News and Releases
September 21, 2011
Virtú Investments Acquires the Ranchstone Duplex Community
Virtú Investments acquired the 80-unit Ranchstone Duplex Community located at 11600 Argonne Forest Trail in Austin, TX. Virtú is excited to have purchased this well maintained property of duplexes in a strong north Austin submarket between Lake Travis and Round Rock. The combination of a unique product, a tested business plan, various exit strategies, and low leverage, should provide a better-than-market return with moderate downside.
Ranchstone features 40 separate buildings containing 80 individual units situated on 40 separate parcels of land. The asset has the look, feel, and privacy of a single family residence given its duplex nature with attached garages, full front yards, and fenced in back yards. The property has remained at approximately 95%-97% occupancy over the last two years, highlighting the demand for such a unique product.
Ranchstone was built in 1984, but has had a complete exterior renovation with new windows, siding and roofing completed in the last four years. The interiors are renovated in 32 of the units, with 48 units still in original condition.
Virtú’s investment strategy is to prepare the asset for long-term ownership and cash flow by completing a unit interior renovation on the remaining 48 units. Virtú does not plan to sell each of the 40 individual duplex parcels individually to investors but believes this potential strategy supports a likely upside scenario as the next buyer may look to sell the duplexes as condominiums.