BOSTON – November 7, 2023 – Senior citizens and residents with disabilities living at the 44-unit Shawme Heights Apartments in Sandwich will have affordable rents extended for the long term and the property will see approximately $1.6 million in improvements as a result of $6.2 million in MassHousing financing.

The non-profit Sandwich Senior Housing Corporation refinanced the property through MassHousing's Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP)/Ginnie Mae Joint Venture program with partner lender Rockport Mortgage Corporation.

"The Shawme Heights Apartments are an important source of affordable housing for seniors and residents with disabilities on Cape Cod and this transaction will not only extend their affordable rents for the long term, but significant improvements will be made to the property for their comfort and safety," said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay.

"The Sandwich Senior Housing Corporation is excited to continue to provide the community with excellent affordable housing for our residents at Shawme Heights. This refinance will assist in funding renovations and upgrades, continuing to provide our residents with wonderful living quarters," said Board of Directors President Joseph F. Giampietro.

MassHousing offers the MAP/Ginnie Mae loan program to the owners of rental housing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD provides expedited Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance approvals through the MAP program. MassHousing has surpassed $2 billion in cumulative MAP lending and the Agency has built the largest MAP lending program of any state housing finance agency in the nation.

The combination of FHA insurance and a Ginnie Mae guarantee enables borrowers to access taxable mortgage financing with lower interest rates, while preserving and extending affordability for hundreds of low-income individuals, senior citizens and families. MassHousing provided the property owner with a $6.2 million, 35-year permanent loan.

"We are very pleased to have worked with the Sandwich Senior Housing Corporation and MassHousing on the refinance and extension of affordability of this important housing asset for the community of Sandwich," said Dan Lyons, Managing Partner of Rockport Mortgage. "In addition to extending the affordability of Shawme Heights, this transaction finances both community and in-unit upgrades, providing benefits to the seniors who call Shawme Heights home."

The 44 apartments at Shawme Heights are subsidized by a federal Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract. As part of the transaction, Sandwich Senior Housing Corporation executed a new 20-year HAP contract, which will include four years remaining on the previous contract. The transaction will extend affordability at the property for 24 years.

The Shawme Heights Apartments are located at 5 Leverage Lane in central Sandwich and are contained in a two-story building with 41 one-bedroom apartments and three two-bedroom apartments. The property also includes a community room, community kitchen, laundry room, outdoor space, and shares a meeting room, fitness center, library and a hairdresser with the adjacent Shawme Heights II Apartments.

Among the improvements slated for the property are unit upgrades, exterior door, window and siding replacement, gutter and downspout replacement, roofing upgrades, elevator upgrades, security camera upgrades, emergency generator replacement, medical alert system upgrades, common area kitchen upgrade and common area carpet replacement.

The management agent is C.A.N. Property Management Services, LLC.

In addition to financing for Shawme Heights, MassHousing has provided home mortgage loans to 255 homebuyers and homeowners in Sandwich with an original purchase principal balance of $35.4 million.

About MassHousing's MAP/Ginnie Mae Initiative

MassHousing has partnered with two well-known and experienced MAP lenders: CBRE and Rockport Mortgage Corporation. The MAP lender prepares the submission of each transaction for HUD’s approval. MassHousing then closes the new loan and issues a Ginnie Mae Mortgage Backed Security (MBS), which has consistently provided the multifamily mortgage industry its most competitive long term, taxable interest rates.

With each MAP/Ginnie Mae loan, MassHousing continues as the mortgagee of record and becomes a Ginnie Mae servicer. This ensures affordability, as each completed transaction will require the property owner to rent at least 20 percent of the units to those earning less than 80 percent of the area median income. Affordability at many properties could be at risk were MassHousing unable to offer this product, as owners could refinance with other lenders who do not require affordability restrictions.

About Rockport Mortgage Corporation

Rockport Mortgage Corporation is a privately owned commercial mortgage banking firm founded in 1992 and located on the North Shore of Boston. Rockport specializes in providing FHA-insured loans to market-rate, affordable and senior housing communities and healthcare facilities through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and has been approved under HUD’s Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Program since the program inception in 2001. The Rockport team works collectively to navigate the complexities of FHA/HUD-insured finance programs, developing strategic solutions to meet the needs of our clients. For more information about Rockport Mortgage Corporation please visit www.rockportmortgage.com. 

About MassHousing

MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 and charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve affordable and/or mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations, although it administers some publicly funded programs on behalf of the Commonwealth. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $29.5 billion for affordable housing. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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