Multifamily Finance
We are one of 25 approved lenders that participate in Fannie Mae’s DUS
program for multifamily, manufactured housing communities, student housing,
affordable, and certain seniors housing properties. Under the Fannie Mae DUS
program, Fannie Mae has delegated to us responsibility for ensuring that the
loans we originate under the Fannie Mae DUS program satisfy the underwriting
and other eligibility requirements established from time to time by Fannie Mae.
In exchange for this delegation of authority, we share risk for a portion of
the losses that may result from a borrower's default. For more information regarding
our risk-sharing agreements with Fannie Mae, see “Management's Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity
and Capital Resources—Credit Quality and Allowance for Risk-Sharing Obligations.”
Most of the Fannie Mae loans that we originate are sold in the form of a Fannie
Mae-guaranteed security to third-party investors. We also are contracted by
Fannie Mae to service all loans that we originate under the Fannie Mae DUS program.
We are one of 23 lenders approved as a Freddie Mac Program Plus lender under
which we originate and sell to Freddie Mac multifamily, manufactured housing
communities, student housing, affordable, and seniors housing loans that satisfy
Freddie Mac's underwriting and other eligibility requirements. Under the program,
we submit our completed loan underwriting package to Freddie Mac and obtain
Freddie Mac's commitment to purchase the loan at a specified price after closing.
Freddie Mac ultimately performs its own underwriting of loans that we sell to
it. Freddie Mac may choose to hold, sell, or later securitize such loans. We
very rarely have any risk-sharing arrangements on loans we sell to Freddie Mac
under Program Plus. We also are contracted by Freddie Mac to service all loans
that we originate under its program.
FHA Finance
As an approved HUD MAP and HUD LEAN lender and Ginnie Mae issuer, we provide
construction and permanent loans to developers and owners of multifamily housing,
affordable housing, seniors housing, and healthcare facilities. We submit our
completed loan underwriting package to HUD and obtain HUD's approval to originate
the loan.
HUD-insured loans are typically placed in single loan pools which back Ginnie
Mae securities. Ginnie Mae is a United States government corporation in the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ginnie Mae securities
are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, and we very rarely
bear any risk of loss on Ginnie Mae securities. In the event of a default on
a HUD-insured loan, HUD will reimburse approximately 99% of any losses of principal
and interest on the loan, and Ginnie Mae will reimburse the remaining losses.
We are obligated to continue to advance principal and interest payments and
tax and insurance escrow amounts on Ginnie Mae securities until the Ginnie Mae
security is fully paid.
Capital Markets
We serve as an intermediary in the placement of commercial real estate debt
between institutional sources of capital, such as life insurance companies,
investment banks, commercial banks, pension funds, CMBS issuers, and other institutional
investors, and owners of all types of commercial real estate. A client seeking
to finance or refinance a property will seek our assistance in developing different
alternatives and soliciting interest from various sources of capital. We often
advise on capital structure, develop the financing package, facilitate negotiations
between our client and institutional sources of capital, coordinate due diligence,
and assist in closing the transaction. In these instances, we do not underwrite
or fund the loan and do not retain any interest in the loan. In cases where
we do not fund the loan, we act as a loan broker and service some of these loans.
Proprietary Capital
We conduct our Proprietary Capital business using our own balance sheet. During
2015 and 2014, we also operated the CMBS Partnership (discussed in detail below)
through a partnership agreement with an institutional investor. We made investments
side by side with our partnership investor and served as the manager of the
partnership. In our capacity as manager, we leveraged the invested capital to
originate, hold, and service commercial real estate debt. The Proprietary Capital
products we currently offer using our own balance sheet include:
Interim Loans
We offer interim loans that provide floating-rate, interest-only debt for terms
of up to three years to experienced borrowers seeking to acquire or reposition
multifamily properties that do not currently qualify for permanent financing
(the “Interim Program”). We finance and underwrite all loans originated
through the Interim Program. During the time the loans are outstanding, we assume
the full risk of loss on the loans. In addition, we service and asset-manage
loans originated through the Interim Program, with the ultimate goal of providing
permanent financing on the properties. These loans are classified as held for
investment on our balance sheet during such time that they are outstanding.
We have not experienced any delinquencies or charged off any loans originated
under the Interim Program.
CMBS
In addition to our CMBS product offering through our Capital Markets platform,
we offer CMBS executions through our own proprietary CMBS platform. The CMBS
Partnership began offering financing through a CMBS platform for all commercial
property types throughout the United States (the “CMBS Program”)
during 2014. The property types include multifamily, hospitality, retail, office,
industrial, and other commercial real estate. The CMBS Partnership expects to
sell all loans originated by it into secondary securitization offerings led
by large institutional investors within 120 days of origination. The loans in
the CMBS Partnership are selected, funded, and underwritten by the CMBS Partnership.
We perform the servicing for loans originated through the CMBS Program and receive
a fee for such servicing. The CMBS Partnership assumes the full risk of loss
on the loans while it holds the loans. Additionally, the CMBS Partnership may
be obligated to repurchase loans it sold into a securitization if certain representations
and warranties it provides in connection with such loans are breached. Neither
we nor the CMBS Partnership has ever been required to repurchase a loan.
Investment Sales Brokerage Services
In connection with an acquisition more fully described below, we began offering
investment sales brokerage services to owners and developers of multifamily
properties that are seeking to sell these properties. We seek to maximize proceeds
and certainty of closure for our clients through our knowledge of the commercial
real estate and capital markets and our experienced transaction professionals.
Our services are offered primarily in the eastern United States, with a particular
focus in the Southeast. We will seek to add other investment sales brokerage
talent with the goal of expanding these brokerage services nationally.
Direct Loan Originators and Correspondent Network
We originate loans directly through loan originators operating out of 25 offices
nationwide. These individuals have deep knowledge of the commercial real estate
lending business and bring with them extensive relationships with some of the
largest property owners in the country. They have a thorough understanding of
the financial needs and objectives of borrowers, the geographic markets in which
they operate, market conditions specific to different types of commercial properties
and how to structure a loan product to meet their borrowers’ needs. These
loan originators collect and analyze financial and property information, assist
the borrower in submitting information required to complete a loan application
and, ultimately, help the borrower close the loan. Our loan originators are
paid a salary and commissions based on the fees associated with the loans that
they originate.
Underwriting and Risk Management
We use several tools to manage our Fannie Mae risk-sharing exposure. These tools
include an underwriting and approval process, evaluating, and modifying our
underwriting criteria given the underlying multifamily housing market fundamentals,
limiting our geographic, borrower and key principal exposures, and using modified
risk-sharing under the Fannie Mae DUS program. Similar tools are used to manage
our exposure to credit loss on loans originated under the Interim Program and
through the CMBS Program.
Our underwriting process begins with a review of suitability for our investors
and a detailed review of the borrower, key principal(s), and the property. We
review a borrower's financial statements for minimum net worth and liquidity
requirements, as well as credit and criminal background checks. We also review
a borrower's and key principal(s)’s operating track record, including
evaluating the performance of other properties owned by the applicable borrower
and key principal(s). We also consider the borrower's and key principal(s)’s
bankruptcy and foreclosure history. We believe that lending to a borrower and
key principal(s) with a proven track record as an operator mitigates our credit
risk.
Servicing and Asset Management
We service nearly all loans we originate for the GSEs, HUD, and our proprietary
capital products and some of the loans we broker for institutional investors,
primarily life insurance companies. We are an approved servicer for Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac, and HUD loans. We are a rated primary servicer with Fitch Ratings.
Our servicing function includes loan servicing and asset management activities,
performing or overseeing the following activities:
carrying out all cashiering functions relating to the loan, including providing
monthly billing statements to the borrower and collecting and applying payments
on the loan;
administering reserve and escrow funds for repairs, tenant improvements, taxes
and insurance;
obtaining and analyzing financial statements of the borrower and performing
periodic property inspections;
preparing and providing periodic reports and remittances to the GSEs, investors,
master servicers, or other designated persons;
administering lien filings; and
performing other tasks and obligations that are delegated to us.
Life insurance companies and CMBS conduits (including the CMBS Program), whose
loans we may service, may perform some or all of the activities identified in
the list above. We outsource some of our servicing activities to a subservicer.