Avant Closes $5M Bridge Distressed Multifamily

OKLAHOMA CITY-A local investor’s experience and existing presence in the immediate market helped New York City-based commercial mortgage bank Avant Capital Partners close a bridge loan of approximately $4.58 million for the acquisition and renovation of Lakewood Apartments, a 209-unit complex at 7806 Lyrewood Ln. The managing partner of property owner Lakewood Estates Apartment LLC has three other properties in the immediate neighborhood.

According to Avant managing principal Adam Luysterborghs, the Class B property was only 40% occupied at the time of acquisition, but its location in a desirable submarket presented the sponsors with an opportunity to turn around an underperforming asset with substantial upside. He describes the sponsors as experienced multifamily investors with a strong operational presence in the local marketplace. “He had a management team and work crew almost on site already,” the Avant exec tells GlobeSt.com. “He’s very familiar with the kind of tenant that lives in the area, which made us very comfortable with the transaction.”

Lakewood Estates bought the property for $5 million and budgeted an additional $1.5 million for improvements. The fact the owner had successfully rehabbed and leased up two similar properties in the neighborhood was instrumental in persuading Avant to get involved. “For someone else to do the same deal, they would have higher costs,” says Luysterborghs. “He had boots on the ground to do the work and rehab the property. He knew what he was doing.”