"Each of the principals almost doubled their return on equity, acquired better-located or newer properties, and improved their depreciation to offset their taxable cash flow," says Garner, whose J.E. Garner Group is under the M&M umbrella. Low interest rates, rent increases and stock market instability has made good investments extremely difficult to locate and secure, says Garner. However, investors are trying to hedge some of the risk through property exchanges.

The seven-leg transaction began with two owners and two buildings, both of whom wanted to trade into larger and/or higher-quality properties. Brooke Development, with a 48-unit building and Charles and Erin Dimry of C&E Ventures LLC with a six-unit building. Dimry, a 12-year veteran of the NFL and his wife Erin, an attorney, have been a client of Garner's for the past two years.

Barry and Mary Blue of PacWest Landcare Inc., one of the area's largest landscape maintenance management companies, bought Brooke Development's 48-unit Villa Del Norte property. PacWest was looking to consolidate its smaller Oceanside apartment portfolio into a larger, more centralized apartment community. The 12-unit sale to Dimry and six-unit sale to a private client enabled the acquisition of Villa Del Norte and provided "utterly perfect exchange up-legs for all three parties," according to Garner.