Housing Finance
We bring deep experience across construction, bridge, revolving, and permanent financing structures, helping clients navigate the legal, regulatory, and business considerations that shape housing finance transactions from origination through maturity.
Housing and community development finance
Housing finance transactions demand fluency in real estate fundamentals, evolving financing programs, and layered capital structures. Our lawyers advise on acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, refinancing, and refunding transactions involving single-family, multifamily, affordable, senior, and special-purpose housing, as well as broader community development initiatives.
We regularly counsel clients on loan assumptions, portfolio transfers, distressed asset strategies, default resolution, and restructurings, providing practical guidance informed by market realities and program requirements.
GSE and federally supported programs
Barnes & Thornburg advises clients on a broad range of government-sponsored and federally supported housing finance programs. Our team works with lenders, borrowers, developers, servicers, and investors on transactions involving Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA- and HUD-insured programs, and related credit enhancement and securitization structures.
We understand the procedural requirements, underwriting considerations, and operational preferences that drive these programs. This program-level insight allows our team to anticipate issues, manage timelines, and structure transactions that satisfy regulatory requirements while supporting commercial objectives.
Tax-exempt bonds and housing tax credits
Many housing transactions rely on layered financing structures combining public and private sources. Our attorneys advise public agencies, developers, lenders, and underwriters on tax-exempt multifamily housing bonds and related programs administered by state and local housing finance agencies.
We also have extensive experience with affordable housing transactions involving federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), as well as transactions that combine LIHTCs with other tax credit programs and multiple sources of debt. Our counsel extends to Year 15 considerations, resyndications, and other issues that arise as developments approach the end of compliance periods.
Complex and distressed housing finance matters
Housing finance markets are dynamic and highly regulated, and transactions frequently present operational, financial, or compliance challenges. Many of our lawyers bring prior experience in finance, government, and real estate, providing real-world perspective on how housing finance transactions are reviewed, approved, and administered.
When projects encounter pressure, we help clients assess options, manage risk, and move forward with clarity, whether through restructurings, loan modifications, portfolio transfers, or other solutions tailored to the circumstances.
Program fluency, national scope
With a national platform and deep familiarity with housing finance programs administered at the federal, state, and local levels, Barnes & Thornburg is well positioned to support housing finance transactions across jurisdictions. We are trusted advisers throughout the housing finance ecosystem, bringing consistency of approach while accounting for jurisdiction-specific requirements and program nuances.