Cut-Rate, All-Cash Bid Wins Old Town Asset

SCOTTSDALE, AZ-A 17-unit vacant complex within walking distance of Old Town Scottsdale has been sold to a private investor for $1.15 million, a below-market rate for its location. The new owner plans to invest $15,000 per unit into rehabbing the vintage complex, Kalarama Apartments.

Jahangir Hashemi of Glendale, AZ acquired the asset at 4002 N. Kalarama Ave. for $67,000 per unit from Kalarama LLC of Phoenix. In its neighborhood, the bare minimum for buy-ins is $80,000 to $100,000 per unit.

“This was a quick cash deal, reduced in price because the seller was halfway through a substantial rehab project and ran out of money,” explains William Hahn, managing director of Sperry Van Ness in Phoenix, who teamed with adviser Trevor Koskovich on behalf of the buyer. “The buyer liked where it was and it was cheap so he bought it.”

According to a report filed with the city’s development review board in 2005, Kalarama LLC intended to totally renovate the 1960s-era apartments on the 1.2-acre parcel and call the project Windstone Townhomes. The original plan called demolishing the apartments and building new.

Hahn says the developer ran out of money and the condo market crashed, necessitating the sale. Jason Abrams with Keller Williams Arizona Realty in Scottsdale represented the seller.

Hahn says the new owner will put a lot of work into the interiors. Depending on the types of finishes, he tells GlobeSt.com that the new owner could end up with units valued at $100,000 to $110,000 apiece. “This is a great location, less than one mile east of Scottsdale Road and just below Indian School Road,” Hahn adds. “Most people say that Indian School Road and Scottsdale is the heart of Old Town Scottsdale so the buyer has something that will work well.”