Property type
Small multifamily loans, matched to your deal
A small multifamily loan finances an investment property of two to four units, a duplex, triplex or fourplex held to produce rent. It sits in an awkward gap between residential and commercial lending: too small for most apartment programs, too commercial for conventional residential underwriting, and the programs that serve it well are a specific subset rather than the whole market. Many are written as rental loans qualifying on the property income instead of the owner income.
- 5,000+loan programs screened
- 5–8matches on a typical deal
- $0 upfrontto submit and compare offers
- 0.50–1.00%broker fee, paid only at closing
Who is a small multifamily loan actually for?
Investors buying or refinancing a duplex, triplex or fourplex as a business-purpose rental, held in a personal name or an entity. It is often the first step from single rentals into multi-unit property, and the underwriting reflects that: closer to a rental loan than to apartment debt, but with more attention paid to the unit mix and the rent roll than a single-family file would attract.
Why is two to four units a separate market?
Because the line most lenders draw at five units is a program boundary, not a description of the building. Below it, apartment programs usually decline on size alone, while lenders geared to single assets can be uncomfortable with multiple tenancies. The result is a narrower field of programs than either neighbouring category, and a wider spread between the terms they offer, since fewer desks are competing for the same file.
How does getting matched actually work?
You describe the deal once — about five minutes — and it is screened against 5,000+ loan programs. Most deals return 5–8 matches, and the median first offer arrives in under an hour. There is $0 upfront; the fee is 0.50–1.00%, paid only at closing.
YieldStack is a commercial mortgage brokerage, not a lender. The rate, the leverage and the credit decision belong to the lenders competing for your deal; our job is making sure the right ones see it at the same time, so the terms you compare are real competition rather than one desk’s appetite.
What do lenders actually look at?
Every program weighs these in its own way — which is the argument for several quoting at once.
- Rent across the units, and how much of it is under lease today
- Whether the property qualifies on its own income or on the borrower
- Condition of the units and any work planned
- Entity vesting and the guarantee structure
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is a fourplex financed differently from a five-unit building?
Because most programs draw their line at five units. The building may be almost identical, but at four units and below the file goes to rental and small-balance programs rather than apartment lenders.
Can I qualify on rent instead of my personal income?
Often yes. Many programs serving this range are written as rental loans that test whether the rent covers the payment, leaving personal income documentation out of the file.
Can I buy a two to four unit property in an LLC?
Yes, entity vesting is normal for business-purpose rental property. How the guarantee is structured is part of what gets quoted.
What if I plan to live in one of the units?
Living in one of the units makes it a consumer home loan rather than an investment file, a different market with different rules, and it sits outside the business-purpose programs described here.
Does one vacant unit stop the deal?
Not usually, but it affects how income is counted. Programs differ on whether they use market rent for a vacant unit or only leased income, and that difference can move the terms materially.
Is a small multifamily loan a commercial loan?
It is business-purpose lending on investment property, but it is generally not underwritten like a commercial mortgage. The nearest comparison is a rental loan sized to a slightly larger asset.
Is YieldStack a lender?
No. YieldStack is a commercial mortgage brokerage, not a lender. Every term sheet comes from a lender in the network and is subject to that lender's underwriting.
Does it cost anything to see terms?
No. It costs $0 upfront to submit a deal and review offers; YieldStack's broker fee is 0.50–1.00% of the loan amount and is paid only at closing.
Is financing guaranteed?
No. Every credit decision is made by the lender; YieldStack arranges the introductions and negotiates on the borrower's side, and no loan, rate, or closing is guaranteed.
Next step
One deal.Several lenders.
YieldStack is a commercial mortgage brokerage, not a lender.