Western Wealth Capital Grabs AZ Property

By Jeffrey Steele

North Vancouver, B.C.-based real estate investment company Western Wealth Capital (WWC) has acquired Country Gables, a 139-unit Glendale, Ariz., apartment community that represents its 35^th multifamily acquisition in the Greater Phoenix area. WWC and its partner investors acquired Country Gables for $12.3 million.

Factoring in WWC’s expanding footprint in Texas, its purchases now total $499.5 million, most of which purchases have been made in the past three years. In terms of number of units owned, WWC is now the second largest multifamily property owner in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Built in the 1980s, Country Gables offers considerable opportunity for value-add upgrades. For instance, most apartments retain their original interior features. Almost three quarters of units have connections for, but no installations of, washers and dryers.

Unusually high vacancies

“We see ourselves as drivers of scalable growth,” WWC CEO Janet LePage told MHN. “To achieve that, we have an investment model and business strategy that works, and we are exceptionally disciplined in following that, time and time again. We have our own checklist that we do not deviate from. We target multi-family properties where we can physically increase the net operating income, above and beyond natural appreciation.

“We like communities located close to major transit routes and employers; apartment buildings that have unusually high vacancy rates and are not maintained or operated to the levels we expect. Country Gables ticked off a lot of the boxes we like.”

Among the community’s amenities are resort-style swimming pool, barbecue grill and picnic areas and on-site laundry facilities. Apartment features include private patios or balconies, spacious closets, ceiling fans, dishwashers and built-in microwave ovens.

Located at 15010 N. 59^th Avenue, Glendale, in the Northwest Valley, the apartment community is close to employment centers that include Arizona State University, Banner Thunderbird Medical Centre, Thunderbird School of Global Management and two area hospitals. Nearby recreation includes the Peoria Sports Complex, Paseo Racquet Center and Arizona Canal Trail. Residents also have access to I-17 and Loop 101.

Divesting when necessary

WWC’s is governed by a disciplined multi-stage strategy. The stages are acquiring undervalued multifamily properties, allocating capital to accretive improvements, optimizing operations to increase net cash flow and valuation, refinancing to return investors’ equity and—when appropriate—divesting.

WWC’s disciplined adherence to its investment strategy and good working relationships with industry partners have yielded consistently strong operating results and investor returns. “Our track record is building our reputation for executing on our precise business model,” says LePage. “A growing investor base, including the participation of private equity groups, is enabling WWC to create scalable growth at a robust pace.”

The Country Gables acquisition was brokered by senior managing director Cliff David of Marcus & Millichap, and senior managing director Steve Gebing of institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap.