All business is complicated, but when it comes to the senior housing industry, some businesses are less “typical” than others. It’s one thing to be a senior living operator. It’s even more complex when you’re in the business of both operating a facility and owning the property on which the facility is located.
The Sandy River Company of Maine is one of those “atypical” business. It has a foot in two different sectors: one in the senior housing/healthcare business and one in the real estate business. A client of Cambridge’s with an ongoing relationship, “Sandy River’s story is quite unique,” says Cambridge Chairman Jeffrey Davis.
The company, which previously owned and operated facilities throughout the state of Maine, sold the operating side of the business to Genesis Health Care several years ago. However, it retained ownership of the properties themselves and leased them back to Genesis, making Sandy River a real estate holder and landlord.
It also created an interesting dynamic when it came to obtaining HUD funding for its properties. “We’re not your typical HUD client,” admitted Michael Tyler, Managing Partner for the Sandy River Company. Fortunately, Tyler also knows, “Cambridge is not your typical HUD lender.”
The rules, regulations and qualifications surrounding HUD funding are prolific, detailed and specific. Not only that, “the rules do not bend,” says Davis. “The challenge with Sandy River was finding the right financers and then ensuring that Sandy River was able to satisfy the legion of requirements set out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
Fortunately for Sandy River, there is no one that knows HUD quite like Cambridge Realty Capital. “Over the years, we’ve done a ton of HUD financing with Cambridge,” Tyler pointed out. Having also worked in the past with other HUD lenders, Tyler quickly learned “how important it is for the HUD lender to stay atop the many rules and regulations that apply to this funding product.”
Tyler appreciates the fact that Cambridge has a long track record of providing healthcare and senior housing financing solutions. “With Cambridge, what you get is a very knowledgeable, hands-on team of problem solvers that fully understands how the process is intended to work.”
Tyler has worked primarily with Cambridge President Andrew Erkes and Cambridge Vice President Tony Marino and has been exceptionally pleased with the attention and solid advice he has received from them. That includes the latest in changes to the HUD lending program. “[They] can be relied upon to stay abreast of changing rules and regulations at HUD… including changes that have occurred in mid-stream while we were in the process of closing on a loan. In every imaginable situation the company has repeatedly helped us find the best way forward,” Tyler commented.
