Forest Street Apartments

The Situation

Denver’s multifamily market is experiencing an interesting confluence of trends; the metropolitan area has grown rapidly, and over 100,000 more people live in the city than 12 years ago. As a result, housing prices have surged, and roughly half of Denver’s renters now struggle with housing affordability. Forest Street Apartments is an example of a property that caters to the workforce housing demographic in Denver. The 24-unit property is owned by Gary Ghiselli, a Walker & Dunlop client who is a busy surgeon by day. When Ghiselli initially purchased the property, he financed it from a bank with a variable rate loan. With the loan set to mature in four years, Ghiselli started looking for a better option to lock in a low interest rate – for a long term – to protect himself from market volatility.

The Solution

Tom Toland, Hal Reinauer, and Karl Rincavage helped Ghiselli find the right refinancing solution for Forest Street. Coordinating with the company’s dedicated small loans team, the Walker & Dunlop team identified the Fannie Mae Multifamily Small Loan program as the best option. During a rally in the U.S. Treasury rates, the team locked in an attractive 4.09% fixed rate loan for 12 years, which also included an interest only and nonrecourse structure – a great improvement over Ghiselli’s previous loan.

The Results

In less than 45 days, the loan closed. As a result, Ghiselli improved his payment schedule, protected his business from market volatility with a fixed rate, and received cash out to further invest in the workforce housing property. He achieved all of this with low fees, limited paperwork and a smooth process – the ideal situation for someone who invests in properties as a side business.