Santa Barbara-based M3 Multifamily is seizing the bargain real estate opportunities caused by the market’s collapse.

M3’s principals – John Mosby, Jon Martin and Mason Farrell – have been purchasing apartment properties from sellers in financial distress. Because would-be apartment buyers have been sidelined by rising capital rates, the principals expect rents and occupancy rates to remain relatively strong despite the single-family housing weakness.

“There aren’t many other multifamily apartment investors out there,” Martin said. “But unlike the rest of them, we raise our money from investors – investors who don’t want to deal with managing apartments but who still want a return on their investments.”

Martin and Farrell are sole partners in Martin Farrell Homes in Santa Barbara, while Mosby was brought on to handle M3’s acquisition and asset management. The trio said people with both cash and the ability to move quickly on a good buy will be the only ones able to capitalize on this buyers’ market.

“We expect the window of purchasing from distressed sellers will last 18 to 24 months, and beyond that the fundamentals will need to be in place to produce solid cash flow,” Farrell said. “We are choosing markets that are likely to experience significantly increased renter demand in the years to come.”

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