Key Takeaways
- • Anchorage Daily News reporter Zachariah Hughes traced long-running maintenance failures and junk fees at Red Tail Residential properties in Anchorage to FPA Multifamily, a private equity company, sharing an address in Irvine, California with Red Tail Residential.
- • Tenant complaints included mold, heat and hot water outages in winter, and a rusted septic pipe that leaked sewage for months beneath a Spenard complex, with asbestos found on the pipe when repairs were finally made.
- • Red Tail Acquisitions' president told the reporter that FPA Multifamily and Red Tail Residential are "distinct entities"; Hughes said the companies share addresses, overlapping corporate officers and middle managers.
- • Hughes said a Red Tail-related cease and desist letter followed a photographer's work photographing buildings from public streets, which he described as lawful.
- • Tenant Clayton Willis was told to leave Romig Court in late 2025 with 30 days' notice, later lived in a 1994 camper van, and subsequently had a lower leg amputated after an untreated infection, according to the reporter.
Summary
Anchorage tenants of apartment buildings owned or managed by Red Tail Residential have complained for an extended period about poor maintenance and junk fees, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Reported problems include mold, heating and hot water failures during winter, unreplaced appliances, and a sewage leak under a Spenard complex that sent fumes into apartments for months. Some tenants told the paper they could not reach property managers to resolve the issues.
ADN reporter Zachariah Hughes said his reporting uncovered a close connection between Red Tail and FPA Multifamily, a private equity firm. He said the two share an address in Irvine, California, and have overlapping personnel who work for one or both firms or have done so in the past. When Hughes raised this evidence with the president of Red Tail Acquisitions, the company above Red Tail Residential, the response was that the entities are distinct, and the same position was repeated by email. Hughes said that while the firms may be legally separate, the overlap is substantial and readers can judge its extent.
Hughes described the broader concern as private equity capital entering the multifamily sector, including lower-cost housing, where he said strategies such as reduced maintenance, rent increases and junk fees are common. He noted that research on private equity in multifamily housing is less developed than in single-family rentals.
The reporting also centered on tenant Clayton Willis, who was told to leave his Romig Court apartment with 30 days' notice in late 2025 after Red Tail took over. Willis, who lived with two adult sons, moved into a 1994 camper van with limited heat, water and electricity, according to Hughes. Later, an untreated foot injury became infected, and the lower part of his leg was amputated. Hughes said the case illustrates how housing failures shift costs onto the public through emergency services and social support. Hughes also said a cease and desist letter and a trespass or ban from properties followed a photographer's work, and that Red Tail's counsel did not respond in time to an offer to discuss its operations.
ADN reporter Zachariah Hughes said his reporting uncovered a close connection between Red Tail and FPA Multifamily, a private equity firm. He said the two share an address in Irvine, California, and have overlapping personnel who work for one or both firms or have done so in the past. When Hughes raised this evidence with the president of Red Tail Acquisitions, the company above Red Tail Residential, the response was that the entities are distinct, and the same position was repeated by email. Hughes said that while the firms may be legally separate, the overlap is substantial and readers can judge its extent.
Hughes described the broader concern as private equity capital entering the multifamily sector, including lower-cost housing, where he said strategies such as reduced maintenance, rent increases and junk fees are common. He noted that research on private equity in multifamily housing is less developed than in single-family rentals.
The reporting also centered on tenant Clayton Willis, who was told to leave his Romig Court apartment with 30 days' notice in late 2025 after Red Tail took over. Willis, who lived with two adult sons, moved into a 1994 camper van with limited heat, water and electricity, according to Hughes. Later, an untreated foot injury became infected, and the lower part of his leg was amputated. Hughes said the case illustrates how housing failures shift costs onto the public through emergency services and social support. Hughes also said a cease and desist letter and a trespass or ban from properties followed a photographer's work, and that Red Tail's counsel did not respond in time to an offer to discuss its operations.
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