ST. PAUL—An increasing number of investors are going outside of their own markets for new investment, and many look for financing from companies with local knowledge. St. Paul-based Oak Grove Capital, for example, a national provider of real estate financial services, just originated a $42.5 million fixed-rate Fannie Mae loan for a joint venture between White Oak Partners, an investor in Westerville, OH, a suburb of Columbus, and a fund managed by Los Angeles-based Ares Management to acquire Southview Gables, a 425-unit garden-style apartment complex in Inver Grove Heights, MN, a suburb of St. Paul.

The fixed-rate loan has a 10-year term with three years of interest-only and seven years of yield maintenance, providing the borrower with additional cash flow in the loan's early years.

“Our national presence allows us to assist our borrowers with local knowledge and experience,” says Jeff Patton, managing director at Oak Grove Capital. “On the Southview Gables acquisition, we had an Oak Grove loan officer and a borrower client, both located in Columbus, OH, and were able to leverage our significant presence in the Twin Cities market to our borrower's benefit.”