Aries Capital, LLC has closed on the financing for an 87-unit Holiday Inn Express in Niagara Falls, New York. Constructed in 2009, the property is the newest hotel in Niagara Falls and is owned by borrower Mohan Saran, who owns hotels with his partners in New York and South Carolina.

“It truly was a pleasure to work with the team at Aries,” said Paul Saran, Saran’s son.   “As first time CMBS borrowers, we appreciated how they thoroughly explained the process at every stage so we felt at ease.  Also, they helped us secure favorable terms on a complicated deal in which closing had to occur by a certain date.  I cannot recommend them highly enough and will most certainly use them again on future transactions.”

In this transaction, the borrower received an $8,500,000 CMBS loan with a five-year, fixed-rate term. The non-recourse loan features a 25-year amortization period and cash out – well above the borrower’s original cost basis. An existing payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) mortgage on the property complicated the transaction, requiring approvals to be obtained from the agencies to finalize the deal.  Adding to the complexity, a pay-off provision on the existing debt made timing critical during the already condensed holiday season.

When approvals from agencies are required, timing can be a concern. It often takes an extended period for requests to move through an agency’s authorization process. By the time Aries had finalized the legal requirements and received loan approval, the borrower had less than two days to close before incurring an additional pre-payment penalty due to the pay-off provisions on the existing SBA debt.  Fortunately, everyone was able to move forward quickly and meet the critical deadline.