Properties to add 934 units to investor’s growing portfolio
HOUSTON/SAN ANTONIO, Texas (July 1, 2021)– LYND, a national apartment investor, developer and operator, has closed on the acquisition of two apartment communities in suburban Houston, Texas.
LYND paid $84 million for the 372-unit Paramount at Kingwood and the 312-unit Villas of Valley Ranch, both located northeast of the city. The seller is Sy Li, a private Texas-based real estate investor.
The two parties went to contract in March 2020, but the pandemic threatened the deal. In September, LYND took over management of the assets, spent $600 thousand on renovations, significantly boosted rents and occupancy, and finally got the transaction to the closing table.
“This is basically a case study in what can be done to save a deal when big, unforeseen problems arise,” said A. David Lynd, LYND CEO. “After we went to contract, the properties started tanking, but we did not cut bait and run. Instead, we persuaded the owner to hire us to manage the assets and try to right the ship. Our Houston team sprang into action, and just five months later, turned them around completely and got them ready for sale. Now, three years after first pursuing the purchase, we closed the deal.”
“It’s never comfortable handing over management to a potential buyer,” said Li. “However, since we sold a different portfolio to LYND weeks prior to the pandemic for $161 million, I trusted David to do exactly what he said he would do this go around, and that’s close.”
Paramount at Kingwood, located in Kingwood, Texas, features 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units with a clubhouse, pool and fitness center. The Villas at Valley Ranch, located in Porter, Texas, offers 1- and 2-bedroom units and has a pool, outdoor fireplace, dog walk and walking trails.
“We are bullish on this particular submarket given some of the infrastructure improvements,” said Constantine Scurtis, president of LYND Acquisition Group. “With the upgrades we have already made coupled with our acquisition basis, we are excited about this opportunity.”
Marc Suarez from the Miami office of Lument provided a $68 million dollar loan for the acquisition.
With the addition of Paramount at Kingwood and the Villas at Valley Ranch, LYND now owns three apartment communities in metro Houston. In 2020, it acquired the 282-unit Royal Oaks at Westchase which was later re-branded to Apex at Royal Oaks. LYND third-party manages five additional properties in the market.
Over the last six months, LYND has been on a buying spree, acquiring four multifamily assets for $175.5 million which include the two Houston properties and two in South Florida. LYND has another $200 million in its pipeline for 2021.
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