Guides to financing California 5-10 unit buildings
TL;DR: Five long reads on what decides a 5-10 unit loan in California: why the fifth unit changes the loan, how rent caps shape the rent roll a lender counts, how to build a rent roll and T-12, how Prop 13 and insurance move the expense line, and how soft-story retrofits are handled.
Why a five-unit building is a different loan than a fourplex
The fifth unit moves a California rental from residential lending into multifamily. What changes in documents, appraisal, expense review and program choice.
Read the guide →California rent caps and how lenders underwrite 5-10 unit buildings
How the Tenant Protection Act, local rent programs and Costa-Hawkins shape the rent roll a lender counts on a California 5- to 10-unit apartment building.
Read the guide →How to build a lender-ready rent roll and trailing operating statement
What a lender-ready rent roll and trailing 12-month operating statement include for a California 5- to 10-unit building, and the mismatches that slow files.
Read the guide →Prop 13, insurance and operating expenses on a California small apartment building
How Prop 13 reassessment, supplemental tax bills, insurance, owner-paid utilities and RUBS change the DSCR on a California 5- to 10-unit apartment building.
Read the guide →Soft-story seismic retrofits and financing a California small apartment building
How mandatory soft-story retrofit programs and balcony inspections affect buying or refinancing a California 5- to 10-unit wood-frame apartment building.
Read the guide →Start somewhere else
Send us the building, not just the borrower
Address, unit count, a current rent roll and the loan you have in mind. We read it the way a 5-10 unit underwriter will and tell you which wholesale programs are worth the appraisal.