LOS ANGELES—A private investor has secured $160 million in financing through Fannie Mae Choice Refinance for an eight-property multifamily portfolio. The funds were secured through Fannie Mae's rate lock program at aggressive pricing that isn't available today. All eight loans have a ten-year term with 30-year amortization.

“Fannie Mae was the existing lender and was very familiar with the sponsor and the properties,” Richard Olrich, managing director at Hunt Mortgage Group, tells GlobeSt.com about why the borrower went Fannie Mae for the financing. “At the time of the refinance, interest rates were near a historical low and the borrower was concerned that rates would soon begin to escalate.” Olrich secured the funds on behalf of the borrower, along with his Hunt Mortgage Group colleagues Adam Leiden, Krage Olrich and Matt Olrich.

The properties in the portfolio include Beachbrook Village Apartments, which received a $21 million loan; Copa Pacific Apartments, which received a $30 million loan; Crystal Cove Beach Resort, which received a $39 million loan; Hillside Plaza Apartments, which received a $6.6 million loan; Marina Bay Apartments, which received a $18 million loan; Peppertree Apartments, which received a $21 million loan; Sea Breeze Apartments, which received a $9.8 million loan; and the Madrid Apartments, which received a $16 million loan. All of the properties are located in various submarkets within the greater Los Angeles area.

Although Fannie Mae was the existing lender, the transaction was not without its challenges. During the underwriting process Fannie Mae announced that they would exceed their volume cap for the year if they did not slow down the volume of new transactions,” says Olrich. “As a result, we had to go back to Fannie Mae to request grandfathered pricing for the eight transactions. The eight transactions were done with aggressive pricing and underwriting that are currently not available in the market.”

Rate-lock programs have been popular for borrowers who are concerned about the looming rise in interest rates. Earlier this year, another borrower secured a $42 million loan through Freddie Mac's CME program to fund the purchase of an apartment complex. The borrower locked in a spread four months before it closed on the purchase of the property.