By Matt Valley PHILADELPHIA — Despite industry-wide improvement in operating performance, many senior living providers are still finding it difficult to secure bank financing. Kathleen Shields, founder and president of Health Financing Consultants, said there are three root causes of the problem, starting with insufficient cash flow. “Operators have done a good job of pushing through [rental] rate increases in order to keep up with inflation and higher interest rates. So, the margins are normalizing and getting a little bit better. But banks are looking for historical cash flow of at least six months, if not 12, at coverage levels that they’re comfortable with. And I’m not hearing 1.25 anymore [for the debt-service coverage ratio]. I’m hearing more like 1.4,” explained Shields, a panelist at the InterFace Seniors Housing Northeast conference, which took place Dec. 4-5 in Philadelphia. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. “It depends on the lender, but you do need to have a track record of historical cash flow that supports your request, and that’s not easy,” emphasized Shields. The other two main …
