When Cambridge Realty Capital began, it dealt mainly with conventional loans on a variety of commercial property types. The firm added to its expertise with a HUD lending unit in 1985.
Today, Cambridge is well-known in the market as a HUD loan specialist for senior living operators. However, “sometimes people don’t even realize that Cambridge funds a variety of loan types,” says Brent Holman-Gomez, Cambridge Senior Vice President. “Cambridge has been so good at funding mortgages via HUD, our other capabilities are missed.”
He points to Cambridge’s recent closings to illustrate transactions where Operators purchased the property they were leasing. The Abington of Glenview transaction included a $20,000,000 Signature Bridge Loan and a $1,000,000 asset-based loan for the borrower. The client had effected a turnaround of the facility with the option of purchasing, but sought to minimize equity to make the purchase. Cambridge was able to come up with options that made the deal workable for both the borrower and the lender.
Similarly, Cambridge funded an operator’s purchase of its facilities from a REIT landlord at the end of 2017. The Ide Management Portfolio of 10 SNFs was highly structured to include various stakeholders in the Indiana UPL reimbursement system. Cambridge arranged a variety of debt to fund the buyout of the lease, lowering capital costs.
Holman-Gomez has been with Cambridge since 1996. He points out that Cambridge has always been a gateway for clients, providing access to new capital that comes into the market and introducing owners and operators of senior housing to new capital sources.
Cambridge specializes in working with skilled nursing and senior living facilities, and, as such, has developed a proficiency in the industry and its workings. That includes a thorough understanding SNF reimbursement including UPL, IGT, QIPP and other payment and structuring factors. Additionally, it has worked with borrowers in all stages of operations: acquisition, refinancing, recapitalization, and expansion/remodeling of senior living properties.
“Sometimes HUD is the best way for a client to go, sometimes it’s not,” Holman-Gomez adds. Depending on a client’s unique situation, “sometimes it’s a combination of different types of funding.”
