AmeriSphere Partners with Mutual of Omaha, Stearns Bank to Provide Construction to Permanent Financing for LIHTC Properties

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorOmaha, Neb.–AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance LLC has partnered with Mutual of Omaha and Stearns Bank to provide a single source for construction and permanent financing for multifamily projects developed using Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). The AmeriSphere program will provide construction and permanent financing in a single execution. “The benefit for this is for the borrower to lock the interest rate for the permanent loan at the commencement of development,” Scott Suttle, senior vice president at AmeriSphere, tells MHN. The borrower thus won’t have to pay double interest, which would be the case if the rate were negotiated after construction. Additionally, Suttle says, “In this case, we have one set of documents that govern both [loans].”Currently, AmeriSphere is working on its first transactions, all of which will have a minimum $3 million permanent loan.  Additionally, borrowers will be those developers with at least 10 LIHTC properties.AmeriSphere chose the partnership with Mutual of Omaha and Stearns Bank because of their experiences in the LIHTC arena, Suttle explains.