ATLANTA-A private investor from Connecticut paid $4.9 million, or $38,000 per unit, for the Gardens at Briarwood, formerly known as the Highlands at Sutton Place, a 130-unit lender-owned multifamily property in Atlanta.

JMG Realty, a third-party management company based in Atlanta, which was the receiver, was technically the owner of the 43-year-old property, says Paul Vetter, an associate vice president and director of the National Multi-Housing Group at Marcus & Millichap in Atlanta, who represented the receiver in the transaction. CW Capital was the special servicer.

In May 2009, when the receiver was appointed for the property, the occupancy was 65%, says  Vetter. But by the time Marcus & Millichap listed the property, it was 90% occupied, he says.

Miles Properties, which owned the Highlands at Stutton Place before the receiver took over, was  overleveraged. In January 2010, the Atlanta-based company and several related entities declared Chapter 11 bankrtupcy in the Northern District of Geogia.

The Gardens at Briarwood has the advantage of being in the Buford Highway submarket, a B plus submarket which is at the backdoor of Buckhead, an upscale area, says Vetter. The property has no immediate capital needs, he says.

The Gardens at Briarwood has private patios for townhouse units and screened-in balconies for the garden-style units. Community amenities include two swimming pools with large deck areas.

In 2006 and 2007, multi-family properties in the Buford submarket sold for between $50,000 to the mid-$60,000s per unit, says Vetter. He is hopeful that The Gardens at Briarwood will do well with the new owner. He described the property “as a stabilized asset, because the receiver nursed it back to health," adding, "We received 19 offers for the property in less than 30 days of marketing," 

When the recession hit, says Vetter, rents and occupancy rates at the property. Still, occupancies should have been in the high 80s to low 90s for this submarket, he says.  Most REO assets are distressed, but today, this property does not fall in that category, says Vetter.