TULSA – A trio of California investors paid $2.89 million for the 132-unit Willowbend Apartments in east Tulsa. Willowbend Properties LLC paid $21,893 per unit to the Donald L. O’Brien Trust for the 94,122-square-foot complex built in 1974 along 5 acres on S. 31st Street just west of U.S. Highway 169.
“This is their first entry into the Tulsa market,” said NAI Tulsa Listing Agent Raymond Lord, who represented both the buyer and seller with NAI team member Max Heidenreich. Lord said the three parties that make up Willowbend Properties own “a multitude” of other properties in the Los Angeles basin. They are looking into a couple of other assets here,” he said.
The sale price fell 23 percent below the $28,549 average paid for pre-1980s properties during the first half of this year, according to the Tulsa market midyear report by Commercial Realty Resources Co. But the listing price of $27,083 per unit, $3.57 million overall, also fell below the pre-‘80s midyear average in Tulsa.
At $2.89 million, the sale price matched Willowbend’s existing loan debt, a 6.25-percent loan amortized over 30 years. That gave the complex annual debt-service payments of $211,314.
Willowbend involves 10 two-story wood-frame buildings and one single-story office-clubhouse. Like many pre-‘80s facilities, it features two laundries. Amenities include a swimming pool.
The apartment mix balanced 76 one-bedroom units, ranging from $350 to $385 per month, with 56 two-bedroom units, ranging from $450 to $495 a month. It carried a 91-percent occupancy rate in August.
With scheduled gross income of $645,000, its operating expenses would leave a net operating income of $289,575 for 2007, according to the sale listing. After debt service and other capital costs, Willowbend would produce pre-tax cash flow of $95,083.
Expenses for 2007 were projected at $2,465 per unit, or $3.43 per square foot, according to the sale listing.
Source: The Journal Record