Commercial real estate lender Walker & Dunlop has originated a loan to refinance a $469M multifamily portfolio owned and operated by Cortland Partners.

The portfolio is backed by 13 multifamily properties throughout Texas, Georgia and Florida and is comprised of 4,871 units.

"Cortland Partners acquired all of the assets in 2013 from a variety of sellers," Walker & Dunlop managing director Stephen Farnsworth, who led the deal, tells Bisnow. "They went through a value-add upgrade strategy where they made improvements to amenities and interior unit upgrades."

Upon completion of the upgrades, Cortland Partners stabilized operations, improved rents and net income, and sought refinancing, Stephen says. The first two years of the seven-year Freddie Mac loans will consist of interest-only payments followed by 30-year amortization schedules.

"We underwrote 13 different assets in a multitude of markets and worked to achieve the goals of the owner and borrower coupled with getting it done in a timely manner," Stephen says. "We closed a few in June, a few in July and a few in early August. It was a staggered closing based on a variety of payoff restrictions on the loan and the timing of stabilizing assets."