2008 TIC Lending Update
2008 has been a tumultuous year for the mortgage industry. What started out as a "subprime" crisis has now spread to all types of mortgages, including those intended for well-qualified borrowers. It's now harder to qualify for a loan and many loan programs and lenders have disappeared. The good news is that fractional TIC loans have escaped relatively unscathed. They are still available at rates and terms similar to what was in place before the crisis hit. In addition, larger FHA loans have been introduced making them, for the first time, a viable option for group financing for TIC's.
Fractional Loans
Currently, there are least six lenders consistently offering fractional TIC loans to the Bay Area market. These include a new lender, National Cooperative Bank, which began making TIC loans this year. Because it lends on co-ops in New York, fractional financing for TIC's was a natural extension of its business. (Like TIC financing, co-op loans are made against an interest in a multi-unit property.) Aside from the main TIC lenders, a few local banks have also provided fractional financing on a limited basis for select borrowers and properties.
Rates for fractional loans have remained stable this year or, in some cases, declined. Most lenders are still charging an origination fee of 1% (one point) for each loan and requiring a prepayment penalty during the first few years of the loan. Minimum down payments vary across lenders and range from 10% to 30%. (You'll probably pay a higher rate and face tighter qualification requirements if you have less than a 25% down payment.) Limits on building size begin at 8 units and go to 12 units, although some lenders have provided financing on larger projects.
Sales of TIC's in San Francisco have grown steadily over the last few years. In large part, the increase can be attributed to the wider acceptance and availability of fractional TIC loans. TIC sales for 2005-2007 are shown in the graph below.
What's interesting to note is that during 2007 not only did the overall number of sold units increase, but so did the percentage of units sold in 5+ unit buildings. Units sold in projects with five or more units made up over 40% of all TIC's sold . This is because lenders categorize buildings with over four units as commercial property. Decent group loans have never been available for commercial properties held as TIC's. This makes fractional loans the best option. The growth in sales of TIC units in buildings with 5 or more units has been propelled by the wider availability and acceptance of fractional loans.
