A dozen seller-servicers of mortgages secured by multifamily senior housing have been approved by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
New qualifications have recently been implemented for originators of multifamily seniors housing conventional loans.
Lenders started applying in June for a new special national designation needed to originate these loans.
Freddie Mac has been financing such loans since 1998, and its seniors housing portfolio currently stands at more than $6 billion. But it only began requiring the designation in June for lenders who wanted to continue offering the mortgages.
Financing independent living, assisted living, memory care and rental continuing care properties requires a unique set of skills, Freddie sales executive Mike McRoberts said in the statement.
“Applicants for the new Seniors Housing designation underwent a rigorous qualifications process that included demonstrating GSE loan origination and underwriting experience for seniors housing properties, having experienced staff who know this specific market, and a track record of strong seniors housing loan performance,” the McLean, Va.-based company said in the announcement.
Among the 12 approved lenders was Wells Fargo Bank, NA., which was ranked by the Mortgage Bankers Association as the biggest commercial real estate lender of 2010.
Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC, the Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, was another of last year’s 10 biggest commercial mortgage originators to garner Freddie’s approval.
The No. 4 biggest lender, CBRE Capital Markets Inc., was also on Freddie’s approval list as were top-10 lenders NorthMarq Capital LLC, Prudential Affordable Mortgage Co. and PNC Bank, N.A.
The other seller-servicers to receive the new designation were CW Capital LLC, Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC, KeyCorp Real Estate Capital Markets Inc., Oak Grove Commercial Mortgage LLC, Red Capital Group and Walker & Dunlop.
