Multifamily loan comparison
Size your apartment loan under every agency program at once
Enter the building once. Stackup runs it through the published limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD, shows the largest loan each allows and what caps it, and reorders the list as you type.
Every program ranked by the loan it allows
Showing a made-up 48-unit building (a $9.4 million value and $610,000 of NOI) until you enter yours. Estimates only; not offers to lend.
| Rank | Program | Fits, or why not | Max by LTV or LTC | Max by DSCR | Max loan | Binding constraint | Est. payment | HUD MIP | Term and amortization | Prepayment | Recourse | Typical structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purchase or refinance | Fits the limits | $8.18M | $6.88M | $6.88M | DSCR 1.15x | $44,203/mo incl. MIP | 0.25% upfront ($17,206) + 0.25%/yr ($1,434/mo) | 35-yr term, fully amortizing | Barred for 5 years after endorsement by statute (limited exceptions) | Non-recourse to the borrower entity, with carve-outs | Level monthly payments for the full term. Single-asset borrower. Ownership transfers need HUD approval (TPA). |
| 2 | Conventional properties | Fits the limits | $7.52M | $6.27M | $6.27M | DSCR 1.25x | $40,667/mo | None | 5 to 30-yr term, 30-yr amortization | Yield maintenance (fixed rate); declining premium (variable rate) | Non-recourse on most loans over $750,000, with bad-act carve-outs | Fixed or variable rate. Reserve, tax and insurance escrows typically required. Typically assumable with approval. |
| 3 | Up to $9 million | Fits the limits | $7.52M | $6.27M | $6.27M | DSCR 1.25x | $40,667/mo | None | 5 to 30-yr term, 30-yr amortization | Yield maintenance or a declining premium | Non-recourse, with bad-act carve-outs | Fixed or variable rate. Streamlined inspection and environmental screening. Takes affordable and co-op properties too. |
| 4 | $2M to $10M, 5 to 50 units | Fits the limits
| $7.52M | $6.27M | $6.27M | DCR 1.25x | $40,667/mo | None | 10-yr term (from your hold), 30-yr amortization | Yield maintenance, 2-yr lockout, then defeasance; step-down available at extra cost | Non-recourse except standard carve-outs | Fixed rate only. Single-purpose borrower, standard loan documents, 0.1% application fee. Replaced the Small Balance Loan program in 2026. |
| Fixed rate, $10 million and up | Doesn’t fitSizes to $6.27M, under the $10 million minimum. Look at Conventional Small. | $7.52M | $6.27M | n/a | – | – | None | 10-yr term (from your hold), 30-yr amortization | Yield maintenance until securitized, 2-yr lockout, then defeasance; open the last 90 days | Non-recourse except standard carve-outs | Fixed rate here; a floating version on 30-day Average SOFR has its own term sheet with the same LTV and DCR grid. | |
| New construction or substantial rehab | Doesn’t fitNew construction or substantial rehab only. | n/a | n/a | n/a | – | – | 0.25% upfront + 0.25%/yr | Construction period, then up to 40 years | HUD permits but does not impose restrictions; the lender sets them | Non-recourse to the borrower entity, with carve-outs | One loan can cover construction and the permanent period, at the same or different rates. | |
| Refinance of an FHA-insured loan | Doesn’t fitOnly refinances a loan that is already FHA-insured. | n/a | n/a | n/a | – | – | 0.25% upfront + 0.25%/yr | Remaining term plus up to 12 years | HUD does not impose restrictions; the lender sets them | Non-recourse to the borrower entity | Re-amortizes an existing FHA loan, usually to a lower rate. No cash out. | |
| Small business loans | Doesn’t fitApartment buildings are not eligible (SBA SOP 50 10 8.1; 13 CFR 120.110(c)). | n/a | n/a | n/a | – | – | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | Apartment buildings count as passive real estate, which SBA does not finance. | |
| Portfolio loan | No published termsNo published standard terms. Each lender sets its own.
| Not published | Not published | Not published | – | – | n/a | Not published | Not published | Not published | Each lender sets its own terms. Federal guidelines cap a bank’s own LTV policy at 85% for 5+ unit residential and 80% for construction, with exceptions allowed. | |
| Securitized loan | No published termsNo published standard terms. Each lender sets its own.
| Not published | Not published | Not published | – | – | n/a | Not published | Not published | Not published | The loan is pooled into a bond deal. The sponsor keeps at least 5% of the credit risk, and a special servicer takes over loans that run into trouble. | |
| Short-term, transitional | No published termsNo published standard terms. Each lender sets its own.
| Not published | Not published | Not published | – | – | n/a | Not published | Not published | Not published | Made by debt funds, banks and private lenders. No primary source publishes bridge terms. | |
| Non-QM business-purpose | No published termsNo published standard terms. Each lender sets its own.
| Not published | Not published | Not published | – | – | n/a | Not published | Not published | Not published | A business-purpose loan, so outside Regulation Z’s consumer-mortgage rules. Every lender sets its own terms. |
Tap a program name for its published limits, source and document date. Payments are principal and interest at the rate above on the estimated loan (your requested amount if it fits, otherwise the max), plus HUD's annual mortgage insurance where it applies. HUD MIP is 0.25% upfront and 0.25% a year for applications submitted on or after October 1, 2025 (FR Doc 2025-18379). How each number is calculated.
Fannie Mae DUS
- Max LTV or LTC
- 80%
- Min DSCR
- 1.25x
Source: Fannie Mae term sheet, Conventional Properties, copy dated 2025-11-17. Fannie Mae's site blocks automated readers, so this was read from an Internet Archive copy.
Fannie Mae Small Loans
- Max LTV or LTC
- 80%
- Min DSCR
- 1.25x
Source: Fannie Mae term sheet, Small Mortgage Loans, copy dated 2025-12-17. Fannie Mae's site blocks automated readers, so this was read from an Internet Archive copy.
Freddie Mac Optigo Conventional
- Max LTV or LTC
- 75% under 7-yr terms, 80% at 7+ (65-70% if full-term interest-only)
- Min DSCR
- 1.25x
Source: Freddie Mac Optigo Fixed-Rate Loans term sheet, April 2026 (footer 4/26).
Freddie Mac Conventional Small
- Max LTV or LTC
- 75% under 7-yr terms, 80% at 7+
- Min DSCR
- 1.25x
Source: Freddie Mac Optigo Conventional Small term sheet, April 2026 (footer 4/26).
HUD 223(f)
- Max LTV or LTC
- 87% market rate; 90% affordable or 90%+ assisted
- Min DSCR
- 1.15x market rate; 1.11x affordable or assisted
Source: HUD MAP Guide (4430.G) and Mortgagee Letter 2025-03, ML 2025-03, January 8, 2025; MAP Guide revised March 19, 2021.
HUD 221(d)(4)
- Max LTV or LTC
- LTC 87% market rate; 90% affordable or assisted
- Min DSCR
- 1.15x market rate; 1.11x affordable or assisted
Source: HUD MAP Guide (4430.G) and Mortgagee Letter 2025-03, ML 2025-03, January 8, 2025; MAP Guide revised March 19, 2021.
HUD 223(a)(7)
- Max LTV or LTC
- No LTV test; capped at the cost to refinance
- Min DSCR
- 1.11x (1.05x if over 90% project-based Section 8)
Source: HUD MAP Guide (4430.G), Chapter 18, Revised March 19, 2021.
SBA 7(a) and 504
- Max LTV or LTC
- n/a
- Min DSCR
- n/a
Source: SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, effective October 1, 2026.
Bank or credit union
- Max LTV or LTC
- Not published
- Min DSCR
- Not published
Source: Interagency Guidelines for Real Estate Lending Policies, 12 CFR part 34 app. A, eCFR current as of October 22, 2026.
CMBS conduit
- Max LTV or LTC
- Not published
- Min DSCR
- Not published
Source: Regulation RR, 17 CFR 246.4 and 246.7, eCFR current as of October 22, 2026.
Bridge loan
- Max LTV or LTC
- Not published
- Min DSCR
- Not published
No primary source publishes terms for this loan type.
DSCR investor loan
- Max LTV or LTC
- Not published
- Min DSCR
- Not published
Source: 12 CFR 1026.3 (Regulation Z exemptions), eCFR current as of October 22, 2026.
Send it to the desk
Send these numbers to a person who places these loans
The Janover Capital desk is a commercial mortgage brokerage. Send your building and the comparison you just ran, and a person at the desk can say which programs look worth applying for and what a lender would likely change in your numbers.
Your inputs and the table go with the request, so you won't have to retype them.
A sizing estimate is not an approval, a commitment to lend or a rate quote. Stackup and Janover Capital are not affiliated with HUD, FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Disclosures.
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How the app picks the number
Each program has two published tests. Loan-to-value caps the loan at a share of the property's value (or of total cost, for construction). Debt service coverage caps it at the amount your NOI can pay with room to spare: at 1.25x, every $1.25 of NOI may carry $1 of annual payments. The app runs both, adds any dollar cap the program has, and keeps the lowest.
Take the example building: $610,000 of NOI and a $9.4 million value at 6.75%. Fannie Mae's 80% LTV allows $7.52M, but 1.25x coverage over 30 years only carries about $6.27M, so coverage binds. HUD 223(f) allows 87% LTV and 1.15x over 35 years, which carries about $6.88M, even after its 0.25% annual insurance premium is counted as a payment.
Stackup compares published limits. It can’t see your lender, your market or your credit. It’s a first cut: which programs fit your building and roughly how far apart the loans are.
Where the limits come from
Agency term sheets, HUD's MAP Guide and Mortgagee Letters, the Federal Register and SBA's SOP. The program page quotes each limit with its document date. Bank, CMBS, bridge and DSCR loans show no numbers because no primary source publishes their terms.
Read next: the same building run through Fannie, Freddie and HUD, what replaced Freddie Mac's SBL program, and why SBA won't finance an apartment building.
Questions people ask
Which multifamily loan program lends the most?
Run the same stabilized market-rate building at the same rate and HUD 223(f) usually comes out largest, because its limits are looser (87% LTV and 1.15x DSCR) and it amortizes over up to 35 years. The catch is a 5-year prepayment bar, 0.25% upfront and annual mortgage insurance, and no published closing timeline. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cap at 80% LTV and 1.25x DSCR over 30 years.
What is the binding constraint on a multifamily loan?
It's whichever test gives the smaller loan. Lenders size the loan by value (LTV), by income (DSCR), and by any program cap, then lend the lowest. When rates are high, the DSCR test often binds first, so a higher appraisal won't raise the loan.
Is the rate in the app a quote?
No. It's the latest U.S. Treasury yield plus a spread you can change, so you can see how sensitive each program is to rate. Lenders price each loan themselves, and they don't publish spreads.
What happened to Freddie Mac's Small Balance Loan program?
Freddie Mac stopped taking SBL applications on April 30, 2026. Loans from $2 million to $10 million on 5 to 50 units now go through Optigo Conventional Small, launched April 15, 2026, which uses the same 1.25x and 75 to 80% LTV grid as Freddie's larger conventional loans.