The Ridge, then Evergreen Ridge, a 118-unit failed condominium conversion located in Vancouver, Washington. Only 38 of the apartments had been converted. It was on the market for 12 months in 2010 by a seller in bankruptcy.
Potential buyers backed away as they discovered that the property was entangled in legal disputes involving both the unconverted apartments and the condominiums, not to mention maintenance issues such as the siding, which pushed through with finger pressure.
Westland worked through a year of negotiations with the bankruptcy court, seller, and condominium HOA to finally close the purchase at $4.5 million. Westland invested $1.3 million to repair the siding, decks, replace windows, and upgrade the 80 units.
Just three years after the purchase, the property was refinanced at $11.5 million and investors pulled out double their initial investment. Based on the appraisal at the time of the refinance, the owners’ equity left in the property is also double that of their original investment.
