Country Walk Condominium Success Story

$7 million in repair expenses avoided through the sale of Florida condos as a value-add multifamily property

Overview

Constructed in 1973, Country Walk at Altamonte Springs Condominium was a condominium community with 254 units in Altamonte Springs, Florida. With less than 5% owner occupancy, the community was unique in its status as a predominantly investor-owned rental property.

Challenges

After converting to condos in 2007 during the Global Financial Crisis, Country Walk had not been properly maintained and built up a significant amount of deferred maintenance over the years. 

In order to repair the property as a whole and bring it up to code, the owners of Country Walk would have needed $7 million to conduct repairs and assessments.

“When we stepped in to help, Country Walk was facing code violations from the City of Altamonte Springs for significant issues that were of a safety concern to residents,” explains John Cadden, Principal at Condominium Advisory Group. “The condo association was severely undermanaged, the property was quickly losing value, and the owners were facing declining rents and repairs that would cost millions of dollars.”

After conducting assessments and analysis, our advisors discovered that Country Walk would be worth more if it was sold as one multifamily property rather than each owner individually selling their units.  

Based on the status of the market at the time, Condominium Advisory Group found that potential buyers for Country Walk would view it as a value-add multifamily asset, which meant they would buy the property as is and make the renovations themselves after purchase.

“Instead of them having to figure it out on their own, we were able to show potential buyers the exact repairs and updates they would need to conduct after the purchase, which was extremely valuable to value-add buyers,” explains John.

Results

As a value-add property in the prime Orlando submarket of Altamonte Springs, Country Walk was sold for significantly higher than the minimum price that all the owners were willing to accept in the termination plan. Most owners received a 30 to 40% premium to what they could have gotten for their units individually, plus they avoided having to pay for special assessments and construction.

In addition to the owners benefitting from the sale, the tenants were also satisfied because the buyer allowed them to stay in their units and sign short-term leases if they were unsure if they wanted to stay long-term. 

From the point that Condominium Advisory Group was brought in to the date of the sale, the entire deconversion and termination process for Country Walk took approximately 10 months in total. 
“The housing crash in 2008 had a major negative effect on both the financial health and the physical condition of the property that lingered for many years. With the aid of the principals of Condominium Advisory Group, we were able to solve our issues through a deconversion and reward all of our owners with a great price”, shared Francisco Rodrigue-Ocasio, President of The Countrywalk at Altamonte Springs Condominiums.

Services

• Termination Trustee Representation
• Receivership
• Financial and Construction Consultancy

Not sure of the best course of action for your Florida condominium community?

If your association is not sure how to proceed amid the new mandates within new condominium legislation, our expert and knowledgeable team at Condominium Advisory Group can assess and determine the best course of action for your condominium community—deconversion, receivership, construction, or something else entirely.