
The Retreat Columbia
Acquired October 2021 | Exited January 2023 | 13 Units | 46 Beds
The Retreat Columbia is a cottage-style, built-to-rent housing development primarily catering to students of the University of South Carolina. Sweetbay's principals acquired 5 units at The Retreat as personal investments from 2019-2021, providing them with intimate knowledge of the community and established local relationships. Ultimately, this allowed Sweetbay to source a proprietary, off-market opportunity to acquire 11 units at a discount to market value.
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Following the initial 11-unit portfolio acquisition, Sweetbay quickly divested two units (one 2- and one 3-bedroom) for substantial gains. The resulting proceeds were reinvested into 4- and 5-bedroom units, increasing the net bedroom count from 37 to 41 (46 cumulatively) and improving NOI margins without triggering a taxable event or investing additional equity.
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Sweetbay arranged the sale of 10/13 units without a broker, saving investors ~6% on each sale. All investors from this transaction elected to reinvest their proceeds into another Sweetbay investment, which was also done through a tax-deferred 1031 exchange.

