Blackstone to give first home loan in Miami

Company enters mortgage origination arena through new unit

Stephen Schwarzman
Stephen Schwarzman

From the South Florida site: Stephen Schwarzman’s Blackstone Group is set to write its first residential mortgage in Miami this week through a new unit called B2R Finance.

Already the largest single-family residential landlord in the nation, Blackstone is entering the loan origination arena for buyers of multiple houses, the New York Post reported. An investor of Miami single-family residences is the first buyer. B2R is targeting investors who own between 20 and 100 homes, while Fannie Mae has a limit of 10 home loans per borrower.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

By signing up, you agree to TheRealDeal Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

B2R plans to focus on markets like Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and South Florida, which all have a substantial inventory of foreclosed homes. In those markets, investors often acquire the foreclosed homes to renovate and rent out for more than the monthly mortgage payment.

Blackstone owns 40,000 homes. It plans to have B2R borrow directly from banks at interest rates of 4 percent or less and lend to investors at rates between 6 and 7 percent. [NYP]Eric Kalis