SEEING A COMMUNITY NEED… AND AN OPPORTUNITY

The idea of PHL materialized as the founding partners saw the need for a different type of credit provider. Very few Mortgage Investment Companies (MICs) originate from understanding the lending side of the business—which is the basis of their experience. They truly enjoyed getting to know their clients and seeing opportunities beyond the comfort of rigid national bank guidelines. They also knew their mortgage and real estate experience would give them an advantage in assessing risk and understanding hidden opportunities.

BUILT ON A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

It was a formula for success. Today, PHL Capital has grown from a small fund into one of British Columbia’s leading MICs with over $500M in assets under management. Through the company’s proven and established underwriting process, PHL has provided exceptional returns to investors while providing a much needed solution for borrowers.

IT’S ABOUT PEOPLE AND THEIR FUTURES

Most importantly, PHL enjoy bringing investors and borrowers together, to fuel the economic growth in communities across British Columbia. At the same time, they’re helping companies and individuals build the futures wealth.

What inspires the team at PHL the most is bringing people together in win-win situations. PHL takes pride in building strong relationships and seeing how they help people achieve their goals.

LAND DEVELOPMENT FINANCING

PHL Capital’s land financing program provides the flexibility that conventional lenders cannot. The program was built with an understanding of the challenges developers face with Municipal timelines and tough bank requirements.  As a result, PHL takes a common-sense approach to helping its clients. As an equity-based lender, their guidelines are centered around the value of the real estate.  In fact, PHL can lend up to 75% of the value of a property.

Many developers have a difficult time finding financing within the early stages of their development application, as many conventional lenders require municipal approvals to be in place. PHL understands how this can prove to be a challenge and has comfort with lending on raw developable land and providing bridge financing solutions that many developers need.

PHL offers fully open mortgage loans, meaning borrowers can pay out their loans at any time without penalty. Their loans are typically 1 – 2-year terms with interest only payments and they have the ability to entertain loans up to $50,000,000, making them one of the most unique and sought-after alternative lenders in the Province.

A recent example is a file where PHL Capital lent on an existing apartment building that was designated for high-rise density in the OCP. The borrowers were paying for the development potential and the building did not have long-term leases in place, as they wanted to vacate the building in preparation for the new development. Their bank declined the file as it did not work on an income approach. PHL stepped in and financed the project given the strong value in the land and experience and strength of the borrower. The borrowing group took the project through to 3rd reading and then sold the property, essentially doubling their initial investment and successfully repaying PHL’s loan. These are the win-win situations PHL strives to help its customers with.

This is just one of many examples where PHL took a common sense approach and understood the underlying value of the asset, which gave our clients an opportunity to execute a profitable plan.

Whether land financing is required for acquisition, servicing, or as an inventory loan, PHL Capital has the flexibility required to support today’s everchanging and evolving development sector.

By: Aaron Duhra, PHL Capital