Property Sales Round-up: Millions Fuel Growth Of Furnished-Apt. Biz

A furnished-housing rental business spent over $3 million adding 21 apartments to its growing local real estate holdings, in some of the city’s latest property transactions.

According to the city’s online land records database, Pearl Sheffield DE LLC acquired those rental properties across four different transactions on Feb. 18 and Feb. 28. (See a full roundup of recent property transactions below in this story.)

Pearl Sheffield DE LLC is controlled by Yoon-Seok Lee, the managing partner of a local real estate company called RoomUnity.

In an email interview with the Independent, Lee called RoomUnity a ​“vertically integrated real estate platform.”

On the ​“consumer-facing side,” he said, his company provides ​“furnished housing options and free roommate intro service. Many, but not all, of our units come furnished — it saves our residents hassle and furniture waste. Our most common lease is a 1 year lease.”

On the investment side, ​“we partner with long-term investors who want real estate exposure but don’t want the hassle of management — our affiliate property management company handles that, managing the properties we own.”

City land records show that, over the past 12 months — including these most recent purchases — Lee’s company has spent over $7.7 million buying up 42 apartments in the city, primarily in East Rock.

Lee’s company most recently acquired the following properties:

• The seven-unit apartment building at 212 Sheffield Ave., which it bought from a holding company controlled by state official/local landlord/zoning board member Alexandra Daum for $1,028,880. That property last sold for $820,000 in 2020, and the city last appraised it as worth $774,900.

• The three-family house at 109 East Pearl St., which it bought from another holding company controlled by Daum for $380,000. That property last sold for $289,000 in 2019, and the city last appraised it as worth $323,700.

• The five-unit apartment house at 81 Edwards St., which it bought from a holding company controlled by Salvatore Raffone for $900,000. The city last appraised that property as worth $669,100.

• The six-unit apartment house at 317 Willow St., which it bought from another holding company controlled by Raffone for $725,000. That property last sold for $407,000 in 2004, and the city last appraised it as worth $720,600.

Lee added that his company also recently purchased the four-family house at 1492 Dixwell Ave. in Hamden.

And on March 2, Lee’s holding company received a mortgage loan worth $2,557,500 against these four newly acquired New Haven properties from Corevest American Finance. That’s the California-based commercial lander that pumped over $100 million last year into the coffers of local investor-landlords.

Lee told the Independent that his company doesn’t have any major renovations planned for any of these newly acquired properties. He said RoomUnity’s affiliate ​“home services company,” OctoMe Construction, is currently wrapping up work on other projects ​“where we’ve reduced heating cost by 50+% on older homes that needed a ton of work.” 

As to the environmental benefits of furinished rentals, Lee said, ​“We estimate that furniture for a typical 1‑br apt generates ~611kg in carbon dioxide equivalents, or 68gal of gas. We hope that the furniture in our furnished housing options get used for ~5 – 10+ years. Most of our properties have a 1 year minimum lease requirement, with the platform offering some flexible options with 3 month minimums.”

Lee also said that his company provides real estate brokerage agent services. He said his and his teammates’ brokerage license is with the Farnam Realty Group.

“We like that New Haven has high walkability, highly educated community, and easy access to nature,” he said when asked why he’s invested so much in New Haven real estate as of late. ​“We appreciate that Yale, with its $40+b in endowment, takes investment into the city seriously, especially compared to the 1980s and 90s.”

“I live and work in New Haven,” Lee continued. ​“I’m proud that New Haven has cemented its position as the culinary and cultural capital of Connecticut. We’re excited to be a very small part of this dynamic city.”

Roundup: Mandy Grows By $3.69M; Flippers Keep Flipping

In other recent local property transactions:

• Affiliates of the local megalandlord Mandy Management spent another $3.69 million buying eight different rental properties containing 30 different apartments. Those new Mandy acquisitions include the six-unit apartment house at 325 Saint John St., the six-unit apartment house at 81 Houston St., the five-unit apartment house at 23 Brown St., the four-family house at 28 Judith Ter., the three-family house at 264 Clinton Ave., the three-family house at 87 Chatham St., the two-family house at 179 Chatham St., and the single-family house at 842 Congress Ave.

• Local landlord duo Shneor Edelkopf and Mendy Paris — through the holding company EP Home Buyers LLC — pocketed $112,500 after flipping three multi-family properties in Fair Haven and the Hill. On Jan. 26, they bought the two-family house at 112 Poplar St. for $222,500, and then sold it the next day for $262,500 to New Jersey-based investor Raphael Badouch. On Feb. 8, they bought the two-family house at 133 Poplar St. for $225,000, and then sold it on Feb. 23 for $258,000 to New York-based landlord Abraham Taichman. And on Dec. 31, they bought the three-family house at 80 Adeline St. for $297,500, and then sold it on Feb. 28 for $337,000 to Taichman. Click here to read more about other recent flips by Paris and Edelkopf.

• On Feb. 24, a holding company controlled by John Del Monaco purchased the warehouse at 25 Fox St. for $1.8 million from a holding company controlled by Kenneth Horton. The property last sold for $625,000 in 2006, and the city last appraised it as worth nearly $2.8 million.

• On Feb. 9, a holding company controlled by Matthew Bailey, John Brennan, and Erick Williams purchased the two-unit mixed-use building at 266 College St. for $1.7 million from a holding company controlled by Leon DeMaille. The property last sold for $1.87 million in 2009, and the city last appraised it as worth $1.3 million.

See below for a full roundup of recent local property transactions.