CHATHAM, NJ—The Kislak Company arranged an off-market sale of a family-owned three-building multifamily portfolio with a total of 118 units in Chatham, Morris County, New Jersey for $33.1 million.

The sale is among the largest multifamily sales this year in Morris County in terms of price, Kislak says.

The portfolio includes Garden Court, with 42 units at 500 Main Street, Suburban Court, with 38 units at 525 Main Street, and Colonial Manor, with 38 units at 550 Main Street.

Joseph Keenan, vice president, represented the sellers, who were the children of the buildings' original builder. Kislak vice president Donald Baxter represented the purchaser, Madison Hill Properties, an active and expanding owner and operator of 16 multifamily properties in northern New Jersey.

“It's been in the family for two generations now, and their respective children weren't interested in taking over the properties, so it made sense to sell the properties,” Keenan tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. “There's been some activity in Morris County lately and people are willing to pay higher prices for properties in nice areas.”

“At the end of the day it came down to the individual relationships,” says Baxter of the principal seller. “Joe knew the seller and approached her many times over the years. She couldn't say enough positive things about him. The buyers were just so excited with the properties, they are an up-and-coming firm, and she just took a liking to them as well.”

“This is a true value-add opportunity,” says Keenan. “You have rents that are $200-300 below the market with no rent control. The buyers are going to put in place a renovation program and you're going to see big changes at those properties in the next several months.”

All of the properties consist of brick garden apartments with pitched roofs and on-site parking, including garages. They are located less than one mile from the Chatham train station and a NJ Transit bus service stop is directly in front of the properties.

“Joe and Don did an extraordinary job arranging the sale and guiding the transaction to closing,” says Robert Holland, Kislak president and co-managing director. “The overall price, as well as the per-unit over $280,000 demonstrates the continued strength of the multifamily market in northern New Jersey. This is especially true in a community like Chatham where multifamily properties rarely change hands.”

At the time of closing, the properties were approximately 99% occupied. The seller was represented by James Ottobre of Bourne, Noll & Kenyon of Summit, NJ. The purchaser was represented by Jay Greenfield of A.Y Straus of Roseland, NJ. Financing was arranged by Elliot Treitel of Meridian Capital Group and provided by ConnectOne Bank through loan officer Michael Straus.