Loan Programs

Bank & portfolio

Loans held on a bank or credit union’s own balance sheet rather than sold. The most flexible execution available: banks will look at assets, structures and stories that securitized lenders will not, and they can move quickly when they know the sponsor.

Best when you need flexibility, speed, or a lender who will engage with something non-standard — and you can live with recourse and a shorter term.

Trade-off is usually personal recourse and a five- to ten-year term rather than long-dated fixed money, so you are refinancing again sooner.

Life company

Insurance company balance-sheet lending. The best fixed-rate pricing in the market for high-quality, well-located, stabilized assets with strong sponsorship — and non-recourse as standard.

Best when the asset is institutional quality, cash-flowing, and you want long-dated fixed debt without personal liability.

Trade-off is conservative leverage and a narrow credit box. Life companies decline far more than they quote, and they are selective about market and asset class.

Agency — Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac

Government-sponsored enterprise multifamily lending. The deepest, most reliable capital source in the market for apartments, with high leverage, long terms, non-recourse structure and pricing that is difficult to beat.

Best when the asset is stabilized multifamily and you want maximum proceeds on long-term non-recourse debt.

Trade-off is process. Agency executions are documentation-heavy and take longer, and prepayment is typically yield maintenance or defeasance.

HUD / FHA multifamily

The longest-dated, highest-leverage, fully amortizing non-recourse debt available on multifamily and healthcare assets. Genuinely exceptional terms for the right owner.

Best when you are a long-term holder and the certainty of a 35- or 40-year fully amortizing fixed loan is worth waiting for.

Trade-off is time and administration. Expect a materially longer process, prevailing-wage rules on construction executions, and ongoing reporting obligations for the life of the loan.

CMBS / conduit

Fixed-rate, non-recourse loans originated to be pooled and securitized. Available across asset classes and secondary markets where balance-sheet lenders will not go, at leverage banks often will not match.

Best when you want non-recourse leverage on an asset or in a market that portfolio lenders are avoiding, and you intend to hold to maturity.

Trade-off is rigidity. Once securitized, the loan is administered by a servicer: defeasance to prepay, cash management triggers, and very little flexibility if the business plan changes.

Bridge

Short-term, usually floating-rate, usually interest-only debt for assets in transition — lease-up, repositioning, renovation, or a maturity you need to solve before the asset can support permanent financing.

Best when there is a defined business plan and a credible exit to permanent debt or a sale within two to three years.

Trade-off is cost and rate exposure. Bridge debt is materially more expensive, and floating-rate exposure has to be managed with a cap or a swap.

Construction

Ground-up development and heavy rehabilitation, funded on a draw schedule against verified progress. Sized to cost rather than value, and underwritten as much on the sponsor and the general contractor as on the pro forma.

Best when you have entitlements, a real budget, a contractor with a track record, and a plausible takeout.

Trade-off is recourse and oversight — typically full recourse plus completion guarantees, with inspections and lender consent at every draw.

This is where forty years of building experience changes the conversation. A budget that does not survive contact with reality gets caught here, not six months into the draw schedule.

Mezzanine

Subordinate debt secured by a pledge of the equity interests in the property-owning entity rather than by the real estate itself. Sits behind the senior loan and fills the gap between senior proceeds and the capital required.

Best when senior leverage falls short and additional common equity would be more expensive or more dilutive.

Trade-off is cost and control. Mezzanine pricing is well above senior, and the intercreditor terms matter enormously if anything goes wrong.

Preferred equity

An equity position with a preferred return that sits ahead of common equity in the distribution waterfall. Structurally similar in effect to mezzanine, but placed inside the equity stack — often the only route when the senior lender prohibits subordinate debt.

Best when you need gap capital and the senior loan documents will not permit mezzanine.

Trade-off is negotiated control. Pay close attention to the return hurdle, the redemption terms, and what rights the preferred holder gets if the deal underperforms.

SBA 504 & 7(a)

Government-guaranteed lending for owner-occupied commercial property. High leverage — commonly up to 90% — with long terms and below-market fixed rates on the debenture portion of a 504.

Best when your operating business occupies the majority of the property and preserving working capital matters more than avoiding a personal guarantee.

Trade-off is eligibility and paperwork. Owner-occupancy rules are strict, personal guarantees are required, and the process is documentation-intensive.

C-PACE

Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing — long-term, fixed-rate capital for energy, water, resiliency and seismic improvements, repaid through a voluntary assessment on the property tax bill.

Best when you are funding qualifying improvements, new construction or a retroactive recapitalization of recent eligible spend, and you want capital that transfers with the property on sale.

Trade-off is availability and consent. C-PACE depends on state and local program authorization, and the senior lender has to agree to it.