24A — May 2024 — Commercial Real Estate Across America — M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marej.com
C ommercial R eal E state A cross A merica
VAM adds Fox Run Apartments in Ledyard, CT NJ-Based Value Companies expands regional footprint L EDYARD, CT — Recent- ly, Value Companies’ third-party management
Expanding opportunities for renters Piñata & Freddie Mac form first-of-its-kind partnership
can see their credit scores in- crease up to 250 points. To put that into perspective, these increases could mean get- ting approved for your dream apartment, acquiring an auto loan, or getting accepted for a top-tier credit card. The partnership with Fred- die Mac is poised to dramati- cally shift what’s currently a dire narrative for millions of Americans. It is estimated that only under five percent of roughly 80 million American renters get credit for their rent payments ( New York Times , 2024), limiting their ability to qualify for leases, loans, and credit cards with favorable APRs that can strengthen their financial stability. “Our mission is to make sure renters are rewarded and get the credit they deserve for their largest monthly expense,” continues Liu. “Working with Freddie Mac expands Piñata’s reach, providing a significant value add for property owners in a fiercely competitive rental market. By addressing the financial challenges faced by renters across all asset classes, we’re not just making a differ - ence—we’re laying the ground - work for their financial success by building their credit scores.” Here’s how it works: Piñata’s platform seamlessly handles reporting rental payments to all three primary credit bu- reaus in adherence to industry standards. This innovative so- lution relieves property owners of the administrative burden of rent reporting, addressing a significant challenge in report - ing rental data to the credit bureaus. MAREJ
NEW YORK, NY — Paying rent on time can give renters a myriad of benefits these
days, but for the first time, they can be re- warded with better cred- it, thanks to Piñata – the nation’s f a s t e s t -
business, Value Asset Man- agement (VAM) , has expanded its management portfolio with the addition of Fox Run Apart- ments in Ledyard, CT. This marks the first Connecticut property in its portfolio. The ownership group of Fox Run Apartments brought on VAM to oversee asset manage- ment, leasing, maintenance, marketing, and administra- tion for this 172-unit property. Working on repositioning the community by developing a three-year capital improve- ments plan, VAM introduced an apartment rehabilitation program and rebranded the property website. “With decades of industry expertise under our belt, we pride ourselves on delivering unmatched service to our cli- ents and their residents. Our deep understanding of the ever-evolving rental market, combined with years of own- ership and management of properties, enables us to stra- tegically navigate the market. As we expand our portfolio, our commitment remains steadfast in delivering the premium services that owners, developers, and residents have come to rely on from Value Companies,” said Matt Mir- man , executive vice president of Value Companies. MINOOKA AND RING- WOOD, IL — VanWest Part- ners (VanWest) , a Denver- based commercial real estate investment firm announced the sale of two assets from the firm’s VanWest Storage Fund II portfolio. After a 30-month hold period, the properties generated investment returns of a 33.1% IRR and a 1.91X eq- uity multiple. The sales closed in April. The two properties, located in Minooka and Ringwood were acquired by VanWest in the fall of 2021. Both proper- ties were rebranded and oper- ated by VanWest’s vertically integrated management arm, ClearHome Self Storage (ClearHome) . During the hold period, ClearHome in- creased net operating income more than 67% by growing physical occupancy and in- place rents. The sale of the two properties
Lily Liu
growing rewards and credit- building membership pro- gram. A just-announced part- nership with Freddie Mac is set to make this “perk” the rule, not the exception, for millions of Americans. Lily Liu , CEO of Piñata as a member of the Freddie Mac credit building initiative, two years of Piñata’s program cost are covered for eligible proper- ties backed by Freddie Mac financing. This makes rent reporting for credit-building free for participating prop- erty owners and renters while building more financially resilient renters. Piñata’s platform will now act as the middleman har- monizing the relationship be- tween property management companies and their tenants, and moreover, “will pave the way for millions of renters who were previously credit invisible to start their credit journey by establishing good credit scores,” said Liu. Simply by paying rent on time, renters on the platform can boost their credit scores by over 100 points within the first few months of reporting. Rent- ers starting with credit scores below 500 (subprime renters)
Fox Run Apartments
VAM’s addition of Fox Run Apartments to its portfolio comes just as VAM celebrates the one-year anniversary of its management of 66 Main Street Lofts, a 176-unit luxury prop- erty featuring studio-, one- and two-bedroom apartments in the heart of Yonkers’ downtown waterfront district. Brought on to improve ten- ant satisfaction/retention and increase the value for the own- ership group, VAM implement- ed start-of-the-art property management processes and systems; streamlined opera- tions for enhanced efficiency; and is currently in the process of an extensive property reha- bilitation program. “VAM’s commitment to excellence in property man- agement is unwavering,” said
Eric Wolf, Partner, 66 Main Street Lofts. “These initiatives demonstrate VAM’s dedication to providing the best living ex- perience for our tenants while also maximizing future value for our stakeholders.” Value Companies manage- ment affiliates, Value Realty Inc. and VAM, own or manage over 3,500 units across 17 communities in three states. While the company has grown into new markets, Value Companies remains equally as focused on growing its business in New Jersey. Value Companies is currently de- veloping new residences at its Gateways at Randolph property in Morris County and always expanding its management portfolio across the state. MAREJ
VanWest sells Illinois assets yielding 33.1% IRR
MLSOK partners with MLS Grid to manage real estate data feeds
tools available.” MLS Grid supports multiple listing services (MLSs) in their vital role of delivering timely, accurate and compre- hensive data to subscribers and technology companies. “We’re pleased to offer an easy and efficient way for MLSs like MLSOK to deliver data feeds from one centralized source,” said MLS Grid CEO, Joseph Szurgyi . “We’re excited that MLSOK sees the value we bring to making the market work better for all.” MLS Grid works with more than 1,400 brokeages and tech- nology companies across more than 30 MLS markets. MAREJ
SALT LAKE CITY, UT — MLS Grid announced ML- SOK , representing the Okla- homa City Metropolitan Associaiton of REALTORS (OKCMAR) is joining the MLS Grid and will use the platform to provide data services. “MLSOK strongly believes in data integrity and innovation to deliver an orderly market- place, and MLS Grid will allow our MLS to efficiently provide data feeds with standardized modern technology.” said John Ferreira , interim CEO of MLSOK and OKCMAR. “It’s imperative that the broker- ages and vendors serving our marketplace are connected to the most reliable and intuitive
Self Storage in Minooka, IL
operations team created over the past few years,” shares Jacob Vanderslice , Van- West co-founder and princi- pal. With 11 of the original 14 properties remaining in VanWest Storage Fund II, the Fund has distributed over $15.2 million to investors, rep- resenting 40% of the Fund’s original equity since its launch in early 2021. MAREJ
generated over $5 million in proceeds for VanWest Storage Fund II. “We focus on cash flow and typically underwrite our acquisitions for longer-term holding periods. However, we decided to sell earlier than expected by balancing future cash flows against an attrac - tive return by selling now. It was an easy decision to mon- etize the significant value our
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