Ziegler recently closed a $13.6 million refinancing for Mountain View Health and Rehabilitation, a skilled nursing facility owned by Altitude Health Services.
This 187-bed facility in El Paso, Texas was acquired by Altitude in 2016 using bank financing. Taking out that debt, Altitude locked in a low, fixed interest rate below 3% with non-recourse debt for 35 years thanks to the HUD refinance. Ziegler Managing Director Christopher Utz noted this new refinancing was difficult to close and had several moving parts.
One complication was a large outbreak of Covid-19 in El Paso during summer 2020, and Mountain View Health and Rehabilitation was impacted as a result. As of June 2020, when Altitude originally tried to refinance, there were 91 reported cases at the facility out of 140 total residents. Mr. Utz said HUD may have been wary of pushing forward on the deal following the outbreak due to overall negative press surrounding the facility.
However, Mountain View was very stringent when it came to following protocols and they were able to maintain their census while other facilities struggled. Mr. Utz also attributed the lengthy process to a stretched pipeline with underwriting methods that have tightened over the last 18 months. When this deal was submitted to HUD, it was coming in at the peak of the pipeline.
