Franklin Street Real Estate Services announced the sale of a 112-unit apartment community in Miami Gardens for $6,050,000 or $54,017.86 per unit.
Deme Mekras, Elliot Shainberg, and David Reinke, all of Franklin Street Real Estate Services, represented the seller, a local investor George Dancea. The buyer is a local investor, led by Joseph Lehman.
“The buyer was the most aggressive of the 11 bidders we had,” Mekras said. “He was the one that that saw the most upside in the property and was confident in his ability to capture it. As a result he was willing to pay more than the rest and take the risk for the privilege of owning 100+ units of infill Miami-Dade apartments.”
The Franklin Street team was also instrumental in navigating a requirement of the trade, that the buyer must finance the deal with the existing lender, Mercantil Commercebank.
The buyer plans on spending close to $1 million in renovations including new cabinets and flooring, adding an electronic entry gate and repaving the parking lot, all to improve the quality of the tenant base and to boost rents.
“Through multiple renovations the buyer will be able to increase the value and net operating income of the property,” Mekras said. Mekras also noted the rents for the property were the lowest in the comparable area signaling potential buyers to see the true upside in renovations.
“Very few value-add opportunities over 100 units are left in South Florida,” Shainberg said. “So when these kinds of properties become available on the market, there is a lot of investor demand.”
Built in 1972, 611 NW 177 Street is a concrete block apartment community consisting of five buildings, each with two stories situated on 4.08 acres of land. The property is located two blocks west of SR-441 and within walking distance to a Walmart Supercenter. Download PDF
