FHA Section 221 Is The Best Apartment Construction Loan Program!

FHA Section 221 is the best loan program in the marketplace today. Multifamily Developers are often amazed at the benefits this program offers them.

What Is This Program?

FHA Section 221 is a Federal mortgage insured program. It doesn’t mean that the government is funding the loan…they are insuring it against default. Section 221(d) is a section under the Federal National Housing Act. It allows the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) to provide mortgage insurance to HUD approved lenders. This is to assist in the development or substantial rehabilitation of apartment or other types of multifamily rental properties. The loan program allows for long-term mortgages (up to 40 years) that can be financed with Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) Mortgage Backed Securities.

Who Can Use The FHA Section 221 Apartment Construction Loan Program?

This program is available for both non-profit and for-profit borrowers. Under Section 221(d)(3), non-profit borrowers can receive an insured mortgage up to 100% of the estimated replacement cost of the project. Under Section 221 (d)(4), for-profit borrowers can receive a maximum mortgage of 90% the replacement cost estimate.

Eligible Property Types?

Most people mistakenly believe that this program is only for low income tenants…there are NO income limits. The properties can be market rate, LIHTC (low income housing tax credits), and bond properties. The properties can also be specifically used for senior or handicap tenants.

The property has to have at least 5 units and it can either be detached, semidetached, row, walkup, or elevator style. Non-apartment property types are also eligible for this program. Such as mobile home parks and assisted living facilities. The properties can also have limited commercial/retail space.

What Are The Benefits?

There are so many good benefits of using this program:

• Term/Amortization - It is a 40 Year Amortization/40 Year Term (with no balloon).
• Interest Rate - A low, fixed interest rate, based on market spreads over the Ten-Year Treasury Yield. The interest-only construction loan automatically converts to 40-year permanent loan. Both construction and permanent rate are fixed prior to the start of construction.
• Loan To Cost - It is based on total replacement costs (including land) and it is 90% maximum (for-profits) and 100% maximum (non-profits).
• Personal Liability - It is non-recourse for both the construction and permanent loans.
• Equity Requirement - A Developer’s Fee of 10% of cost can be allowed to be used towards equity requirements.
• Debt Coverage Service Ratio - A minimum 1.10 DSCR.
• Loan Amounts - There are no maximum loan amounts and minimum loan amounts vary by lender.
• Occupancy Requirements - There are no occupancy requirements.

What Are The Downsides To This Program?

• Loan Processing Time - With HUD approved MAP (Multifamily Accelerated Processing) lenders, the process can take 3 to 6 months. Non-MAP lenders can take 6 to 9 months.
• General Contractor Requirements (GC) - GC’s must conform with prevailing wage standards under the Davis-Bacon Act and have a project completion bond.
• Prepayment Penalties - The prepayment terms are negotiable but they are usually a 5 year lock-out period then a declining prepay schedule after (5%, 4%, 3%, etc…).

As you can see the benefits of this program significantly outweigh the negatives. Developers can take advantage of this attractive financing and allow them to do larger projects.

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