Lakewood vs Tacoma markets

[Pete M.]

I'm currently looking at an apartment complex in Lakewood, and am curious how it compares to Tacoma.  I'm obviously not local to that area, so curious as to any feedback from locals or people familiar with the area.  Does it operate as it's own city?  What are the perceptions?  It seems to be dominated by the joint military base.

Here's a link to my post in the multifamily forum to analyze the deal; any and all input is welcome and appreciated.

Thanks.

[James Lusk]

Hi Pete.  I’m with @Curtis Bidwell. My wife and I actually put an offer in on this yesterday and just got word they went with another offer. Our offer was actually above asking. We have done a couple properties with this model and in each scenario, the purchase cap rate was not stellar, but you have to look at how much money will it take to get the property operating at peak performance. If you are able to raise rents with little rehab, and reduce costs without much money invested, you may think about being a little more competitive with your offer. We just look at what our all in will be, and if that will produce the returns we are looking for.

As for the Lakewood market, we have a 12 plex in the other side of I5 in Tillicum. This is definitely not the best area but we really like the way things are trending. We have many military tenants who are great. Since we went through our renovation, we have had great demand for our units from really solid tenants. We do get a lot of applications from less than favorable tenants, but we just hold out until we get the solid ones. So far, things are going great.

Best of luck!