SPI Advisory doesn’t want to be another number in the multifamily bidding wars so principal Michael Becker is going off the radar to target off-market assets. And he’s already closed three this year. 

Michael (with SPI’s Steven Brown and Sean Mabarek at NMHC in January) tells us many assets are garnering 10 to 20 bids. By going off-market, he feels he’s getting a better deal in a simplified process. Since the New Year, SPI has purchased three apartment complexes off-market, he tells us. They’re all smaller than he’d like—totaling just 369 units—but he has a goal of buying at least five more projects with 200 or more units each. SPI has acquired nine properties (1,600 units) since November 2013.

Michael snagged two Fort Worth projects: the 118-unit Class-C Wedgewood and 104-unit Class-B Cinnamon Tree from a seller he made loans to as a banker (in his previous life). Michael tells us the owner recently did exterior facelifts on both properties, so SPI is adding value through extensive interior renovations, utility conservation and improved amenities and common areas. Already, SPI has surpassed its market rent projections for renovated units with little to no resistance from qualified tenants, he says. The immediate submarket is strong and he believes average rents still significantly lag the overall Metroplex, he tells us.

Michael says it’s not an easy process; for every 30 off-market deals they look at, they may buy one, he tells us. Pictured is another acquisition, the 137-unit Class-B Hamptons at Central in Bedford, which was identified off-market with the help of Marcus & Millichap’s Nick Fluellen and Bard Hoover, who had a relationship with the owners. SPI plans a full renovation over the next six months, including a redesigned clubhouse, updated amenities package, dog park and new appliances, flooring, fixtures and more to 50% of unit interiors. SPI may put two of its assets on the market this year. They were acquired in 2013 and have hit their targeted gains in about half the time expected. Michael hopes to sell these and replace them with bigger and better located properties.

Want to hear Michael's thoughts on value-add? Click here.