Sidetracked $6.1-Mil Sale Finally Closes

CARROLLTON, TX-Another financial deal skewed by the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center finally closes, putting a 150-unit multifamily complex into the hands of a group of Dallas investors.

Minneapolis-based NorthMarq Capital Inc.’s Paul C. Brighton, vice president and senior producer in Dallas, had the $6.1-million deal for Lakeside Associates LP ready to go to committee. The final signing was set for the week of Sept. 10 in the 3 World Financial Center offices of the New York City lender, who soon was out on the street in search of temporary offices. “It was tough.” Brighton tells GlobeSt.com. “It took awhile to make sure everyone was OK.” Then, it was time to get down to business.

The lender found temporary office space; employees brought some desktop computers from home while others grabbed laptops. Brighton duplicated the files and e-mailed them to a broker’s home in Brooklyn. “In spite of all these obstacles,” he says, “they were able to deliver a commitment, rate lock and funding.”

Lakeside Associates’ five-year loan, with 30-year amortization, was locked into a 6 1/2% range for $6.1 million in permanent financing to buy the fully occupied Lakeside Apartments at 2250 Marsh Lane in Carrollton. The seller is a private investor from California.

The 138,659 sf of net leasable space is contained in eight, two-story apartment buildings and a leasing office, positioned on six acres. The class B complex, built in 1984, is located in a residential area with a mix of multifamily and single-family housing.

The lender’s identity is a trade secret in Brighton’s opinion. But, the ongoing relationship between NorthMarq’s Dallas team and the Manhattan lender is what kept the deal alive under the most extreme hardships, Brighton says. “We’ve done close to $1 billion in transactions with this lender,” he says, noting the familiarity of the working relationship made it easier to get back to business at least on the Lakeside loan.

Brighton says he’s noticed more buyers are scouring the Dallas-Ft. Worth market since Sept. 11. But, he adds, they’re bargain-shopping bottom-fishers. “And the sellers are no where near that stage,” he stresses.