A Tulsa-based real estate company is preparing to auction four local apartment complexes after investing $1 million in improvements and greatly increasing occupancy.
The buildings, which have a total of 318 units, all are near 51st Street and Yale Avenue.
They include Brixton, 4655 S. Darlington Ave.; Fulton, 4646 S. Fulton Ave.; Magnolia, 4747 S. Darlington Ave.; and Savannah, 4631 S. Braden Ave.
The apartments were purchased in May 2012 by LaFortune Properties LLC, a group put together by Joel Thompson and Victor Whitmore with a handful of other investors.
The partners are anticipating the properties will bring a total of $5.25 million to $6.25 million when they are put up for sale Monday on Auction.com, a real estate website.
"We bought them on the same website," Thompson said in a telephone interview. "We then spent about $1 million fixing roof leaks and drywall, replacing carpets and flooring, and repainting all of the exteriors. We also increased security.
"Through our management firm, we were able to increase occupancy from 25 percent to 85 percent."
All the properties were class C and needed repairs, such as some new stairs and mechanical work. Apartments are ranked from class A, highest quality, to class D, lowest.
One of the apartments was closed and another was only partially open because of unsafe conditions. Arvest Bank provided funding for the renovations.
One of the goals of the partners was to do a project that would be good for the area, Thompson said.
"Surrounding businesses have enjoyed the increased population and the city of Tulsa will realize a significant tax increase due to the higher property value," he said.
Thompson and Whitmore together own Precision Equity, which has been managing the properties. The two men began buying homes as investments in 2002 and expanded to apartments a few years later.
Precision also owns Windsor Village, 5214 E. 47th Place, and Highland Park, 5555 E. 47th Place, which are not currently for sale.
Thompson said he and Whitmore plan to put together another investor group after the auction of the 51st Street and Yale properties.
"We've learned a lot about renovating these kinds of apartments. We'd like to do an even bigger project in the Tulsa area," he said. "Our goal is to increase our holdings to $30 million by 2015."
John Stancavage 918-581-8314
john.stancavage@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Apartment complexes to be sold at auction
Real Estate
U.S. homebuilders' confidence in the housing market held this month at its highest level in nearly eight years. But builders are starting to worry that sales may slow if mortgage rates continue to rise.
New home construction in the Tulsa region from January to August is outpacing last year's numbers, a continuation of the upward tick that started in 2012 following a six-year slide.
CONTACT THE REPORTER
918-581-8314
Email
