Portland, OR. – Gantry, the largest independent commercial mortgage banking firm in the U.S., has secured a $7.5 million, cross-collateralized, permanent loan to retire construction debt from the development of a 24 Build for Rent (BFR) townhomes in Vancouver, Washington.

Gantry’s Charlie Kokernak, Director, secured the financing on behalf of the borrower, a private real estate developer. The loan features an attractive fixed rate and includes an interest only term through the entirety of the fixed period and a favorable declining prepayment penalty. Occupancy had just stabilized at time of closing.

According to Gantry’s Charlie Kokernak, “Gantry has been at the forefront of evolving commercial mortgage and related financing needs for more than three decades. The advent of the Build for Rent model has led to new underwriting demands for developments comprised of a traditional single-family format that will serve as rental units. Time was of the essence for the assignment as the existing construction loan had reached maturity and standard underwriting typically applied to conventional apartments was drastically constraining proceeds from other capital sources. In short order, Gantry was able to identify a unique lender that offered interest only terms and high enough leverage for a cash-neutral closing which enables our client to keep cash on hand for deployment into future projects. The loan met other client goals, including a fixed rate that holds a lower cost of capital than adding on mezzanine debt, plus a stepdown prepay that provides tremendous flexibility, unlike most other securitized offerings that require defeasance or yield maintenance.”