In March, Amherst Holdings announced that its Single Family Residential Platform would sell up to 3,500 single family rental properties to Altisource Residential. That deal has now been completed, as 3,465 single-family properties were sold in 2017 for an aggregate sale price of $534.9 million
On Nov. 29, the two companies announced the third transaction of the year in which Altisource acquired 1,957 single-family rental properties for $305.1 million, bringing the 2017 total up to 3,465.
Under the terms of the 2017 agreement, Altisource purchased a fee simple interest in the properties, and Amherst-sponsored entities provided seller financing equal to 75% of the sale price or $401.2 million for the three transactions. Concurrent with the close of the latest transaction, the seller financing was sold to an institutional investor in a private transaction. Amherst Pierpont Securities served as the introducing broker.
“We are pleased to have successfully executed our commitment to Altisource Residential pursuant to our 2017 agreement,” said Drew Flahive, president of Amherst Single Family Residential, in a statement. “This further exemplifies our platform’s ability to identify, acquire, renovate, lease, and ultimately deliver portfolios of professionally-managed, cash-flowing rental properties to third parties. We expect to continue to scale operations and capital commitment to the single-family residential sector to help facilitate continued institutional investment in this asset class.”
Amherst Single Family Residential will remain the property manager for the 3,465 properties through its subsidiary, Main Street Renewal, a vertically-integrated property acquisition, repair, and management business that currently manages more than 16,000 single family rental properties in 17 states across the U.S.
In a little more than a year, Amherst and Altisource have done a lot of business together. Including the September 2016 portfolio sale of 4,262 properties, Amherst-sponsored entities have sold more than 7,700 single-family rental properties to Altisource during the past 14 months.
“The consummation of this closing under the purchase agreement with Amherst marks the final piece of this important transaction for RESI,” said Altisource CEO George Ellison, in a statement. RESI is the company’s abbreviation for Altisource Residential Corporation. “Our rental portfolio now exceeds 12,000 homes, which we believe enhances our ability to provide stable cash flows and build long-term value for our shareholders.”
The Amherst Single Family Residential platform continues to pursue acquisitions in target markets in order to facilitate continued institutional investment in the single-family residential asset class, the company said. Keith Ramsden, the chief investment officer of Amherst Single Family Residential said in a statement, “The platform has demonstrated strong performance fueled by targeted acquisition activity. Over 5,500 acquisitions in 2017 have allowed us to strengthen our presence and enhance our scale in key markets and expand into areas of high growth, such as Phoenix, Columbus, and Las Vegas. We continue to identify acquisition opportunities to build on our momentum and drive our performance.”
