MESA, AZ-Less than a year after entering the region with its buyof the Ferntree and Colonnade Gardens apartmentcomplexes, Gelt Inc. added the 269-unitWaterstone Apartments to its Phoenix areaportfolio. The California buyer acquired the multifamily propertythrough Auction.com, paying $11.3 million for theclass B, 85%-occupied Waterstone.

Adrian Goldstein with Gelt tellsGlobeSt.com that there was at first sometrepidation in buying the complex at 1651 S. Dobson Rd. through anauction service. However, "as we started to get into it andfollowed the procedures, it became enjoyable," he comments. "Theonly caution is you really have to know what you're doing. You canspend a whole lot of time upfront conducting due diligence and endup not getting the deal."

Goldestein explains that Waterstone came to Gelt's attentionabout a year ago; at that time, it had been headed towardforeclosure under the auspices of special servicerLNR. "We liked what we saw, we tracked it, andeventually it was picked up by Auction.com," he says, adding thatGelt was well prepared to buy the asset. JeffSherman of Colliers International helpedbroker the transaction, while Chuck Wolter ofArchetype Mortgage arranged a $7 million bridgeloan to help facilitate the transaction.