BACKGROUND
Two parking garages in the heart of downtown Seattle had been in this Seattle based family since the mid-1940s and provided modest cash flow for the family. Six decades later, as the city boomed, several firms approached the family with offers to lease or buy the property. The family wanted to be wise about their response. Was it better to lease?
To sell? At what terms? And what happened afterwards? A meeting with Trinity Real Estate, aimed at answering some of those questions, soon turned into an ongoing relationship.
APPROACH
As the family’s primary advisor, we guided the family through the highly competitive world of high-value real estate. Our first objective was making sure they understood their options.
“Trinity never tried to hard-sell us on any one option,” – John C.
When the prospective lessor for one of the garages unexpectedly offered to buy the property for extraordinarily favorable terms, we helped the family close the deal and recommended re-investing the proceeds through an IRS 1031 exchange, which would avoid the significant capital gains taxes the family would owe.
Due to the fast nature of the transaction, Trinity’s investment team had only 45 days to identify potential exchange assets, which we had recommended to be mostly apartments so the family would be able to benefit from consistent cash flow distributions.
OUTCOME
Trinity was able to acquire 5 high quality assets which resulted in a significant increase in distributions to the family.
Trinity also helped direct the sale of the second garage, which resulted in the acquisition of 2 more properties. In total, Trinity now oversees 8 properties for the family.
In the end, our client said, “We also appreciated how they handled some complex family dynamics, with different generations in different locations. They always made sure each one of us felt confident in our decisions.”
Today, we’re proud to manage the family's real estate portfolio. We oversee property managers, advise on capital improvements, provide regular, detailed financial statements, and monitor the portfolio to ensure it continues to serve the family’s goals.
“I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job than the guys at Trinity,” says John. “To anybody looking for help with any kind of real estate investment, I’d say, ‘Do not look anywhere else.’ They’re that good.”
SERVICES PROVIDED: