TODAY’S DEALS: Franklin Street Closes $850K Sale of REO Property in Tampa

Tampa, Fla.–Franklin Street Real Estate Services oversaw the sale of Las Villas Apartments, located at 1503 E. 142nd Ave. in Tampa.

The sale of the 61-unit property with 38,620 rentable square feet, built in 1974, closed for $850,000, which translates to $13,934 per unit and $22.01 per square foot.

Franklin Street’s Managing Directors Darron Kattan and Bob Goldfinger, and Director Kevin Kelleher represented both parties in the transaction. The seller, EM Apartments LLC, foreclosed on the property in February 2010. A Canadian investment group purchased the property in a Real Estate Owned (REO) sale.

“The property was approximately 50 percent occupied at the time of sale,” says Kelleher. “The buyer plans to make improvements to the property in order to shorten the time it will take to stabilize operations.”

Las Villas Apartments consists of concrete block construction with stucco exterior walls and an asphalt parking lot. There are five two-story buildings, all with newly renovated roofs. The community offers spacious 630-sq.-ft. one-bedroom units, and is located in Northeast Tampa, with easy access to I-275 and I-75.

Located within the sub-market is the University of South Florida, one of the largest universities in the nation and the second-largest in Florida.

JCR/UIP acquires two Washington apartment buildings

Washington–A partnership between Urban Investment Partners (UIP) of Washington and The JCR Companies (JCR) of Arlington, Va. has acquired two apartment buildings in the Brightwood neighborhood of Washington for $6.3 million. The JCR Companies provided 90 percent of the equity and UIP provided 10 percent. The two buildings are: The Rockford with 66 units at 1444 Rock Creek Ford Road, NW and 1371 Peabody Street, NW with 14 units.

This is the third apartment building in Brightwood that UIP has acquired in partnership with JCR. The first was the 55-unit Homestead Apartments at 812 Jefferson Street NW, which the partnership acquired in September of 2010. The two most recent acquisitions are the final components of the “The Brightwood Trio” totaling 135 units with a total acquisition cost of $9.9 million.

“These three apartment properties reflect our core business plan of investing in well-located infill assets in the Washington, D.C. market,” says Joe Reger, Managing Partner of The JCR Companies. “We are hoping to invest $15-20 million of equity into this product type in the next 24 months.”

“We have been prolific buyers of real estate in this very stable and quiet residential upper Northwest neighborhood,” says Steve Schwat, UIP Principal. “We now own and or manage more than 400 apartment homes in this submarket, and we are on track to acquire more in 2011.”

Johnson Capital’s closes two Chicago apartment loans

Chicago–Johnson Capital has secured the financing for two small apartment buildings in Chicago through Fannie Mae’s small loan program. The loans were closed by Adam Klingher, director of the company’s Midwest Multifamily Lending Group. One of the properties is located on the city’s north side in the Rogers Park Neighborhood while the other is in the Beverly neighborhood on the south side.

The Rogers Park property is a three-story courtyard building with 27 units that was constructed in the 1920s and  renovated within the past ten years. It contains 21 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units. The Beverly property is a three-story building with 43 units that was also constructed in the 1920s and renovated in the past ten years. It contains 35 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom units. The borrower is a local investor who obtained a 10-year non-recourse loan with a fixed interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule.

“These transactions show how long-term financing is obtainable for well-located and managed properties in all neighborhoods of Chicago,” says Mr. Klingher. “While loans are more difficult to get than in previous years, capital is available and at good rates and terms.”