NEW YORK CITY-Greystone, a provider of multifamily and healthcare mortgage loans, appears to be growing on several fronts.
The company announced that it has been approved as a national senior housing seller/servicer by Freddie Mac to originate and service multifamily seniors housing loans nationwide. Greystone also tells GlobeSt.com that it recently completed its first ever mezzanine loan for a senior living construction site, while the company has announced a new hire in its affordable housing unit.
“The elderly population is growing faster than other segments,” says Scott Kavel, managing director for Greystone's senior housing lending business, in explaining why the company sought out this relationship with Freddie Mac. “We didn't have a partnership with Freddie Mac, which is a key player within the senior world. I think Freddie has done about $600 million a year and Frannie has done two times that amount,” he says. “This partnership allows us to offer a full platform. It's just another avenue for our clients.”
Greystone was already active in the senior lending market but this new relationship enhances its position, Kavel asserts. “We already have a loan in the process of closing that turned out to be a perfect fit for the Freddie Mac program, from a leverage underwriting process standpoint,” he says. “It wasn't a fit with other products.
Meanwhile, the company also has made inroads in financing, according to Kavel. Its recent mezzanine loan provided $4.5 million for a senior property under construction in California. Kavel declines to cite further detail in terms of the facility's location or the terms of the loan.
The loan is just the beginning of Greystone's work in the senior living facility debt market, says Kavel. “We're looking to build our future book of business, and are actively looking at, and closing, other mezzanine loans in senior living.”
To be considered for the national senior housing seller/servicer designation, lenders are evaluated by Freddie Mac based on a number of qualifications, including GSE loan origination and underwriting experience for seniors housing properties, staff experience in the seniors housing market and track record of seniors housing loan performance. In addition to the new designation, Greystone is also a Freddie Mac Targeted Affordable Housing Seller/Servicer, allowing the firm to originate, underwrite and close affordable housing loans on behalf of Freddie Mac.
The company also announced Wednesday it hired Andrew Warren as director of investments of its affordable housing preservation division. A Greystone spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com that Warren's position is new for the group. The firm is building the team, she notes.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
