Trio of non-profits work toward affordable housing

First-of-its-kind collaborative comes at a time of great need

Trio of non-profits work toward affordable housing

Amid a backdrop of soaring property rates, many have been left behind in achieving home ownership. While awaiting the tide to turn, a trio of non-profits has joined forces to provide affordable housing to those having to delay ownership.

The Community Preservation Corp., National Equity Fund and Cinnaire announced their joint partnership in CPC Mortgage Co., a national mortgage lending company specializing in multifamily Agency finance products.

This first-of-its-kind cooperative leverages the resources and expertise of its three non-profit owners to increase access to flexible Agency mortgage capital in communities where it is needed most, with the goal of expanding and preserving affordable and workforce housing.

CPC Mortgage Company also provides a new avenue for socially responsible investments in housing, giving multifamily owners and investors an opportunity to access permanent capital, while supporting and advancing its members’ non-profit work to create a positive impact in communities.

CPC Mortgage Company is the only non-profit lender with a suite of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) products including conventional, affordable, and small balance lending for the acquisition, refinance, rehabilitation and development of multifamily housing.

“Our mission is to leverage the unique expertise of this partnership to bring flexible Agency mortgage capital to communities to expand and preserve affordable and workforce housing. We’re moving the mortgage industry towards a place where we can ask the question, where do we need to be to make the biggest impact, and how can we use our unique skills and reach as non-profits and affordable housing experts,” said John Cannon, president of CPC Mortgage Co.

“Whether it’s affordable, conventional, or small we look at every deal through a lens of impact and potential, and every borrower and every transaction has the ability to help us continue our work of investing in communities.”  

Read more: FHFA to form affordable housing committee

Added Rafael E. Cestero, CEO of The Community Preservation Corp.: “At a time when we are facing a national housing availability and affordability crisis, we need to marshal our resources to expand and preserve housing in our communities. When we originally launched CPC Mortgage Company, our goal was to use our unique experience as a non-profit lender to reach multifamily owners who either didn’t have access to Agency products or didn’t have the technical expertise needed to take advantage of them.

“We’re extremely pleased to have two mission-aligned companies like Cinnaire and NEF joining us to help expand our impact and ability to reach the owners and communities that are most in need.”

Mark McDaniel, president and CEO of Cinnaire, spoke to the need for affordable housting: “Cinnaire is acutely aware of the challenges that many developers face in accessing capital in the affordable housing industry, and we are committed to expanding access to financing that supports multifamily development in areas that need it most,” he said.

“It was a priority for us to partner with organizations with the same mission and we are looking forward to joining CPC and NEF in providing developers expanded access to quality financial tools to build equitable communities.”

Matt Reilein, president and CEO of NEF, further spoke of the need for affordable housing: “At National Equity Fund, everything we do is in service of our mission to deliver innovative, collaborative financial solutions to expand the creation and preservation of affordable housing,” he said.

“Our joint partnership in CPC Mortgage Company presents a powerful opportunity to offer additional non-profit, mission-driven capital solutions for developers to build and maintain safe, stable, and affordable housing to help residents and communities to thrive for the long-term.”

CPC Mortgage Company describes itself as the only Agency seller or servicer bringing an impact model to mortgage lending. The company works with owners and investors of all sizes, who are seeking a like-minded partner that understands the unique capital needs of their housing stock, to increase access to flexible Agency capital with the ultimate goal of expanding and preserving affordable and workforce housing,

Read next: Financing offered to minority developers for affordable housing

It further describes itself as a mission-aligned partner helping Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae achieve their goals under Duty to Serve plans. By reaching beyond the traditional Agency customer base to owners of multifamily rental properties in overlooked and underserved communities, the new cooperative owners of CPC Mortgage Company aim to preserve the stability and affordability of rental housing in neighborhoods where it’s needed most.