MC Cos. Buys Texas Apartment Property from TIC

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

San Antonio–MC Cos. has acquired the Overlook Apartments in San Antonio, a two-story, garden-style property with 411 units. Going forward, MC Residential of Texas, the company’s in-house management group, will oversee the daily operations of the property, which is being renamed the Place at Overlook.

The property dates from 1985 and is currently 94 percent occupied. It features floor plans ranging from studios to two-bedroom/two-bathroom units. A clubhouse, fitness center, business center, sports court, sand volleyball court and swimming pools are all located within the security gates. The Place at Overlook is near I-10, between I-410 and Texas 1604 (locally known as Loop 410 and Loop 1604) in the northwestern part of the metro area, located close to two of the city’s larger employers, South Texas Medical Center and USAA.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based MC’s strategy in the current economic climate is to seek out “cash-flowing properties with upside potential” for its investors. The company is planning to make some improvements to the San Antonio property–“to update the units to enhance the community residents’ living experience,” it notes–though it declined to specify exactly how much the improvement outlay will cost.

MC also says it is on the hunt for well-located apartment properties with motivated sellers–in particular, land acquisitions and properties of more than 200 units in Arizona, Oklahoma and favorable Texas markets such as San Antonio, which has one of the healthiest metro economies in the nation.

“There were 15 offers and we closed in less than 90 days,” Ken McElroy, principal with MC Cos., tells MHN, referring to the Overlook acquisition. “The seller of this property was a TIC and was motivated to sell. There are still a good number of sellers in most markets, but finding good deals in the last 90 to 120 days has been more difficult with rising prices, rising rents, lower vacancy and lower capitalization rates.”