TODAY’S DEALS: SARES•REGIS Launches Value-Add Fund

Irvine, Calif.—SARES•REGIS Group has launched the SARES•REGIS Multifamily Fund, which closed with more than $100 million in equity commitments that can be leveraged to acquire more than $300 million in assets, according to fund CEO Geoffrey Stack. SARES•REGIS co-sponsored the fund with Penn Square Real Estate Group.

“The fund has a focused, well-defined, value-add strategy to purchase, manage, reposition, aggressively operate and sell high-quality multifamily assets in major western U.S. markets,” says Stack, who also is a SARES•REGIS Group Managing Director.

Stack adds that the fund is aimed at a diverse portfolio of properties located primarily in Coastal California, Seattle, Denver, Portland and Phoenix.

“Garden-style, mid-rise and high-rise assets will be considered. The focused strategy of the fund, which is comprised of a select group of larger institutional investors, allows for immediate deployment of capital to take advantage of numerous value-add acquisition opportunities,” Stack says.

Landmark Apartment Trust to buy management operations of Elco Landmark Residential Holdings

Richmond, Va.—Landmark Apartment Trust of America Inc. has acquired the management operations, including certain property management contracts, of Elco Landmark Residential Holdings and its affiliates for approximately $30 million and the assumption of certain liabilities.

“The strategic acquisition of ELRH’s management operations fully internalizes LATA’s property management operations, allowing it to eliminate the management services currently provided by ELRH associated with the properties currently owned by LATA, resulting in an increase in each property’s net operating income (NOI) and enhancing the Company’s overall value,” says Stanley Olander, CEO of Landmark Apartment Trust of America.

Particular assets in the deal include:

• The elimination of property management services on 22 assets consisting of 6,433 units either owned by or soon to-be-owned by LATA , which were contributed to LATA as part of the $536.5 million recapitalization transaction it completed with ELRH on August 6, 2012.
• Property management contracts on additional assets that are currently owned and managed by ELRH.
• Property management contracts on a to-be-determined number of assets related to ELRH’s private label arrangement with Timbercreek Asset Management as manager of the Timbercreek U.S. Multi-Residential Opportunity Fund, which Fund was formed to acquire and operate assets identified for purchase by ELRH that may be contributed to LATA in the future. The consideration for this portion of the transaction is variable and structured as an earn-out based on the ultimate size of the fund

Lee & Associates’ Berzack Group sells 52-unit asset in Calif.

Van Nuys, Calif.—Lee & Associates’ Berzack Group has sold Terraces at the Lake, a 52-unit community located in Van Nuys, Calif. The property was acquired by a private capital investor for $9.2 million after attracting seven offers, accoding to Warren Berzack, president of The Berzack Group and a principal of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura.

“We’ve seen extremely low cap rates and expedited sales on Class A buildings for some time now, but as demand continues to outstrip supply, we are now seeing similar results in the Class B sector,” Berzack says. “Investors are increasingly moving to assets like Terraces at the Lake because it is institutional quality asset located in a desirable San Fernando Valley neighborhood in Los Angeles.”

The rent controlled property sold in just five months from the time it was listed. The transaction price translates to a 5.3 percent cap rate.