New HUD 232 Handbook Makes Senior Housing Loans Easier

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a new handbook covering the Section 232 Healthcare Mortgage Insurance Program, which features the LEAN processing system.

The handbook, issued May 22, is intended to be a one-stop-shop guide to the Section 232 program, covering all aspects of production and asset management.

The new guide is the first of its kind for the program, and has been a long time coming, industry experts say.

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“Currently, if a question pops up it is either answered based upon past experience, searching through many FAQs posted on the HUD website or submitting an email to the LEAN help desk and waiting for an answer,” says Cambridge Realty Capital Ltd. of Illinois Vice President Anthony Marino. Cambridge Realty Capital facilitates HUD Lean financing, among other finance services.

The handbook will make operations easier for lenders, borrowers and others by creating a central place where they can find answers to questions that arise when determining project eligibility, loan sizing, organizational structures and more, Marino said.

Senior Vice President Michael Vaughn of Walker & Dunlop, a commercial real estate finance company, agrees that the new handbook is beneficial. 

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“This really should save everyone a lot of time and uncertainty by having it all in one place,” Vaughn says.

The handbook provisions will apply to new applications and requests for The Office of Residential Care Facilities (ORCF) action, in both production and asset management, beginning Sept. 1, and to projects already in the Section 232 pipeline or the Section 232 portfolio as of that date.

Vice President Robert Baxter of Lancaster Pollard & Co. says while the handbook provisions go into effect later this year, its issuance will help streamline processes immediately. 

“Because a number of sections within the handbook are based on previously issued guidance, we can expect its policies to be efficiently implemented and have an immediate impact on the speed and accuracy with which applications are processed,” Baxter says.

The handbook can be accessed here.

Written by Cassandra Dowell

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