Gary Johnson of Burbank bought the Casa Miguel Apartments at 5124 N. 21st Ave. from Chandler, AZ-based seller Voss Management LLC by putting $90,000 down in the all-cash trade. The listing was on the market about a month before Johnson placed the winning contract.

"He was in an exchange and he was willing to move faster and promised not to renegotiate the price once he entered escrow," Dan Dulin of Marcus & Millichap in Phoenix tells GlobeSt.com. "It was a pretty creative structure. The buyer wanted control of the property and knew he had a lot of competition for it. He suggested a temporary seller carry until he could refinance and take the seller out. It was a win-win for all parties."

Built in 1974, Casa Miguel has a single one-bedroom unit with 600 sf and eight two-bedroom units, each 750 sf. Rents average $450 per month. Ryan Ash, an investment associate with Marcus & Millichap who brokered the deal with Dulin, says he expects the new owner to eventually increase rents by $50 per month since the property had no outstanding maintenance issues.