Spyglass are true specialists in the acquisition of all types of investment property on behalf of clients.
Our success stories range from a single building plot in Florida to a mixed-use office development in the City of London.
We are able to leverage our experience and contacts to source clients the perfect properties. This could be an apartment complex that conforms to a particular IRR profile, to an investment in mortgages secured on Distressed USA single-family properties.
The Spyglass team has nurtured an excellent network of contacts during their collective property careers. We have a deserved and hard won reputation for the creative and direct acquisition of “off market” properties.
Acquisition highlights included a multi-million pound office block in the City of London, a 120-unit student hall of residence in Hull, and a multi-let industrial estate in Liverpool
In the United States we have been instrumental in acquiring hundreds of building plots across dozens of communities, foreclosed homes direct from lenders and a truly unique listed building in Downtown Miami.
Case Study
The team at Spyglass can also work successfully with individual investors, and advise on acquisitions and strategic decisions. During late 2009 and early 2010 we assisted a high net worth individual from Australia, who wanted to get more exposure to the U.S. Markets.
He was keen to invest in the U.S, and wanted a company that was fully conversant with the U.S. Market but that was also able to explain the various differences in property laws and terminology to a non- US person.
With a budget of $250.000 cash, we spent a lot of time discussing various options with the investor to understand his appetite for risk and the level of returns required before working out the key requirements that appealed to him. These were; significantly reduced price, high probability of capital growth in the medium term, and enough cash flow to turn a monthly profit. In the first instance, we purchased four condos in Florida – all from asset managers and banks, which allowed us to get the lowest possible price. After extensive refurbishment work managed by Spyglass, we installed property managers at each property, and rented them out in the local market.
To this day, we are still actively involved in the management of these properties, which are bringing in an annual return of 8% net, and were bought at more than 60% (on average) less than the previous sale price.
In the second instance, we bought properties in the Midwest at very competitive prices, and sold them on land contracts to local buyers, creating annual returns of 18% net. We have also rounded out his portfolio with several plots of land. In total we have purchased 7 properties and three plots of land that produce an average return of 13.7%.
