Fast-track success: Liberty Shores’ journey with LEAN Express Lane

The situation

Liberty Shores Senior Living is a licensed senior living community in Kitsap County, Washington, providing board and domiciliary care for up to 112 residents. The ownership group wanted to refinance existing debt and secure long-term financing to support the asset’s operations and future improvements.

HUD financing historically offers meaningful advantages for seniors housing properties, including higher proceeds and long-term fixed-rate debt, often extending 30 years or more, which can provide stability for operators and investors. However, traditional HUD processes are often perceived as time-consuming and operationally complex, which may discourage some sponsors from pursuing the program.

For the Liberty Shores team, speed and certainty were critical priorities. They needed a financing solution that could deliver the benefits of HUD while remaining competitive with conventional lending timelines.

THE SOLUTION

Walker & Dunlop structured the refinancing through the HUD Section 232/223(f) program and leveraged the LEAN Express Lane, a program launched in November 2025 designed to accelerate HUD processing for qualified healthcare transactions.

Although the front-end underwriting process remains largely the same as for a traditional HUD submission, the LEAN Express Lane significantly accelerates the final stages of approval. For Liberty Shores, the program allowed the transaction to move from HUD submission to firm commitment in just three business days, compared with the approximately three months typically required under standard processing timelines.

This streamlined approach enabled the sponsor to capture the advantages of HUD financing, including long-term fixed-rate debt and strong loan proceeds, while minimizing delays and uncertainty. As interest rates typically change very little between HUD submission and firm commitment with the express lane, the borrower had strong visibility into the financing terms early in the process.

The Result

By leveraging LEAN Express Lane, Walker & Dunlop delivered a financing solution that combined HUD’s long-term stability with the efficiency borrowers often expect from conventional lenders.

Key outcomes of the transaction included:

Accelerated approval: Firm commitment received in 3 business days, versus a typical three-month HUD timeline
Long-term financing: 420-month loan term and amortization with a low fixed rate, providing the best permanent financing for a long-term holder
Strong proceeds: $10.6 million in new loan proceeds to refinance existing debt and fund approximately $2 million in property improvements
Stable performance: Underwritten 89.4% occupancy and 3.15x DSCR supporting the financing structure

In addition to refinancing the existing capital structure, the transaction also supports property improvements and retrofits, including borrower-proposed upgrades of approximately $2 million.

The Liberty Shores transaction illustrates how the LEAN Express Lane can reshape the HUD financing experience for qualified healthcare borrowers. By significantly reducing the time required to secure a firm commitment, the program allows sponsors to access the stability of HUD financing without sacrificing speed.

For owners and operators of seniors housing assets, this approach offers a compelling combination of long-term fixed-rate debt, competitive proceeds, and a dramatically accelerated approval process.

To learn more about the benefits of Lean Express Lane and how it might accelerate your healthcare project, reach out to the Walker & Dunlop HUD financing experts.