Brandon Baksh

Partner at Dwight Capital focused on FHA/HUD lending

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

Every year, a few HUD lenders put out that they were the “#1 HUD lender” in the country, and since it’s not a clear-cut ranking, I thought it would be helpful to explain and share some context. First and foremost, HUD follows the government fiscal year, so for FY ’23, that 1/10

[Traded Texas @TradedTexas]

LOAN
IMAGE: Brandon Baksh, Brian Yee & Zach Sherwood
DATE: 03/16/2026
ADDRESS: TBD Rosehill & I-30
MARKET: Garland
ASSET TYPE: Development Site ~ ACRES: 7

LENDER: Brandon Baksh & Brian Yee - Dwight Capital
LANDLORD: Zach Sherwood & Brian Woidneck - StoneHawk Capital Partners

LOAN AMOUNT: $56,000,000
LOAN TYPE: Construction

NOTE: StoneHawk Capital Partners secured $56M in HUD 221(d)(4) construction financing from Dwight Capital for its 269-unit StoneHawk Rosehill multifamily project in Garland, Texas. The 7-acre development will feature one- and two-bedroom apartments, 51% affordable units, and amenities including a clubhouse, fitness center, and pool.

#Texas #RealEstate #TradedTexas #Garland #DevelopmentSite #ZachSherwood #BrianWoidneck #StoneHawkCapitalPartners #BrandonBaksh #BrianYee #DwightCapital

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

At the request of a few clients, I'm starting an email distribution list focused on HUD updates and then Dwight specific updates (bridge, construction, etc.). If you would like to be added, shoot me a message. I just put together a summary of the mortgagee letter that just came out. Sending out to folks now.

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

https://t.co/gWlMezuDFV

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

Here are the rankings in case anyone is interested, straight from HUD. Hoping for bigger and better things in FY '26

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

It's been a while since I've posted, but thankfully it is due to good things. With that said, HUD recently put out their Fiscal Year rankings (Oct 2024 through September 2025). It was delayed due to the government shutdown, but still can provide valuable insight.

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

Overall, HUD lending is up across the board. Focusing on Dwight, we finished #2 in Firm Commitments ("FC")earned, and #1 in Initial Endorsements ("IE"). I've said before, to me, FCs are a more accurate measure of HUD lender success as there are shops that buy FCs and then close them. Nothing wrong with that, but again, majority of the work is getting the FC.

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

Very proud of this one. Great asset, with a great sponsor. https://t.co/VTSlhFdjiO

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

@MiketheAptGuy We have 9 refis in process, and those concessions are killing us!

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

As you likely have heard, Green MIP is going away for all new applications.

Additionally, for deals that have Green MIP already won't have to do the annual compliance. A big burden off existing HUD borrowers.

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

@aussieflya @DallasAptGP this has gained steam

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

@alanr709 It would be:
35 Year Term and Amortization
1.15x DSCR
80% LTV on cash out; 87% if not
Non-recourse

You can drop the rate via the Interest Rate Reduction program ("IRR") at any point and as many times as feasible. There is a mechanism to it, but hard to describe here.

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

It's looking like changes are coming for HUD both good and bad. Below is a summary:

Minimum Energy Code - HUD had previously set May 27, 2025 as the implementation date for all future 221(d)(4)s to be built to 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1 2019 energy codes. This implementation date has now been pushed back 6 months to November 28th, 2025 to allow for further review and the expectation is that it will be removed completely.

Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) – This is the new flood management system implemented in 2024 with the hopes of not just protecting properties against current floodways and floodplains but also project the movement of flood paths in future years and therefore requiring a higher degree of flood mitigation. HUD Single Family has recently removed the FFRMS standards, and it is expected that the multifamily component will be following suit shortly which means we will no longer need to account for the 500-year floodplain.

Green MIP - The future of Green MIP is uncertain at best. It is rumored that HUD will remove the Green MIP reduction, but the timeline is unknown. The change is coming directly from the White House so there is little clarity on how this change will be implemented but there hopes that MIP will be reduced to 35 bps across the board to provide some relief, but we are pushing for lower.

Staffing / Local HUD Offices – Many HUD employees have taken the severance package will likely lead to many offices to be understaffed in reviewing underwriting applications. Furthermore, HUD is in the process of closing a few of the production offices. This is in an effort to centralize the HUD review process, giving more power and oversight to Headquarters in D.C. and removing the autonomy from local offices. From our POV, this is going to benefit the more active HUD lenders and hurt the smaller regional ones as the relationship with a local office won't be as helpful as it used to be.

"New Refinance Program" - It got blasted out yesterday that one specific HUD office is now allowing for the submission of pre-stabilized assets as early as 50% occupancy. There are more details to it, but I wanted to stress that this wasn't something that came from HUD directly. There isn't real clarity on where this came from and now every lender is scrambling to figure out if it real or not largely because there are contradictions in rules that came out. For example, HUD's rule book states that an asset must have an average of 85% occupancy for 6 months before it could be submitted and that obviously is well above 50%.

The last thing I wanted to convey on these changes is that outside of the FFRMS and the New Construction Building Standards, is none of these changes have been finalized. There is a lot in flux. The rumor mill is flying with HUD these days and there are groups that are not HUD lenders putting out information that isn't necessarily accurate, they are just trying to be first. I'm only mentioning by name because their email was forwarded to me a dozen times with "is this real?!?!?", but HUD Network LLC is NOT a HUD lender or affiliated with HUD. Here's a list of approved HUD/MAP Lenders: https://t.co/qxe1Z9qLIf

If you have any questions or want additional details on the proposed changes, feel free to reach out.

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

@DallasAptGP Timing and prevailing wage requirement. Bigger cities get hurt with this disproportionately

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

The latest trend I've been seeing: We're doing a fair amount of bridge loans for sponsors who need to get existing loans off their bank's books to avoid concentration parameters. It looks like banks are back in play for ground up, but a lot of relationship based lending.

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

Middle Income and DSCR rollback are finalized!

https://t.co/79lClNDjtT

[Commercial Observer @commobserver]

Dwight Mortgage Trust Closes $28M Refi for Tulsa Apartments https://t.co/VKXDmbmkzF

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

Fun one to get done #221d4 #HUD

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

To clarify, the above image displays what is currently required at the state level. HUD requirements would be above state requirements in many situations.

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

I know everyone in the HUD world (including myself) has been really excited about the proposed rule changes but I believe the vast majority of the industry has forgotten a rule change that goes into effect on May 25th 2025.

Right now, HUD only requires the 2009 IECC for projects 3 Stories or less and 2007 ASHRAE 90.1 for projects 4+ stories. In all practicality, this doesn't impact any project as local building codes are using a newer baseline.

However, for all pre-applications submitted after May 25th, the project will be subject to 2021 IECC for projects 3 Stories or less and 2019 ASHRAE 90.1 for projects 4+ stories.

I suspect it will cause a HUGE issue for sponsors pursuing the D4 and lenders like myself rushing applications in to HUD before the deadline. See below which should help demonstrate the impact of the change.

[Brandon Baksh @BBakshDC]

Quick summary of the recent HUD changes: