Mac-Tex Properties Marks First Closing in Texas

SAN ANTONIO-More than 23 years after building the 159-unit Summer Place Apartments, the local developer has passed it to an investor from Miami. The first-time Texas buyer has paid close to the $3.5-million ask for the class B asset in the northwest submarket.

Michael Miller, associate partner with Hendricks & Partners in San Antonio, says Seymour Palans Co. built seven or eight complexes throughout the San Antonio area during the 1980s. Summer Place Apartments at 1474 Hillcrest Dr., which has been sold to Mac-Tex Properties, was the last of Palans' holdings.

"He started selling off these apartment buildings 10 years ago. Most of them had been sold by five or six years ago," Miller tells GlobeSt.com. "He'd kept this one the longest because it was the easiest for him to manage, but ultimately he wanted to retire." Miller and Hendricks & Partners senior investment adviser Chris Ross brokered the deal.

Mac-Tex Properties is "looking for properties that are undervalued due either to mismanagement or down units," Miller says. "The buyer liked this because 30 of the units were vacant and it was under-rented. He felt he could manage it more efficiently, get the down units up on line, raise the rents and lease them up."

Situated on 4.3 acres, the 10-building Summer Place has studios and one- and two-bedroom units, ranging from 396 sf to 960 sf. Monthly rents are $360 to $550.

Despite the asset's age, Miller says many full-price offers were received. "That surprised me," he acknowledges. "With what's going on with lending today, with the turmoil in the capital markets, it's tough to get a loan on a multifamily property. But we saw a lot of activity on this."

Miller says Mac-Tex's good credit rating helped with the financing. Indymac Bancorp Inc. of Pasadena, CA provided financing, which was arranged through Liberty Lending Direct in Grapevine.