The adage that “two heads are better than one” is true for many things, and that includes the institution that you borrow from. In fact, says Cambridge Realty Capital Founder Jeffrey Davis, a dozen (or more) are even better still. “Cambridge has become more and more convinced over the years that ‘if you can’t teach them, join them’ is truer than ever when it relates to senior housing and different ways to provide capital structures for clients.”
Cambridge has, in recent months, stepped up its campaign to recruit new lending partners, while also revisiting and refining existing ones. “The more diverse a network of partners we are able to develop, the more capital and capital structure options we have available to us. The greater the options, the more we are able to offer our senior living borrowers, and the more borrowers we will be able to serve” Davis stated.
A prime example is that of a particular Cambridge client who was a relatively new and untested nursing home owner. The client had several years of experience working in the nursing home industry, where he started out as a maintenance worker and worked his way up the ranks to executive management. He was ready to strike out on his own and purchase a facility that was in need of rehabilitation. The problem was that no bank would lend him the money. Despite his experience in healthcare management, they were unwilling to take a risk on him as an owner.
Cambridge, however, saw things differently. “We believed that he could prove himself as an owner,” recalled Davis. So Cambridge purchased the facility itself and contracted its management to the client’s newly-formed company. “The idea was that he would have a few years to turn the facility around. If all of his conditions were met, Cambridge would sell the facility back to him.”
The client exceeded Cambridge’s expectations and was eventually able to obtain a loan to purchase the facility himself. “These are the kinds of things that Cambridge can do simply because of the partnerships that we have,” Davis iterated. “We have more flexibility than the average bank to think outside the box, and to offer loan structures that are more individually tailored to the client’s specific needs and unique situations. We are essentially able to throw out the bank lending manual.”
Even within the parameters of a government-backed HUD loan, Cambridge is able to draw from its numerous partnerships to craft an individualized plan for senior living borrowers. Of course, along with a HUD loan comes certain benefits not necessarily available with a conventional loan. This includes competitive rates as well as higher loan-to-value and loan-to-cost.
The advantages of borrowing with Cambridge are clear: the collective expertise and access to funding from multiple partners who are not bound by the typical constraints of the big banks and the availability of a variety of different loan products. But what about the advantages of becoming a Cambridge lending partner? They include working with a company that has a proven track record in closing senior living/skilled nursing loans, and expertise in the area of HUD loans. “Cambridge has closed more than 550 transactions worth over $5.5 billion since the 1990s,” Davis recounted, “and works with private lenders and other institutions across the US.”
For more information on partnering with Cambridge Realty Capital, please contact us at 312-357-1601.
