The property will benefit from cosmetic upgrades to the leasing center, amenities and common areas, and we also like the continuing evolution of this submarket. However, the true value was having the ability to assume the existing agency debt, and to go through the time-consuming process of assuming the in-place debt as well as adding a supplemental.

GlobeSt.com: How many properties do you expect to buy this year?

Cunningham: Our goal for 2017 is to complete between 8 and 10 acquisitions, however, given the competitive nature of the market these days, we will be pleased if we can achieve half of our goal.

GlobeSt.com: And how many properties will you examine before settling on those?

Cunningham: To acquire 10 properties, I will probably evaluate 300 to 400 properties. Of those, I'll go visit 150 and end up bidding competitively on about 20 of them. Of those 20 we will hopefully end up buying 10.

GlobeSt.com: What makes Audubon different from your competitors?

Cunningham: First, we are flexible and have multiple equity sources, so if a good opportunity comes our way we can make it work by matching the opportunity with the risk and hold preference of our different partners.

A great example is the 10 Perimeter property I mentioned earlier. Most groups need new financing with multiple years of interest-only payments to hit their required returns.

We looked at the investment as a whole and were attracted by the opportunity, and we matched that opportunity up with one of our high net worth investors who had an exchange and did not mind the slightly higher equity requirement due to the debt assumption.

Another differentiator is that we have integrity within the sale broker community, which often leads to opportunities when deals fall out of contract. Brokers know that we do what we say, and say what we do. And our experience with heavy renovation means we are not scared off by properties that require capital, and we don't re-trade over minor physical issues that arise during due diligence.

ATLANTA—Audubon is on a multifamily acquisition rip—or wants to be. In a competitive market, the firm is not compromising on its acquisition strategy.

GlobeSt.com caught up with Myles Cunningham was hired last year as the first-ever vice president of Acquisitions at Atlanta-based Audubon, which specializes in acquiring and managing multifamily properties throughout the Southeast, to get his insights into how the firm is moving forward in a tight market. You can still read part one of this exclusive interview: New Audubon Veep Shares Firm's Multifamily Acquisition Strategy.

GlobeSt.com: Can you give us an example of the types of properties that interest you?

Cunningham: We bought a property in Atlanta called 10 Perimeter Park for $36 million. This is the highest price per unit we have ever paid in Atlanta, but for an asset of this quality we are very comfortable with our basis.

The property will benefit from cosmetic upgrades to the leasing center, amenities and common areas, and we also like the continuing evolution of this submarket. However, the true value was having the ability to assume the existing agency debt, and to go through the time-consuming process of assuming the in-place debt as well as adding a supplemental.

GlobeSt.com: How many properties do you expect to buy this year?

Cunningham: Our goal for 2017 is to complete between 8 and 10 acquisitions, however, given the competitive nature of the market these days, we will be pleased if we can achieve half of our goal.

GlobeSt.com: And how many properties will you examine before settling on those?

Cunningham: To acquire 10 properties, I will probably evaluate 300 to 400 properties. Of those, I'll go visit 150 and end up bidding competitively on about 20 of them. Of those 20 we will hopefully end up buying 10.

GlobeSt.com: What makes Audubon different from your competitors?

Cunningham: First, we are flexible and have multiple equity sources, so if a good opportunity comes our way we can make it work by matching the opportunity with the risk and hold preference of our different partners.

A great example is the 10 Perimeter property I mentioned earlier. Most groups need new financing with multiple years of interest-only payments to hit their required returns.

We looked at the investment as a whole and were attracted by the opportunity, and we matched that opportunity up with one of our high net worth investors who had an exchange and did not mind the slightly higher equity requirement due to the debt assumption.

Another differentiator is that we have integrity within the sale broker community, which often leads to opportunities when deals fall out of contract. Brokers know that we do what we say, and say what we do. And our experience with heavy renovation means we are not scared off by properties that require capital, and we don't re-trade over minor physical issues that arise during due diligence.