A Fredericksburg real estate investor is poised to take control of large swath of apartments in Richmond’s Northside.
Guy Prudhomme, a former menswear dealer who jumped into real estate investing a year ago, has a contract to buy the Colonies at Ginter Park, a collection of 12 apartment buildings along Chamberlayne Avenue. Combined, the properties total 267 apartment units.
“Our plan is to stabilize the property, get it to perform as best as possible, bring in fresh management, cut back expenses and make it pleasant for residents to live in,” Prudhomme said.
And then Prudhomme plans to sell the properties off separately for a profit three to five years down the road.
The apartments are owned by the Virginia Housing and Development Authority, which repossessed the properties in 2008 after the previous owned defaulted on a loan extended by the agency.
Michael Stoneman, a portfolio manager at VHDA, confirmed that the properties were under contract and that the purchase price was around $5.6 million.
The purchase is a big step for Prudhomme — it is his first multifamily investment.
Until now Prudhomme, whose company is named Alternate VA Inc., has stuck to single-family homes. He bought his first one in April 2009 and has since bought a total of 67.
He has flipped 55 of them, he said, losing money on only four.
“If you didn’t have some bad ones, you are doing something wrong,” Prudhomme said.
Prudhomme decided to get into real estate after the economic crisis of 2008 threw his menswear business in the lurch.
A native of the African island nation Mauritius, Prudhomme also spent seven years in India working in textiles. In 2001, he moved to Fredericksburg and brought his import clothing business with him.
That went well until the end of 2008, when he was left with more than $1 million in inventory from canceled orders. Among his former customers was Richmond-based S&K Menswear, which later filed for bankruptcy. Prudhomme had little choice but to liquidate everything for 10 cents on the dollar and shut down the business.
Now that he is out, Prudomme said he doesn’t miss the business at all.
“I’m sad I didn’t leave sooner, but you always fight to leave something you know,” Prudhomme said.
Shortly thereafter, Prudhomme recognized the opportunity to acquire properties on the cheap and sell them for a profit. He started his company and later the Fredericksburg Real Estate Investors Association, a group of like-minded investors, to share opportunities. Prudhomme has offered members to join in on his investment on Chamberlayne Avenue, for example.
Prudhomme said he is a fast learner, which has suited him well in his foray into real estate investing. But he said the fundamentals aren’t that different from his past experience.
“After 30 years in business, 29 of which under self-management, everything applies. You have to raise money and sell yourself.”
Read more in a story from the Fredericksburg newspaper here.
Al Harris covers real estate for BizSense. Please send news tips to [email protected].
A Fredericksburg real estate investor is poised to take control of large swath of apartments in Richmond’s Northside.
Guy Prudhomme, a former menswear dealer who jumped into real estate investing a year ago, has a contract to buy the Colonies at Ginter Park, a collection of 12 apartment buildings along Chamberlayne Avenue. Combined, the properties total 267 apartment units.
“Our plan is to stabilize the property, get it to perform as best as possible, bring in fresh management, cut back expenses and make it pleasant for residents to live in,” Prudhomme said.
And then Prudhomme plans to sell the properties off separately for a profit three to five years down the road.
The apartments are owned by the Virginia Housing and Development Authority, which repossessed the properties in 2008 after the previous owned defaulted on a loan extended by the agency.
Michael Stoneman, a portfolio manager at VHDA, confirmed that the properties were under contract and that the purchase price was around $5.6 million.
The purchase is a big step for Prudhomme — it is his first multifamily investment.
Until now Prudhomme, whose company is named Alternate VA Inc., has stuck to single-family homes. He bought his first one in April 2009 and has since bought a total of 67.
He has flipped 55 of them, he said, losing money on only four.
“If you didn’t have some bad ones, you are doing something wrong,” Prudhomme said.
Prudhomme decided to get into real estate after the economic crisis of 2008 threw his menswear business in the lurch.
A native of the African island nation Mauritius, Prudhomme also spent seven years in India working in textiles. In 2001, he moved to Fredericksburg and brought his import clothing business with him.
That went well until the end of 2008, when he was left with more than $1 million in inventory from canceled orders. Among his former customers was Richmond-based S&K Menswear, which later filed for bankruptcy. Prudhomme had little choice but to liquidate everything for 10 cents on the dollar and shut down the business.
Now that he is out, Prudomme said he doesn’t miss the business at all.
“I’m sad I didn’t leave sooner, but you always fight to leave something you know,” Prudhomme said.
Shortly thereafter, Prudhomme recognized the opportunity to acquire properties on the cheap and sell them for a profit. He started his company and later the Fredericksburg Real Estate Investors Association, a group of like-minded investors, to share opportunities. Prudhomme has offered members to join in on his investment on Chamberlayne Avenue, for example.
Prudhomme said he is a fast learner, which has suited him well in his foray into real estate investing. But he said the fundamentals aren’t that different from his past experience.
“After 30 years in business, 29 of which under self-management, everything applies. You have to raise money and sell yourself.”
Read more in a story from the Fredericksburg newspaper here.
Al Harris covers real estate for BizSense. Please send news tips to [email protected].