Freddie has funded an $11 million transaction that will finance 91 affordable single- family rental homes in Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington Texas.

Working with its Seller-Servicer A10 Capital, the transaction is part of Freddie Mac’s affordable single-family rental pilot that is sunsetting in 2019. Of the 91 homes in the transaction, 66 percent are affordable to very low-income families earning 50 percent of area median income or less.

Fully 95 percent are affordable to low-income families earning 80 percent of AMI or below and all of the properties are affordable to families earning AMI or below. Moreover, nearly 70 percent of the homes already have a Section 8 Housing Assistance Program contract in place, which ensures continued affordability for those who need it most.

“We have used our limited capacity within the single-family rental pilot to provide liquidity to quality portfolios in areas with significant affordability needs, and this transaction is a great example,” said David Leopold, vice president of targeted affordable sales and investments at Freddie Mac Multifamily. “The result is that we have been able to deliver quality, affordable homes to low- and very low-income residents of these Texas communities.”

The properties are owned by Alex Hemani, an approved Section 8 landlord who has been investing in affordable housing in the Dallas area since 2006. He is committed to impact investing and providing affordable housing to help build strong communities. Hemani is a leader in the single-family rental market and has been successful due to his intimate involvement in the complete life cycle of his properties. A significant number of his properties are in the affordable housing space.

“We are pleased that Alex Hemani chose A10 Capital to deliver his portfolio financing needs. This transaction is an excellent example of the lending opportunities that A10 has been pioneering for over 10 years,” said Jerry Dunn, CEO of A10 Capital.

Hunt Real Estate Capital has completed a loan in the amount of $5 million to refinance an affordable multifamily property located in Salinas, Calif. The loan is a 10-year fixed-rate facility that will amortize over 30 years.

Gabilan Hills has an in-place Low Income Housing Regulatory Agreement, which mandates that 40 of the 100 units be rented to individuals and families whose income does not exceed 50% of the area median income. The remaining 60 units are rented by families whose income does not exceed 60% AMI.

Gabilan Hills Townhomes is a 100-unit affordable multifamily property that was built in 1996. The property offers 66 two-bedroom units and 34 three-bedroom units in 17 townhouse buildings. The sponsor is the Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association, which developed the property with low income housing tax credits.

"The sponsor on this deal is the largest private, nonprofit housing developer based in Monterey County," said Aaron Wooler, managing director at Hunt Real Estate Capital. "Since its incorporation in 1980, CHISPA has built and renovated 2,268 single-family homes and apartments for low- and moderate-income residents in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties."

Gabilan Hills opened in May 1996 and the initial tax credit period of 15 years has since expired. However, the subject is still within the 55-year extended use period, which does not expire until 2051.

The Salinas Submarket where this property is located is defined by its agricultural economy and more affordable rents. The metro has structurally tight vacancies, and new construction has been virtually nonexistent this cycle outside of smaller projects. "We were pleased to provide the financing for this quality sponsor to provide much needed affordable housing for the local community," said Wooler.

Hunt Real Estate Capital has provided a conventional Freddie Mac multifamily loan in the amount of $14.9 million to refinance a multifamily property in Hayward, Cal.

Paraiso Apartments is a 63-unit, garden-style apartment complex comprised of four, two-story residential buildings. All of the units are two-bedroom and two-bathroom apartments. The property was built in 1962 and has been well maintained by the owner.

The loan features a 10-year fixed rate term and 30-year amortization schedule. Christopher Anderson is the property's owner and manager.

"Chris has owned Paraiso Apartments for over 15 years and has very solid multifamily experience, having purchased, renovated and managed over 50 properties in the past 20+ years," commented Colin Cross, Director at Hunt Real Estate Capital. "Over the past 2.5 years Chris has spent over $130,000 on property renovations, and he plans to invest more than $1 million after the refinance to continue to upgrade the property."

Earlier upgrades include renovated kitchen appliances, kitchen facades, flooring, laundry rooms, HVAC, parking and exterior maintenance. The next phase of renovations includes new kitchen appliances, balconies/sliding doors, parking, and other unit interior upgrades.

"We were pleased to provide the Freddie Mac financing for this quality owner. It was a very volatile time in the debt markets, however with Freddie holding the interest rate spread during loan processing the borrower could rest easy that his loan execution would close as expected. A great deal all around," added Cross.

Real Estate Technology Ventures has closed an early stage venture fund focused on making investments in technology for the multifamily industry.

Real Estate Technology Ventures I is a $108 million venture fund that invests in technology for the multifamily industry. “We want to identify innovative companies founded by strong entrepreneurs that will help our limited partners better operate their portfolios,” said John Helm, managing director at Real Estate Technology Ventures.

The limited partners include five major multifamily real estate investment trusts: Aimco, Boardwalk, Essex, MidAmerica, and UDR; and the owners of Starwood Capital Group, Cortland, and GID, which own or manage almost one million rental units. They consider the new technologies in the $31.8 trillion real estate industry as investment opportunities.

The aim is to provide entrepreneurs with immediate access to some of the largest multifamily and single-family operators in the U.S., and perhaps, reduce the sales cycles for their services. According to Real Estate Technology, there are more than 40 million rental units in the U.S. RET Ventures’ deep ties within the real-estate industry give it a unique ability to gauge the market’s appetite for new technologies and help create market leaders.

RET Ventures is led by John Helm, who worked as chief financial officer of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. before building and selling AllApartments-SpringStreet and MyNewPlace. Also, he was Venture Partner at DN Capital in Germany.

“RET Ventures has created a unique win-win proposition built upon their extensive experience in real estate technology and proven ability to identify high-growth companies,” said Michael Schall, president and CEO of Essex Property Trust.