The Laurel Pines apartment building changed hands. Photo courtesy of Multi Housing Advisors.
A Miami-based real estate investment firm has made its first foray into the Richmond market.
Monument Real Estate Services recently purchased the 120-unit Laurel Pines apartment complex at 4123 E. Wood Harbor Court for $6.6 million.
The property was purchased through the Monument Opportunity Fund, a $20 million equity fund, according to Monument President Stuart Zook.
“(Monument Opportunity Fund) was formed in order to purchase real estate throughout the United States, and this is the first deal that this particular fund had purchased in Virginia,” Zook said. “A previous fund purchased a property in Roanoke.”
Laurel Pines was built in 1988 and is currently 94 percent occupied, according to Zook. It sits on 6.39 acres near Richmond International Airport in Henrico County. The 108,000-square-foot complex has a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
Monument has been looking to purchase real estate in Richmond for about a year now, Zook said. The company is diversifying its portfolio by nabbing properties in a variety of states.
“We love geographic diversity because it helps spread risk,” Zook said. “Richmond was a potential target because we like the state of Virginia in terms of job growth and steady employment, and that’s what we look for – we want to go where the jobs are.”
Laurel Pines will need some work done, he said, and the company plans to invest more than $300,000 touching up the roofing, siding and balconies, along with some light work in kitchens and bathrooms.
Zook said Monument looks for properties that may not be as appealing to other firms.
“(Laurel Pines) felt very undermanaged, and not a lot of people were spending the appropriate amount of time on the property,” he said. “So we thought we could add value to that by buying and managing it more closely.”
Monument purchased the property from an entity called Laurel Pines Acquisition LLC, which was represented by Marc Robinson, Jordan McCarley and Watson Bryant, brokers with Atlanta-based Multi Housing Advisors.
Robinson declined to identify who is behind Laurel Pines Acquisition, but he described it as a large, New York-based investor. He said the company decided to sell Laurel Pines as it was strategically unloading properties and pruning its portfolio.
This sale marks Multi Housing Advisors first work in the Richmond market, as well. The company took over the Laurel Pines listing in October, and Monument closed on the property around Dec. 30. Robinson did not identify the brokerage firm that handled the listing previously.
Multi Housing only started becoming heavily involved in Virginia markets last year, Robinson said. The brokerage has offices in Atlanta; Birmingham, Alabama; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
“We’re just beginning to encroach into Virginia. We’ve done a handful of transactions over the years prior to really beginning to focus there,” Robinson said. “It’s a natural geographic expansion for us.”
Monument Real Estate Services currently manages 1,200 units in nine different states, mostly in the Southeast from Maryland to Texas.
The Laurel Pines apartment building changed hands. Photo courtesy of Multi Housing Advisors.
A Miami-based real estate investment firm has made its first foray into the Richmond market.
Monument Real Estate Services recently purchased the 120-unit Laurel Pines apartment complex at 4123 E. Wood Harbor Court for $6.6 million.
The property was purchased through the Monument Opportunity Fund, a $20 million equity fund, according to Monument President Stuart Zook.
“(Monument Opportunity Fund) was formed in order to purchase real estate throughout the United States, and this is the first deal that this particular fund had purchased in Virginia,” Zook said. “A previous fund purchased a property in Roanoke.”
Laurel Pines was built in 1988 and is currently 94 percent occupied, according to Zook. It sits on 6.39 acres near Richmond International Airport in Henrico County. The 108,000-square-foot complex has a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
Monument has been looking to purchase real estate in Richmond for about a year now, Zook said. The company is diversifying its portfolio by nabbing properties in a variety of states.
“We love geographic diversity because it helps spread risk,” Zook said. “Richmond was a potential target because we like the state of Virginia in terms of job growth and steady employment, and that’s what we look for – we want to go where the jobs are.”
Laurel Pines will need some work done, he said, and the company plans to invest more than $300,000 touching up the roofing, siding and balconies, along with some light work in kitchens and bathrooms.
Zook said Monument looks for properties that may not be as appealing to other firms.
“(Laurel Pines) felt very undermanaged, and not a lot of people were spending the appropriate amount of time on the property,” he said. “So we thought we could add value to that by buying and managing it more closely.”
Monument purchased the property from an entity called Laurel Pines Acquisition LLC, which was represented by Marc Robinson, Jordan McCarley and Watson Bryant, brokers with Atlanta-based Multi Housing Advisors.
Robinson declined to identify who is behind Laurel Pines Acquisition, but he described it as a large, New York-based investor. He said the company decided to sell Laurel Pines as it was strategically unloading properties and pruning its portfolio.
This sale marks Multi Housing Advisors first work in the Richmond market, as well. The company took over the Laurel Pines listing in October, and Monument closed on the property around Dec. 30. Robinson did not identify the brokerage firm that handled the listing previously.
Multi Housing only started becoming heavily involved in Virginia markets last year, Robinson said. The brokerage has offices in Atlanta; Birmingham, Alabama; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
“We’re just beginning to encroach into Virginia. We’ve done a handful of transactions over the years prior to really beginning to focus there,” Robinson said. “It’s a natural geographic expansion for us.”
Monument Real Estate Services currently manages 1,200 units in nine different states, mostly in the Southeast from Maryland to Texas.