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Financing Options

Seniors Housing

You can trust our more than two decades of leadership in the Seniors Housing market.

Our commitment to this multifaceted and ever-changing business is by no accident.

At Fannie Mae, we understand that Seniors Housing serves a critical need for our country’s aging population. That’s why we have financed over $15 billion of Seniors Housing since 2008.

Whether you’re looking to finance Seniors Housing properties offering Independent Living, Assisted Living, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care, or any combination of the three, Fannie Mae’s Seniors Housing team can help you creatively structure loans to meet your borrower’s needs. We also finance Continuing Care Retirement Communities and some facilities with Skilled Nursing.

Seniors Multifamily Affordability Estimator

Helps estimate the Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Goals and FHFA Scorecard Cap exclusions of a Seniors' property.

Learn More 

Optimize Your Deal

Enhance your deal through these creative financing options:

Frequently Asked Questions

This industry includes four main types of housing for varying levels of acuity:

  1. Independent Living provides limited programs of assistance for the elderly beyond meals and transportation. These units typically resemble conventional apartment units.
  2. Assisted Living provides non-medical care and assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), which can be medication management, bathing, dressing, toileting or ambulating. ADL communities are licensed and regulated by a state or local government.
  3. Memory Care provides services to residents with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. They may have additional licensing requirements, differing by state.
  4. Skilled Nursing facilities provide a higher level of nursing or ambulatory care. They are often for short term rehab. Fannie Mae does not purchase Mortgage Loans secured by a Property comprised of 100% Skilled Nursing. For the mortgage Loan to be eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae, the Skilled nursing units cannot contribute more than 20% of the Property’s overall Net cash Flow (NCF).

Fannie Mae finances combinations of all of these types of care allowing for aging in place. If the community includes all four property types, they are known as continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). CCRCs typically have an entrance fee component.

Age-restricted properties typically are reserved for a population that is 55 years of age and older. To differentiate between Independent Living and age-restricted, find out what services are being offered to residents, specifically meals, and if the property has a commercial kitchen. (Unlike an Independent Living property, an age-restricted property will generally not have a commercial kitchen.) Find out how the property is being marketed overall.

The Seniors team makes great use of Fannie Mae products and executions. To highlight a few, we did $3.4B in new Credit Facility business in 2017 and continue to be very active in that space. Green and Seniors is a great combination, especially given how water and energy savings directly benefit the borrower’s bottom line. Our Streamlined Rate Lock execution is now delegated for Seniors at all Tier levels.

We have dedicated Customer Engagement, Credit and even Asset Management. Our teams work cohesively on deals and coordinate often.

Because of the complexity of Seniors Housing, it’s important we work with lenders who are experienced in financing Seniors Housing and have been approved by Fannie Mae. Our financing is targeted to Sponsors and Operators experienced in the Seniors Housing sector with strong financial capabilities. See the approved lender list on our site.

The Seniors Housing Asset Management group handles everything from requests for a change in the operator of the property, to use conversions and property expansions. They have a Conversion/Expansion program, which accommodates market demand, and allows for flexibility with changes in the acuity mix or adding units post-closing.

The average deal size is $10 million for Seniors Housing, which is higher than our conventional business due to the large number of portfolio deals and the Credit Facility business.

An experienced and well-capitalized operator with strong portfolio occupancy, and who has control in most of the deals it owns or operates. An operator with a large footprint is also an important consideration, with a focus on innovation and technology trends.

All of the same customizable features of Conventional Mortgage Loans are also available on Seniors Housing Mortgage Loans. The Seniors Housing Deal Team will work with you to come up with the best solution to meet your client’s financing needs.

Yes. Our dedicated Seniors Housing team can process loans from application to closing to meet any timeline required by your client.

Every Fannie Mae loan receives customized pricing – and Seniors Housing Loans are no different. Our pricing is always competitive and adjusts with the changing market conditions. Please reach out to your Seniors Housing Deal Team to get additional pricing guidance.

We understand that good operators have a finger on the pulse of the market and recognize when changes are needed to remain competitive. Our Lenders have experienced asset management teams that work diligently to service your loan. Please reach out to the Lender that originated the loan and its asset management team will submit requests to Fannie Mae through our asset management portal.

We only provide debt for existing, stabilized, purpose-built Seniors Housing properties.

There is no size limit for our Seniors Housing deals.

Green Financing is available. We are highly interested and motivated in assisting and incentivizing Borrowers that are environmentally responsible at their properties.

Seniors Housing Mortgage Loans are subject to the volume cap mandated by FHFA. However, FHFA will exclude the pro rata portion of the loan amount based on the percentage of units affordable at 80% of AMI or below. The Seniors Housing affordability calculator is located in the Learning Center on the Fannie Mae Multifamily website.