The Tempe-based investment group secured a loan of more than $2.7 million from Lehman Bros. in New York City to win the deed to Presidents Corner Apartments at 2201 Presidents Corner Dr. in North Arlington. The asset was on the market two years, in escrow six times and at the closing table twice before the deed traded, Peter J. Hartnett, senior investment adviser in Dallas for Phoenix-based Hendricks & Partners, tells GlobeSt.com.

The stickling point came from the seller's firm stance on the $33,000 per door, according to Hartnett. The seller of record was Texas Bay Presidents Corner LP, a San Francisco-based group that owned the complex for four years, invested in a rehab and was looking to collect on the upside.

The buyer, Hartnett says, got "a coupon deal. He's buying it on the return." The units, which average 893 sf, bring in 63 cents per sf in rent or $559 per month. Key to getting the price for the class C-plus property is a location in a residential neighborhood that is one of the nicest and newest on that side of town, says Hartnett.

The return and location earned the loan, but required 80% loan-to-value and 83% loan-to-cost, says Steve Whitehead, vice president of production for Minneapolis-based NorthMarq Capital Inc.'s Dallas office. He says the 10-year loan has a 30-year amortization and came with a 5.82% interest rate. "It was a full-dollar loan," he points out. Whitehead and Richard Scandaliato, senior vice president and senior director, in the LA office, arranged the financing with Lehman Bros.

There is no immediate upgrade planned, but over time interiors will be redone, according to Whitehead, who's also bundling financing packages so the Tempe buyer can take over another 579 units in two properties in Dallas. The 24-year-old Arlington asset sits on six acres, abutting a creek, and includes such amenities as washers and dryers in all units. The down-the-road makeovers, Whitehead explains, will be done to maximize value for the buyer, Arizona Presidents Corner LP.