COMMERCE, TX-A North Texas homebuilder, staking his first multifamily property claim, has paid 97% of the $2-million ask for a foreclosed complex in an outlying city east of Dallas. The 100-unit Village Apartments has traded with 20 renovated units and enough construction materials to finish the balance.

John Applewhite, an independent broker, represented the local buyer, who bested 16 other offers for the 33%-leased complex at 2231 Live Oak St., according to the deal's broker. Sam Pettigrew, vice president for the Cantrell Co. in Dallas, and associate Elliott Carpenter took the deal full circle with an eight-day run on the market, 18-day inspection period and closing 68 days later for Orix Capital Markets LLC, the asset's Chicago-based special servicer and master services that initiated the foreclosure against the former owner of the class C, 35-year-old complex.

Pettigrew tells GlobeSt.com that the high interest came from the $20-per-sf asking price for an asset that the servicer had shown could reap $100 more per month in rent from each renovated apartment by starting the work and including construction materials with a six-digit value as a buying incentive. "People were all over the deal," Pettigrew says, adding the new owner is a custom homebuilder with the built-in ability to quickly complete the renovation and start collecting on the upside.

Pettigrew says Applewhite secured new financing from Request Capital of Southlake. Situated on seven acres near a Texas A&M satellite campus with 8,500 students, the eight-building complex is a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 655 sf to 1,248 sf. Pre-renovation rents are $480, $580 and $680 per month.