Updated September 28, 2026
A seller with a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan originated when rates were meaningfully lower than today's is sitting on something most of their competition isn't: financing a buyer might actually want to keep. Whether to lead with that in your marketing, bury it as a footnote, or leave it out entirely is a real decision, and I've seen sellers get it wrong in both directions — one who hid a genuinely attractive assumption and left money on the table, another who oversold a mediocre one and confused every buyer who called.
The decision comes down to three things: how good the loan actually is relative to current rates, how much equity has to come in alongside it, and how sophisticated your likely buyer pool is.
Most sellers think of an assumable loan as something the buyer either wants or doesn't, with no input from their side. That's backwards. How you market the assumption shapes who shows up to bid, and who shows up to bid shapes your price. A well-marketed assumable loan can widen your buyer pool to include buyers who couldn't otherwise pencil the deal at current rates. A poorly explained one confuses buyers into thinking it's more complicated than it is, and they simply pass rather than ask questions.
How to buy an LA building with assumable debt lays out the buyer's side of this in full — the assumption fee, the lender approval process, the supplemental loan option if they need more leverage than the existing balance provides. Everything in that guide is context you need before you decide how to position the same loan from the seller's chair.
The rate gap is real and durable. If your existing loan's rate is meaningfully below what a new buyer could get today, and there's enough term remaining to matter, this is a genuine advantage. Buyers doing the math will see immediately that assuming your debt improves their cash-on-cash return versus originating new financing, and that's worth featuring prominently in your marketing materials — often before price per unit, because it changes what price per unit a buyer can actually justify.
The loan has meaningful term remaining. An assumable loan with two years left on the term is a minor feature. One with seven or eight years left is a much bigger deal, because the buyer captures the rate advantage for longer before they have to refinance into whatever the market looks like by then.
Your buyer pool skews toward 1031 exchangers and yield-focused buyers. These buyers are often more rate-sensitive than value-add buyers chasing a renovation story, because their return math depends heavily on financing cost. If that's your likely buyer, the assumption is a headline feature, not a footnote.
The gap between your rate and market rates has narrowed. As rates move, yesterday's attractive assumption can become today's unremarkable one. Check where current agency rates actually sit before you build your marketing story around a rate advantage that may no longer be as wide as you remember.
The assumption requires a large equity check. If your loan balance is well below the sale price, the buyer needs a substantial amount of cash or a supplemental loan to bridge the gap, and the assumption becomes more complicated to explain than it's worth featuring as a headline. Some buyers will still want it; it's just not the first thing in your marketing package.
Your buyer pool is mostly value-add or opportunistic capital. These buyers frequently plan to refinance anyway, once they've stabilized the building or completed renovations, which makes an existing assumable loan close to irrelevant to their underwriting. Marketing it heavily to this buyer type doesn't move their offer.
Don't just note "assumable financing available" in a bullet list and move on. Buyers respond to specifics: the interest rate, the remaining term, the current balance, the assumption fee your lender charges, and — critically — an illustration of what the buyer's approximate debt service looks like assuming the loan versus originating new financing at a current market rate. Keep any such illustration clearly labeled as a hypothetical example with round numbers, not a projection presented as fact. A buyer doing their own math from a one-line mention will often underestimate the benefit; a buyer given the comparison up front understands immediately why they should pay attention to your building over a similar one down the street without the same financing.
Loop in your lender's assumption desk early — before you go to market, not after you have an interested buyer. Confirm the actual assumption fee, whether a supplemental loan is available if the buyer needs additional leverage, and roughly how long lender approval takes. Buyers ask these questions the moment they're interested, and a broker who can answer immediately looks credible in a way that "let me find out" doesn't.
Marketing an assumable loan doesn't change your obligations on the loan itself until the assumption closes and the lender formally releases you. What happens to my mortgage when I sell and do I owe a prepayment penalty cover what happens to the loan under both the assumption path and the payoff path — useful context for comparing what an assumption actually saves your buyer against what a straight sale-and-payoff would cost. If your buyer walks away from the assumption mid-process, you need a payoff figure ready as the fallback, so get both numbers before you list, not after a deal is already moving.
Ask yourself three questions. Is my rate meaningfully better than what a buyer could get today? Is there enough term left for that gap to matter? And does my likely buyer type actually care about financing cost as much as they care about basis, location, or upside? Two or three "yes" answers means feature it prominently. One or zero means mention it, provide the numbers if asked, and let your pricing and positioning carry the marketing instead. The general framework for positioning and pricing the rest of the sale is in how to sell an apartment building in Los Angeles.
An assumable loan is a real asset when the numbers support it and a distraction when they don't. Sellers who run the comparison honestly — rate gap, remaining term, likely buyer type — end up marketing it exactly as hard as it deserves, no more and no less. The sellers who get this wrong either bury a genuine advantage under a bullet point nobody reads, or oversell a marginal one and spend the first phone call with every interested buyer walking back the pitch.
Do all agency loans allow assumption?
Most Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily loans include assumption provisions, but terms and fees vary by loan and by lender, so confirm the specifics with your loan servicer rather than assuming standard terms apply.
Does an assumable loan always mean a higher sale price?
Only when the rate advantage is real and the likely buyer pool values it. On buildings where buyers plan to refinance regardless, or where the rate gap has narrowed, the assumption has little to no measurable effect on price.
Who pays the assumption fee, the buyer or the seller?
This is negotiated between buyer and seller like any other closing cost, though the assumption fee itself is a lender charge that's typically paid by whichever party the purchase agreement assigns it to.
Can I market the loan as assumable if I haven't confirmed it with my lender?
Don't. Confirm assumability, the fee, and the approval timeline with your lender before you put it in any marketing material — buyers and their brokers will verify it, and an inaccurate claim costs you credibility at the worst possible moment.
Michael Sterman is Senior Managing Director Investments at Marcus & Millichap, specializing in Los Angeles multifamily transactions.
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