Multifamily Pref Equity Behind Agencies

I've heard preferred equity has had a hard time closing behind Fannie Mae with Freddie Mac being the preferred lender for pref shops. Anyone know if this is true and, if so, why Fannie is harder to work with?

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

My firm does this pretty heavily. It is hard because there are a lot of hurdles that need to be checked in order to close which a lot of vanilla pref groups do not now how to navigate. As well as DSCR tests and things like that which typically do not fit well for pref. With that said there are ways around this. 

Fannie has been a pain this year as they were supposedly changing their internal guidelines. They are now much more strict on pref equity. I think a portion of this is related to the issues coming up with DUS lenders (i.e Meridian fiasco), however, the paint point with pref lenders is how Fannie is restricting rights. We have had extensive discussions with both Fannie and Dus lenders on this subject and we have been getting various different answers. For now we are not doing Fannie Mae investments until official guidelines are released. 

EDIT - I would also like to add something. Over the past year or so there have been a ton of groups trying to get into the preferred equity/mezz space. A lot of this newer capital has no idea that mezz structure is not allowed at all behind Fannie and Freddie and think that pref/mezz are interchangable. It's important because both the agencies do not allow a mezz position as it is a secondary lien. This significantly affects credit for these groups and is another reason they cannot structure behind the agencies correctly.

 

What are examples of my business plans that need preferred equity loans?

 

I have a few fannie forwards with pref equity. 

It's about how the pref is structured, Fannie doesn't allow "mandatory" payments to capital subordinate to it. There is a lot of nuance to that "mandatory."

I've been seeing more LP's getting into affordable housing coming to terms with these restrictions. 

Our deals typically have put/call options on the pref equity/ sale price, completion and return guaranties, and no UCC. 

 

Iste voluptatem voluptas asperiores esse nemo. Exercitationem provident rerum possimus ducimus.

Provident aut et qui illo sed. Rerum deleniti est qui et et harum ea. Recusandae laborum aut magni vitae. Minus maiores necessitatibus provident non aperiam id. Et excepturi quibusdam voluptates saepe voluptatem qui atque. At rerum repudiandae ut aut qui et consequatur omnis.

Sunt eum ipsa vero omnis dignissimos. Voluptate officiis quos necessitatibus fugiat quae quia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”