The traded properties are the 22-unit Ponderosa Apartments at 214 W. 17th St. and the 22-unit Heights Terrace at 1447 Heights Blvd. The Houston investment group of Heights Venture LLC purchased the two properties from Healy Properties Inc. of Newton, MA.

Kevin McCarthy with the Houston office of Hendricks & Partners tells GlobeSt.com that the properties sold for close to the package's asking price of about $1.3 million. He says the buyer turned around proceeds from the sale of a 20-unit multifamily property whereas the seller intends to reinvest the gain in a Boston duplex. The seller wanted something closer to home, says McCarthy. Besides, he adds, the seller was ready to cash out on an asset acquired in 1982.

McCarthy, the lone broker on the deal, says the Houston buyer surfaced before a serious marketing campaign could get under way. "An all-cash deal ready for rehab is hard to find in the Heights," he says of the quickly placed contract.

About $15,000 per unit will go into renovating the properties, says McCarthy, who concludes the work will take the properties from class D to class B. The complexes are 75% leased at an average rent of 75 cents per sf. When the work's done, the Ponderosa should be able to collect $1 per sf and Heights Terrace, $1.05 per sf for units that average 693 sf and 541 sf, respectively.