Multifamily Housing Capital Funding Plans - Continued...

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FHA/HUD.  The Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) is a major player in multifamily housing (as you would expect).  HUD offers a multifamily housing program that focuses on providing non-recourse construction and permanent lending requirements.  If the other entitlements can't get you to the top, then HUD may be an alternative.

Have you given consideration to a fractional real estate ownership syndication approach to providing equity financing for your project?  These are syndications of fractional ownership units for projects having a development budget of at least $2.5 million (there is no upper limit - just what the market will absorb) and the financing may be available as early as the project's pre-construction phase.  Equity security dilution can become a thing of the past, while you maintain the financial investment leverage you need to make your seed capital investment work again and again and again.

Before you rush out to the bank with your multifamily housing capital funding plan proposal in hand, take a moment and have a review done by someone who is not connected with the transaction.  This is just one of the basic rules that apply to the creation process.  Other rules include (and perhaps now would be a good time to bookmark this page): 

	Is the technical language forthright or used out of context?  This is a terrible sin when you write in a term that carries a different connotation in the capital finance world than what you are using.
	Do you show a five-year forecast period?  Most capital funding plans provide a 5-year forecast period to show the developed property at its fully stabilized operating capacity.
	Will an educated layman understand the capital funding plan in its entirety?  We are just as guilty as the next guy in writing out detailed technical explanations because it serves one's ego or vanity.  Check your ego at the door.  Have a college kid read your capital funding plan from cover to cover.  If the college kid "gets it," then chances are you're on the right track.
	Does the order of elements make sense?  The plan should have a nice flow from one area into the next.
	Do you have a quick reference page up front?  A quick reference page with the key financial issues makes it a lot easier on people who are in a hurry and want to understand the plan elements.
	Is it longer than 30 pages?  If so, you are probably putting too much into this summary document.
	Is the contact information set forth in the plan?  We're talking basics here.  First page, last page or both.