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Diversified Lending Solutions (DLS) has secured $37.2 million to fund the acquisition of Valencia Grove, a 460-unit multifamily community in Houston, Texas. In connection with the financing, the buyer, Houston-based Bodka Creek Capital, will receive a three-year floating rate loan, with $4.8 million towards capital improvements to upgrade units and common area amenities.
DLS was created by its founders, Vernon Beckford and Eric Andrew, as a vehicle to expand access to capital for small and mid-sized real estate operators. Their capital markets advisory focus is especially important during these post-Covid times, when even institutional operators have struggled to finance their projects.
“We realize that if the major players have difficulty navigating the murkiness of real estate financing, the pain would be felt exponentially more by their small and mid-sized counterparts,” says Beckford. “Many lack the depth of relationships, the time, or resources to fully appreciate their options or bridge the gap between the terms they want and those available to them in the market.”
The Valencia Grove financing is especially noteworthy for DLS. In addition to being a fast- growing operator, their client, Bodka Creek Capital, is both a minority and woman-owned firm. “From the start-up space to the real estate sector, women and minority-owned companies are categorically the most under-funded,” said Andrew. Securing financing on a transaction of this size is important because it enables excellent companies like Bodka to maximize impact in their local communities. Equally important, it validates that there are highly qualified operators from historically under-represented groups that should be prioritized by the investment community.”
With the acquisition of Valencia, Bodka Creek nearly doubles units under ownership to over 1,000 units. For Allyson Pritchett, CEO of Bodka, DLS’ strong grasp of challenges operators like her face through the funding process informed their thoughtful approach. “Vernon and Eric understood that this was a very important strategic acquisition for us. They were very deliberate about how best to position the funding request, which lenders to approach and when, and how to negotiate critical terms. Working with DLS has been like having a cheat code that gives me all the answers to the test. I’m very happy with the financing they were able to obtain for us.”
While optimistic about the future, the DLS founders are still aware that for under-represented groups, debt is not the only problem. “Although there is a lot of capital out there searching for a home, we’re still observing very experienced operators struggling to raise equity,” says Beckford. We think there is significant opportunity to address that need and are currently working with institutional investors to bridge the gap and provide even more comprehensive real estate funding options to the minority and woman-owned companies.”
About Diversified Lending Solutions
Diversified Lending Solutions is a capital markets advisory firm that arranges residential and commercial real estate loans for professional investors. The company focuses on projects requiring $1million of debt capital and above. For more information, please visit http://www.dlsloans.com/
CONTACT:
Danielle Burch
dmariecomm@gmail.com
