38 Unit Apartment Building on Cincinnati's East Side

[John Lenhart]

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) commercial investment investment.

38 Unit apartment building in Cincinnati, Ohio. Strong value add opportunity. An example of finding an underperforming asset and putting renovation dollars into the building to improve the units and raise rents.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was a class C property in an improving neighborhood on a bus line within a short drive to the city. There were lots of amenities in the area that catered to younger professionals.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Through a local broker. It was part of a 1031 acquisition where we traded 2 smaller properties in for the larger complex.

How did you finance this deal?

We used traditional bank financing initially and will refinance with non-recourse in a couple of years once we complete the improvements.

How did you add value to the deal?

Renovation of units and raising rents. Also, working on deferred maint and catching up to that. Showing the tenants that we care about the property.

What was the outcome?

Still a work in process. To date, 1/3 of the units have been renovated.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

There has been unexpected deferred maintenance that has delayed some of the process recently, and we have been investing a lot of time and efforts to catch up on that.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Greg Vollman