Changes Affect Projects Along River, Bay and Broughton Streets

By Ted Carter

SBJ.com

People looking to buy a downtown Savannah condominium unit that sits above a retail store or restaurant learn quickly that they need to keep their local community banker on speed dial.

Lending policies of quasi-governmental housing loan agencies such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have made community banks a key option for financing the purchase of residential units in mixed-use projects. This is because Freddie and Fannie have had a policy the past several years of not financing residences in buildings or complexes that have commercial components.

The agencies used to allow a project to have 25 percent commercial space, and applied the policy only to existing projects. In December 2008, they scaled back the percentage of commercial allowed to 20 percent and began applying the rule to new mixed-use projects.

The result?

Buyers of residences in mixed-use projects along River, Bay and Broughton streets are relying on lenders who will keep the mortgage on their books rather than selling it on a secondary market, where the policies of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would be encountered.

“They tend to come to us,” said Pam Branch, a senior VP at The Coastal Bank. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the 30-year fixed” on the units in mixed-use projects, Branch added.

Coastal does offer 30-year amortization, but those loans stay fixed only three to five years before a balloon comes due, according to Branch, adding that Coastal is doing residential loans on the Darby Bank building downtown which has 40 percent commercial – double the amount Freddie and Fannie allow.

The limited loan options for potential buyers in mixed-use projects are “an ongoing problem,” Branch said and noted the limitations pose particular problems for people determined to live downtown. “It’s getting to where downtown that’s what you have available to buy,” she said of mixed-use projects.

A community bank’s willingness to involve itself in a residential loan on a mixed-use project often hinges on the type of commercial use attached. “It depends on what’s downstairs,” she said, noting a coffee shop or dry cleaners is preferred over a busy bar.

Savannah mortgage broker David Carter of American Financial Services said he has had his share of headaches from the Freddie and Fannie lending policy. Dropping the allowed commercial ratio from 25 to 20 percent added to the pain, he said. “They’ve got so many changes that are really killing us.”

Fannie Mae spokeswoman Amy Bonitatibus said the agency’s prohibition on doing commercial lending is behind the agencies’ policy on mixed-use projects. Further, the agency does not want to risk allowing an attached commercial use to diminish the value of a residential unit for which it holds a mortgage.

But Fannie Mae can be flexible, Bonitatibus said. “We do make exceptions on a case-by-case basis.”

Savannah lawyer James B. Blackburn Jr. knows the pitfalls of the lending policy. He went to the Tybee City Council on Jan. 14 for help separating a commercial property from a residential use. He tried unsuccessfully on the part of his client, Pelican Landings, to get council approval of a setback variance for the 18-unit condo complex at 26 Atlantic Ave.

Blackburn saw the variance as a way to sever a commercial building from the rest of the Pelican Landings complex, thus helping to make buyers of units eligible for Fannie and Freddie financing.

Blackburn acknowledged buyers of individual units could still get financing from an entity willing to hold onto the note instead of selling it on the secondary mortgage market. But those lending arrangements are becoming rare in this period of tight credit, he said.

Tybee City Attorney Bubba Hughes said the lending problem stems from the different set of lending rules that have been established for commercial and residential properties. “It’s made it difficult when you mix the two,” he said.

In the case of Pelican Point, buyers of the units can submit the condominium documents to the lender but if the lot still contains the commercial use, “all the lenders back away,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn said he’s unsure what client Natasha Wilhite will do with the more than three-decade old commercial building that sits on the property. She has the option of tearing it down, which might help the odds of the condo unit buyers receiving mortgage financing, he said.

Pelican Landings’ owners “might also build a swimming pool” where the commercial building is situated, Blackburn noted.

Tybee Mayor Pro-tem Shirley Sessions said she expects the new lending policies will create problems down the road for developers who take part in the trend of building projects with retail on a ground floor and residential units on the floors above. But as a policy setter for Tybee, she said she is concerned about government “taking ownership of other peoples’ responsibilities.”

In her vote for the variance request, Doyle criticized her fellow council members for depriving the city of property taxes from what could be occupied condo units.  The result is a lost opportunity to help bring property to the city,” Doyle said.

Pelican Landings had been built about three years ago. The new owners acquired the condo complex and adjoining property in a foreclosure sale, according to attorney Blackburn.