$174M Multifamily Sale Closes in Texas

The Texas Lonestar Portfolio never came to market, but it did wind its way to the closing table, with Sendera Investment Group LLC getting deeds to 11 properties in Houston, three in Dallas and one in San Antonio, Chris Davis, Sendera's vice president of asset management, tells GlobeSt.com. The properties range from a 120-unit complex in San Antonio to a 634-unit holding in Houston. Sendera and Irving-based equity partner, Overland Realty Capital LLC, have set aside $10 million for upgrades to the mostly class B portfolio, which was 92% occupied at sale time.

Henderson Land's Lawford Real Estate Investments came to Texas in 1989 and bought through the early 1990s. "It was a quiet group with a lot of cash and it bought a lot of real estate," one multifamily expert recalls to GlobeSt.com. The Li family is the majority owner of Henderson Land, a conglomerate of six public companies.

The privately held Sendera, formed in December 2001, has acquired more than 1,150 units since last June. The Texas Lonestar Portfolio was one that Sendera's founder, a former Archon Group exec, had been watching for years, according to Davis. "It was a good buy...straight up-the-middle product with a value-added component that was priced right," he says of a package now being positioned for rent hikes when the rehabs wrap up.

Sendera has a 400-unit complex under contract in Orlando while it chases more deals for a portfolio, now numbering more than 5,000 units in 21 properties in Texas and Florida. Gary E. Davis, Sendera president and founder, said "things are starting to fall in place for Sendera as we aggressively execute our plan to be a contending force in the multifamily market." Sendera also is scouting for buys in Georgia and Arizona. The buying strategy is fueled by "pooling multiple capital sources in the institutional and private capital markets to leverage these purchases," he said in the prepared statement.

H. Scott Galloway and Cortney Cole, both with Dallas-based Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP's Houston office, arranged acquisition financing through GE Capital Corp.'s Dallas office. Matthew Rotan and David Oelfke, of Southwest Residential Partners Inc. in Houston, brokered the sale.