Texas multifamily distress is just getting started, and a case in point is Lurin Capital’s recent woes.
The Dallas-based multifamily investor was hit with a $40.5 million debt default lawsuit four months after losing 12 Florida properties to foreclosure.
Lender Select Securities Europe alleged the firm defaulted when it stopped paying interest on 15 loans two years ago. The loans matured last year, and the firm owed $10.7 million in interest as of last month.
The firm’s co-founders, Jon and Ashley Venetos, personally guaranteed the loans, meaning they could be on the hook to pay if their firm can’t cough up the dough.
Lurin lost 12 properties to foreclosure in Florida earlier this year, when Acore Capital Mortgage foreclosed on $383.6 million in loans and auctioned off the property. The firm is also poised to lose the 592-unit Estates at Avenstar in Houston, which hit the auction block earlier this month, after the firm defaulted on a $52.5 million mortgage from Nexstar.
Here’s what else happened in Texas real estate this week.
The new Texas law aimed at reforming the use of “traveling” housing finance corporations in affordable housing deals drew a lawsuit, as predicted. The Texas Workforce Housing Coalition sued in a challenge to the constitutionality of House Bill 21. The coalition argued the law retroactively imposes stricter standards on existing agreements, violating the Texas Constitution, and putting current tax exemptions at risk before the law takes effect in 2027. Critics of HB 21 claim it overreaches and undermines local control, while supporters see it as a necessary fix to prevent abuse of tax exemptions.
Ares Real Estate swooped into Fort Worth with a massive industrial acquisition. It bought 1.6 million square feet of warehouse space across Tarrant County, including properties in Arlington, Fort Worth and Northlake. The fully leased assets, located along key logistics corridors, will be managed by Ares Industrial Management and are part of the Los Angeles-based firm’s push into high-demand markets.
Texas lawmakers’ recent ban on certain foreign buyers has chilled Chinese homebuying in the state. The law targets buyers who aren’t legal U.S. residents, from countries deemed security threats, including China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, but it has led to panic selling and buyer hesitation among legal residents.
Austin’s glut of office sublease availability, including Meta’s full-building offering for Sixth and Guadalupe, has stuck around for years now.
A prominent Austin broker turned to HGTV to market an unusual listing. @properties Lone Star’s Katie Jackson presented the Bouldin Treehouse at 801 Post Oak Street, listed for $1.6 million as a redevelopment opportunity, on the show “Zillow Gone Wild.”
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