Gantry, the largest independent commercial mortgage banking firm in the U.S., has secured a $14 million permanent loan for a 260-site manufactured housing community located in Fresno, Calif. The property covers 37.5-acres and offers extensive landscaping and amenities, including a clubhouse, pool, spa, sauna, playground, basketball courts, game & billiard tables, library, picnic area, pond and RV storage. The property is still owned and operated by its original developer, who has enjoyed significant long-term appreciation and stable occupancy through active management and maintenance of the property’s country club styled environment.

Gantry’s Patrick Barkley, Principal, Chad Metzger, Senior Associate, and Andrew Christopherson, Associate, represented the borrower, a private real estate investor. The five-year, non-recourse, fixed rate loan was secured from one of Gantry’s insurance correspondents with full-term interest only. Gantry will service the loan for the lender.

According to Gantry’s Patrick Barkley, “Gantry’s roster of insurance company lenders has a strong appetite for manufactured housing financing and are winning these types of financing opportunities with maximum loan proceeds, prepayment flexibility and attractive interest rates. Unlike agency loans that can require additional operating restrictions or banks that often price at a wider spread with recourse terms, insurance companies have simplified the process. They essentially rely on sponsor experience, historic performance, residual land value, and debt service coverage to comfortably underwrite fixed rate loans that can include full term interest only.”