Sims Mortgage Funding (SMF) had a very good 2017 – here are some of our highlights:
- We closed loans for market-rate multifamily housing, affordable housing preservation, skilled nursing, and hospital projects in New Jersey, New York, California, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
- The largest loan was $30,112,000 for Parkview Community Hospital in Riverside, CA; the smallest loan was $2,358,000 for the Good Shepherd Community in Sauk Rapids, MN.
- The Good Shepherd loan packed a powerful punch, as it recapitalized an existing elderly affordable project, and two related properties that had no means to finance needed repairs and improvements.
- In the fourth quarter, acting in a financial advisory role, we arranged for a private lender to issue term sheets for “bridge to HUD” loans for a four-facility, skilled nursing home acquisition in Vermont, and for a bridge to US Department of Agriculture guaranteed loans for the purchase of two rural hospitals in Tennessee.
- We closed out the year by filing $141 million in HUD applications for multifamily housing and hospital construction projects in Louisiana.
Ever the optimists, we expect the good times to continue this year. We are now one year and change into the Trump administration, and HUD’s multifamily and healthcare mortgage insurance platforms continue to function effectively, even though there still are high-level leadership positions at HUD unfilled.
Relief is on the way. Last year, the White House nominated Brian Montgomery as the FHA Commissioner, a position he held in the Bush 43 Administration and through most of the first year of the Obama administration. The Senate Banking Committee approved Montgomery, but his nomination was not voted on by the full Senate – a testament to the political gridlock that has become de rigeur these days. Montgomery had to be re-nominated by the White House, and must be reapproved by the Banking Committee before a full floor vote by the Senate can be taken.
Let’s hope the second time is the charm, as Brian’s leadership and experience could be instrumental in making HUD’s mortgage insurance programs even more effective, and user-friendly this year, and beyond.
