
Spotlight on Fannie Mae Small Loan Program
Last month our spotlight focused on Freddie Mac’s Small Balance Loan (“SBL”) program. This month we will look at Fannie Mae’s Small Loan program which was initiated in 1985 when it began purchasing pools of small multifamily loans. Unlike Freddie Mac’s SBL program, the Fannie Mae Small Loan Program is not limited to properties with 50 or less units. Instead, the program is based upon loan amounts up to $3 million nationwide or up to $5 million in high-cost markets such as New York or Los Angeles.
The program offers acquisition financing and refinancing with fixed and hybrid ARMS programs. Looking forward to 2016, Fannie Mae has announced they will continue their aggressive lending for the Small Balance program with a focus on secondary and tertiary markets where they believe providing liquidity is most in need.