Walker & Dunlop Originates First Freddie Mac Tax-Exempt Loan

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Walker & Dunlop, Inc. WD and Freddie Mac FMCC announced today the closing of the first loan through Freddie Mac's new Direct Purchase of Tax-Exempt Loans initiative, which helps to keep rental housing affordable for lower income families and increase cost-effective financing for tax-exempt multifamily properties. W&D originated a $14,280,000 loan for The Lakewoods, an affordable, senior-housing community located in Dayton, OH, for Millennia Housing Development, Ltd (Millennia).

The Lakewoods is a 417-unit, senior-restricted apartment building that offers amenities including a crafts space, library, fitness center, beauty shop, billiards room, and outdoor terraces on each floor. Approximately 95% of the units will receive subsidies under a HUD Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contract (SPRAC) and the property is Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) restricted.

"We are proud to team up with Walker & Dunlop and Millennia to provide an efficient and cost effective tax-exempt financing option to owners of affordable apartments," said Kimball Griffith, Freddie Mac Multifamily vice president of affordable sales and investment. "The Direct Purchase of Tax-Exempt Loans offering is more cost efficient for the borrower than publicly offered credit enhanced bonds, and is the first step toward securitization."

The Walker & Dunlop team, led by Atlanta-based senior vice president, Frank Baldasare, originated and structured the acquisition rehab loan with a 16-year fixed-rate and 35-year amortization and worked closely with Freddie Mac to ensure that the first execution under this new initiative was seamless and adhered to the client's time constraints.

Freddie Mac's Direct Purchase of Tax-Exempt Loans initiative was introduced after The Lakewoods had been initially underwritten. Mr. Baldasare immediately recognized that the new execution would benefit his client.

Mr. Baldasare commented, "Freddie Mac's new execution eliminates many of the costs that would normally be associated with bond issuance, making it ideal for projects like The Lakewoods, developed with 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. The fact that Walker & Dunlop was the first lender to execute on this new product shows the depth of our experience in the affordable space and the strength of our relationship with Freddie Mac. We're excited to help Freddie Mac grow this initiative and, as the agencies continue to focus on affordability, it's great to have a new financing solution to offer our clients in this market."

Christine Robertson, vice president of Millennia Housing Development, Ltd., commented, "The Millennia Companies thanks Walker & Dunlop, Freddie Mac and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency for partnering with us through this quick journey from award to closing in under nine months. With only twelve SPRAC awards in the country and Freddie Mac's new Direct Purchase of Tax-Exempt Loans offering involved, all of our financing partners had to sustain faith in Millennia and the Lakewoods. We also had to work quickly to ensure that the closing occurred before the Lakewoods' mortgage matured. Only through commitment to this timeline and the end goal from all of our partners could we achieve this closing."

About Walker & Dunlop
Walker & Dunlop WD, headquartered in Bethesda, MD, is a leading provider of commercial real estate financing solutions nationwide. Our comprehensive suite of financing solutions allows us to originate loans for our own balance sheet, CMBS conduit, and investment partnerships, or for sale to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, life insurance companies, banks and other CMBS providers. Walker & Dunlop has more than 400 employees located in 20 offices nationwide. For more information, please visit www.walkerdunlop.com and follow us on Twitter at @Walkerdunlop.

About Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing.  Additional information is available at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac's blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

SOURCE Walker & Dunlop, Inc.