Limited Partnership Financing Guarantors

[Gordon Way]

Hi BP-

I am the general partner as well as a minority limited partner in company I created to buy an asset. We bought 18 units in Lubbock, TX in 2018. The property is doing great and we are looking to pull some equity out through a refinance. For the original acquisition, I was able to solely guarantee the loan and keep my LPs off title and the note (as it should be). However, I have been shopping around my normal lending partners and they are all stating that due to the market conditions that they require any LP with 20%+ equity in the company to guarantee the loan. I have only increased my net worth and income since 2018, so this has nothing to do with my ability to guarantee. This is the exact opposite of what I was told and in-turn told my investors. They want no liability besides their original investment. 

My question is: Are other REIs experiencing this same shift in underwriting? Does anyone know a lender that still underwrites the same way as when I acquired the asset? Any feedback on experiences, workarounds or something that I'm missing is greatly appreciated. Stay safe and keep building those empires! 

[Mack Benson]

It is very common for a lender to require anybody contributing more than 20%-25% in a deal to sign on the loan or at least go through the underwriting and background checks by the lender. I did a quick search and have found numerous posts going back at least to 2017 stating that. I wonder if your lender was at 25% when you closed on the deal in 2018 and is now at 20%. I always thought 20% was the standard which is why many syndicators put a contribution cap in their offering but I in my research I found that some lenders may go up to 25%. 

With covid and the tightening of the debt market it's possible that your lender is getting more conservative with their underwriting.

Good luck!