HOUSTON-Triple Net Properties LLC has added a second multifamily property in the region to its portfolio in an off-market deal with the Lynd Co. If all goes as planned, the tenants-in-common buyer will have a third complex earmarked to buy in 60 to 90 days in a stepped-up focus to expand its Greater Houston footprint.
The Santa Ana, CA-based Triple Net secured a $12.45-million loan to close on the 243-unit Chartwell Court at 15100 Ella Blvd. in the northwest submarket about eight miles from the Texas Medical Center and five miles north of Bush Intercontinental Airport. The 92%-leased asset is collateralizing a 10-year loan with a fixed rate and five years of interest-only payments, says Gus Remppies, senior vice president of acquisitions for Triple Net. The Charlotte, NC-based Wachovia Bank is the lender.
"If we could find the right deals, we'd like to buy three or four in Houston this year," Remppies tells GlobeSt.com. "We're seeing a lot coming to market. Within 60 to 90 days, we'll identify our next piece of property." Triple Net broke into the region's multifamily market in July 2005, acquiring the 252-unit Park at Spring Creek Apartments at 29807 Tomball Pkwy. in Tomball.
The buying criteria is at least 200 units in high-growth submarkets and no older than 25 years. There is no set allocation to spend or any defined cap on deal size. "We're pretty flexible," Remppies says, adding even $100,000 per unit or higher tags for class A complexes will get a look. "We wouldn't shy away from that right now."
Remppies can't discuss Chartwell Court's sale price, but it's a class B-plus, 12-year-old asset with a class A amenity wrapping. In Greater Houston, class B complexes built in the late 1980s and 1990s are fetching $50,000 to $80,000 per unit.
Remppies says Chartwell Court was bought as a five-year hold. The 19-building complex is positioned on 14 acres. The one- and two-bedroom apartments all have attached garages, nine-foot ceilings and slate foyers. Units average 1,043 sf; rents average $875 per month. The take-over budget includes $550,000 for upgrades in the next two years, according to Reppies. Carbon-Thompson in Dallas will lease and manage the asset.
The San Antonio-based Lynd Co. did have Todd Stewart, senior vice president with CB Richard Ellis in Houston, negotiate its terms. The seller acquired the asset in June 2004.
Remppies credits Triple Net's stepped-up focus to the region's diversified economic base and marked climb in job growth. "In years past, Houston was very much a one-horse town with oil and gas and energy," he says. "In the past five years, there's been a huge effort to diversify." In the multifamily sector, concessions consequently are burning off despite their use being standard practice across the board. "The good news is bottom-line net operating income is seeing growth for the first time," Remppies says.
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