Rhode Island Housing’s Board of Commissioners approved the refinancing of an $11,400,000 mortgage for Washington Hill Apartments in Lincoln, RI, ensuring that the development will remain affordable for at least 40 years.
The refinancing was made possible by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Risk Sharing program. Risk Share provides credit enhancement for mortgages of multifamily housing projects whose loans are underwritten, processed, and serviced by housing finance agencies like Rhode Island Housing. HUD and the housing finance agency share in the risk of the mortgage. Under the FFB program, Rhode Island Housing is able to provide reduced interest rates for affordable multifamily apartments. The low interest rates and affordability of the units are locked in for the length of the loan term, which is 40 years in the case of Washington Hill Apartments.
The first time Rhode Island Housing has financed a development through the FFB Risk Sharing program. Rhode Island is the third state to be approved by HUD to use the program, after New York and Massachusetts.
