Freddie Mac Multifamily: Navigating Conventional and Optigo

Freddie Mac is a major source of nonrecourse, fixed-rate multifamily debt — but it’s not a catch-all solution. Brokers need to know what Freddie actually funds, what they avoid, and how to match the right borrower and deal to the right program.

This guide, one component of our broker's series on commercial financing products, focuses on Freddie’s conventional and Small Balance Loan (SBL) executions, with a spotlight on what brokers need to watch out for.

What Is a Freddie Mac Multifamily Loan?

Freddie Mac doesn’t lend directly — it purchases loans originated by approved lenders, packages them into securities, and sells them to investors. That gives it the ability to offer competitive, long-term, nonrecourse financing for multifamily deals nationwide.

Freddie offers two core programs:

• Conventional: For larger properties and loans, typically $10 million and up
• Small Balance Loan (SBL): Designed for stabilized multifamily loans between $1 million and $7.5 million (sometimes up to $9 million, depending on market and lender)

Both programs are nonrecourse (with standard carveouts), allow fixed or floating rates, and typically require amortization over 30 years.

How Freddie Mac Differs from Fannie Mae

Brokers often assume Freddie and Fannie Mae multifamily loans are interchangeable, but they’re really not. Here are a few key differences:

• Delegation: Fannie lenders have more underwriting discretion. Freddie deals go through a more centralized credit process.
• Prepayment: Freddie typically uses yield maintenance or step-downs. Fannie leans more heavily on yield maintenance.
• Markets: Freddie is often more aggressive in secondary and tertiary markets, especially via SBL.
• Property management: Freddie puts more emphasis on third-party professional management in small balance deals.
• Underwriting nuance: Freddie SBL often has lower reserve requirements and slightly more flexibility around sponsor structures.

These nuances matter. In some cases, the same deal might qualify with one and not the other.

When Freddie Mac Loans Make Sense

Freddie loans are a great fit when:

• The property is fully stabilized and leased
• The borrower wants long-term, fixed-rate, nonrecourse financing
• The deal is too small for life companies or too clean for bridge lenders

They’re especially competitive on:

• Workforce housing
• Smaller stabilized multifamily assets in strong secondary or tertiary markets
• Borrowers with strong credit but complex income or entity structures

What Freddie Mac Will Not Finance

Brokers often trip up by submitting the wrong type of deal. Freddie is not the right fit for:

• Unstabilized or transitional properties
• Student housing or senior housing (unless agency-approved)
• Construction loans
• Properties in lease-up or with major deferred maintenance
• Borrowers with no multifamily experience or insufficient liquidity

If your borrower is early in their ownership or value-add cycle, Freddie isn’t the answer — yet.

What Lenders Look For

Freddie lenders underwrite based on:

• Stabilization: 90 percent occupancy for at least 90 days
• DSCR: Usually 1.25x or higher
• LTV: Typically capped at 80 percent
• Sponsor strength: Net worth equal to the loan amount, and liquidity to cover 9 to 12 months of debt service
• Management quality: Especially important in Small Balance deals

The stronger the in-place cash flow and sponsor profile, the smoother the execution.

What Brokers Often Miss

1. Treating Freddie like a flexible lender

It’s not. These loans are programmatic and guideline driven. If your deal doesn’t fit the box, it’s a no.

2. Ignoring property condition

Deferred maintenance and rehab needs will knock out a deal — even if the numbers work.

3. Not prepping the borrower

Freddie loans require a full sponsor package: REO schedule, financials, resume, and property management plan.

4. Overlooking market eligibility

SBLs in particular have market tier overlays. Some properties in rural or soft markets may be excluded.

5. Assuming Freddie is faster than it is

Freddie loans can be efficient, but they’re still agency loans. Underwriting and third-party reports take time.

What to Do If It Doesn’t Fit

If Freddie isn’t the right home for your deal, consider:

• Fannie Mae Small Loan — similar structure, but slightly different guidelines
• Non-agency lenders — for value-add or story deals
• Bridge loans now, Freddie later — refinance post-stabilization
• Co-sponsorships — to strengthen the balance sheet or track record

Placing Freddie Deals Successfully

• Package clean rent rolls, T12s, and borrower financials from the start
• Confirm market eligibility early — don’t assume
• Talk prepayment structure early — yield maintenance vs. step-down matters
• Don’t inflate in-place rents — Freddie underwrites conservatively
• Communicate borrower expectations clearly and manage timelines

Closing Thoughts

Freddie Mac loans can be a reliable and repeatable path to nonrecourse financing — but only for the right deals. They’re not flexible, and they’re not forgiving.

If you know the playbook, prep your borrower properly, and target the right execution, you’ll have a product you can place again and again. But don’t try to force it — Freddie will pass on deals that don’t fit, no matter how good the story sounds.