SoCal Mortgage Banker Sees Burgeoning Opportunity in Multifamily Finance

Marina Del Rey, Calif.–Q10/Dwyer-Curlett has arranged $31.8 million in equity financing for the development of the Shores, a 544‐unit apartment project to be built in Marina Del Rey. The deal is the first foray into multifamily finance by the company, which is a mortgage banking firm with three offices in southern California, and a member of Q10 Capital LLC, which specializes in commercial real estate finance.

“Since Fannie and Freddie have throttled back, our lenders have stepped up, and we now find ourselves well-positioned to grab a big piece of the apartment finance business in our target markets,” Perry Colligan, director/production manager for Q10/Dwyer‐Curlett, tells MHN. “We definitely see opportunity to greatly increase our production in multifamily finance.”

Colligan explains that his firm’s life companies–Q10/Dwyer‐Curlett represents 18 of them–feel the need for multifamily to balance their portfolios, and are taking full advantage of the current market. “The agencies have become less aggressive over the past several months, opening the door for life companies and others to increase market share,” he says.

In the case of the Marina Del Rey property, Q10/Dwyer‐Curlett placed the equity with the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, one of its correspondent life companies.  According to Colligan, the Guardian’s favorable terms appealed to the developer, who had a number of other parties interested in providing equity. The debt component of $125 million is being provided through the FHA Section 221 (d) (4) program.

“In the past, multifamily finance has been a relatively small part of our production,” notes Colligan. “Our lenders were unable to compete with the agencies on most transactions. Now that the agencies have become less aggressive, we’re also able to provide better pricing and terms on most high-quality properties. The results are already telling, as multifamily has become the largest component of our production this year.”

The Shores is a new-development replacement by developer Jerry Epstein for an existing property–Del Rey Shores, a 202‐unit complex–that Epstein himself developed almost 50 years ago. The new property will feature 276 one bedroom-one bath apartments and 268 two bedroom-two bath apartments. The design, which features a nautical theme, is the work of Nadel Architects.