Sazant and Taplin bought Harbour Key, which was built in 1969, for $11 million in 1997. They renovated most of the units and pumped significant money into improving landscaping, painting and stucco at the complex during their ownership, Vedrani said.

"I am always in communication with apartment owners," Vedrani says. "We are always looking for multifamily properties. We reached out to [Sazant and Taplin] and were going back and forth for a year."

Taplin says the company owns properties with 400 additional apartments in the Kendall area and decided "it would be a good idea to diversify." He said the wants to buy more properties, but did not disclose which kind.

Monthly rents at Harbour Key, which is 95% occupied, range from $900 for one-bedroom, one-bath units to $1,250 for two- and three-bedroom units, Vedrani says. The complex includes students, small families and professionals of varying ages.

"We are getting people pushed back to the rental environment through foreclosures," he says. "They also do not want to deal with maintenance nightmares."

Rosendo Caveiro, senior director of apartment brokerage services for Cushman & Wakefield, says he was surprised by the per-unit price of the Harbour Key deal, as well as the fact the transaction even occurred in such a stagnant environment. The per-unit prices of Pembroke Cove and Emerald Lake were $124,000 and $101,409, respectively.

"The property has great exposure on North Kendall Drive and has always been very well maintained," Caveiro says. "I never expected a rental property to sell in this market. On a per-unit basis, I would have expected something north of $80,000."

The Harbour Key deal is unusual because bargain-hunting buyers and sellers who acquired properties during the market's boom cycle often have wildly different ideas of values, Vedrani says. The prolonged credit crisis is also slowing the flow of deals, he adds.

"In terms of financing, we have heard stories of lenders coming in at the last minute offering 55%, 60% LTV when the buyer was counting on 70% to 75%," Vedrani says. "A lot of folks have been hurt in this economy and do not have 40% equity to put down."

After gauging the capital markets, the buyers agreed to assume a $17.4-million loan with Wells Fargo Bank. The 6% fixed-interest loan matures in November 2012. That meant the buyers put down about $5.5 million, giving them a 76% LTV.

Institutional investors are constantly hunting for multifamily properties that can be purchased at reduced rates, Caveiro said. Those same big players are steadfastly holding onto rental properties, refusing to sell in the current market.