a minute and continue reading.

Fannie Mae is the largest GSE lender and the only one really covering the full range of multifamily loans from small properties owned by local owner/operators to large ones owned by institutional investors.   These new loan documents affect all of these borrowers and, at least for now, these are one size fits all documents.   Fannie Mae documents are available on the Fannie web site at https://www.efanniemae.com/mf/loandocs/index.jsp   
Finding the documents is a bit daunting, because Fannie has so many  different programs and there are many versions of each document, but be patient and look around and you will find all the documents.   They were scheduled to go into effect on April 1, 2011 (could this have been an April fool’s day joke), but their adoption has been proponed till June 1^st.   Hopefully to address some of the negative  issues we will discuss below.

The importance of being methodical when purchasing property can’t be overstated. As you go through the purchasing process, make sure you have accounted for each of the following items on our Home-Buying Checklist.

Look for Seasonal Slumps
As with every other type of shopping, some times of the year are better than others when it comes to purchasing property. Even during years when it’s a seller’s market, there will likely be certain months that are better suited for buyers than others. For example, home sales tend to be slower around the holidays when people are already feeling over-extended financially. Bad weather can also inhibit other would-be buyers from checking out potential purchases, which means less competition for you if you strap on those snow shoes and a couple of extra layers. It works to your benefit to slant your property purchases to these slower times of the year, when there is less competition out there to drive prices up.

Get Pre-approved
Obtaining a loan pre-approval will not only save you time in the long-run when you want to jump on a purchase as quickly as possible, but it will also help narrow your search parameters (after all, no use falling in love with a place that ends up being financially unfeasible). By having a solid idea of your price limit ahead of time, you can be sure that you’re not looking at properties that are above your price range or, alternatively, settling for an inferior property.

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on lessons from the past year and apply them to the future. As you prepare to move into 2011, be sure that you know not only what didn’t work in 2010, but also what did. After all, the goal is not to create a cycle of constantly tweaking systems and procedures but, rather, to find methods that work optimally for you and your tenants and stick with them.

For an overview of where 2010 leaves you, begin by honestly asking yourself the following two questions:

1. What was the highlight of my property management year?
2. What was the lowlight of my property management year?

When you’ve answered both of these questions, you should have a good idea of where you stand. Say, for example, that the highlight of your year was filling 40 percent of your available vacancies throughtenant referrals. This indicates that you are doing a great job of keeping your units in good shape and keeping tenants happy—in other words, in both of these realms, you’ve already found a formula that works. Though you may want to make little adjustments in these areas here and there, for the most part, you should continue doing exactly what you’ve done in 2010 on into 2011.

In many ways, the current economic climate makes for a great time to purchase a multi-family investment property. The prominence of short sales and foreclosures has given way to good purchase prices in many areas of the country. Add to this the fact that there are some incredible interest rates out there right now (even for investors) and the fact that many former homeowners have now found themselves back in the rental market, and there’s a very valid argument that this is a good time to get into the multi-family market. If you are considering making a multi-family property investment of your own, following are a few things to consider before taking the leap.

Know what you’re looking for
Before you even begin to look at properties, have a clear idea of what you’re looking for and what you’re willing to put into a property, both financially and in terms of your time. Of course, this is always subject to change if you find just the right place, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go into the house-hunting process without a fairly narrow baseline in mind. Aside from basics like location and size, you also want to have know whether you’re looking for a “fixer-upper” or a “as-is” property.

As we begin to look forward to closing another year out, it’s a great time to look ahead and get your ducks in a row for 2011. Aside from all of the  information and lessons you glean out on the property management field on a daily basis, incorporating continuing education into your professional program is a great way to ensure you continue growing and perfecting both your business and your personal skill sets. Though complete certifications and ongoing classes may simply be unfeasible for some of us, property management related seminars and conferences are a great time-efficient way to add to your knowledge base.

2011 NAA Education Conference and Exposition
June 23-25, 2011
Las Vegas, Nevada

The National Apartment Association tags this event as the opportunity to “educate, energize, and empower” yourself and your organization. This well-attended event brings together 5,000 multi-family housing professionals from across the nation and 300 service providers, not to mention a wealth of high-profile keynote speakers, including Condoleezza Rice.

Though the acquisition of renters’ insurance is ultimately your tenants’ responsibility, as a landlord it’s important that you have an understanding of what it is and why it’s important, both for your own well-being and for your tenants’.

Your tenants should be aware that in the case of a destructive event at your property (fire, natural disaster, theft, etc.), existing property insurance will only protect your actual property. In other words, tenants’ possessions and personal belongings are not covered.  In addition to protecting their personal items, renters’ insurance also helps protect tenants in the case that a visitor is injured due to their negligence while in their unit. For example, if  a tenant’s dog bites a visitor, renters’ insurance will protect the tenant.

Some property managers build a clause into their lease stating that renters are obligated to purchase renters’ insurance for the duration of their occupancy. Whether or not you choose to include this sort of stipulation in your own lease depends upon your personal preference and, also, state and local laws.