MIAMI—WINLYND LLC has acquired 1,031 apartments out of foreclosure located in Florida's Panhandle for $35.68 million. The lender, Bank of Oklahoma, held six separate auctions.

WINLYND won three of the multifamily auctions and acquired a fourth portfolio from a competing bidder who won the first multifamily auction. The apartments are located in Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties.

“It has always been a strategy of ours to find undervalued assets and apply our management and value-add rehab expertise in order to create returns,” David Lynd, CEO of LYND and Lynd Opportunity Partners, tells GlobeSt.com. “That being said, these types of opportunities are rare in today's market. We are less focused on market-specific plays and more on the opportunity itself. If the asset aligns with our strengths and we feel our return expectations are there, we are a buyer in any geographical area.”

For LYND, this is an opportunity to be back in northwest Florida. The firm also manages properties in Jacksonville and South Florida. Nationally, LYND has a portfolio of 23,000 apartments in 11 states, mostly in the Sunbelt region and Chicago area.

“Apartments are a great asset class because they are difficult to operate,” Lynd says. “This creates mismanagement on a regular basis which creates opportunity for us since that is our strength.”

WINLYND is a joint venture between Chicago-based Windy City RE and San Antonio, Texas-based Lynd Opportunity Partners. LYND, also of San Antonio, will manage the apartments.

“This is our first acquisition together with David and his investors and we expect many more deals to follow,” says Amy Rubenstein, CFO of Windy City RE. “We have an excellent opportunity to improve the living experience for our current residents and at the same time add value to the real estate.”

Instant Insights /

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