Sarasota investment company buys Laurel Street Apartments

BUYER: Laurel Apartments LLC (principal: James King), Sarasota

SELLER: Jimmie Howard

PROPERTY: 1670 Laurel St., units 101-106 and 201-206 Sarasota

PRICE: $770,000

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Berlin-Patten PLLC, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A company led by James King of Sarasota purchased the 12-unit Laurel Street Apartments for $770,000.

The price equated to $64,167 per unit.

The two-story, 10,616-square-foot multifamily community was built in 1984. The units are all 744 square feet and feature one bedroom and one bathroom. The community was fully occupied at the time of the sale.

The purchase entity, Laurel Apartments LLC, mortgaged the property to Stearns Bank National Association for $230,000.

Gail Bowden with the Sperry Van Ness Commercial Advisory Group and J. Maurice Connaughton with Prime Properties handled the transaction.

“The [downtown multifamily] properties don't trade often, because most people don't want to sell them,” says Mike Migone of Sperry Van Ness Commercial Advisory Group. “They're seen as very safe rental income.”

Migone says that like other multifamily real estate, downtown properties have benefited from the impact of the foreclosure crisis, which is forcing a number of former homeowners into the rental market.