Investor Sells Two Eastside Apartment Buildings

A Los Angeles real estate investment firm has sold two small apartment buildings on Lexington Avenue in West Hollywood for a total of $3.9 million.

The buildings are at 7604 and 7605 Lexington Ave. between North Spaulding and North Curson avenues on the city’s Eastside. Both buildings are rent-controlled and between them have 12 apartments, with a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Built in 1920 and 1926, the building’s apartments have been renovated with luxury finishes, including new kitchens with quartz countertops and glass tile backsplash, Carrera marble bathroom counter tops and floors, hardwood laminate floors and walk-in closets. Common area amenities include a courtyard, laundry facilities and gated entry.

The seller is Roxbury Ventures LLC, founded by K. Joseph Shabani and Kamyar Shabani. The buyer has not been disclosed.

The $3.9 million sale price works out to about $635 a square foot, just slightly below the $643 per square foot average for West Hollywood reported by Trulia, the real estate website. That square foot price represents an increase of 3.7 percent compared to the same period last year according to Trulia.

The fact that buildings on the city’s Eastside are selling for a square-foot price nearly equal to the city’s average supports a conclusion of a recent study by Rosenow Spevacek Group (RSG) that was commissioned by the city as part of its Eastside Community Plan. The RSG study found that rents are rising on the city’s Eastside but increases in household income in the area aren’t keeping pace. Under the city’s rent control laws, landlords cannot raise a tenant’s rent by more than an amount calculated by the West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Commission. That increase is set at 1.25 percent through Aug. 31 of next year. However, if a tenant leaves his apartment, the landlord can raise the rent to the market rate. For that reason, many West Hollywood landlords only offer one-year leases during the first year of a renter’s tenancy. Afterward, the renter is on a month-to-month lease, which makes it easier for the renter to move out and easier for the landlord to increase the rent.

Neema Ahadian of Marcus and Millichap represented Roxbury Ventures in the sale. The buyer was represented by Janet Neman, senior managing director of Charles Dunn.