http://bostonrealestateblog.com Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:37:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en New York City's most well known blue collar neighborhood has been given to its creditors. Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, a massive portfolio of 110 buildings and 11,227 units located on the East River in Manhattan was controlled by Tishman Spyer Properties and Blackrock Realty. Once hailed as the ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/massive-multi-family-portfolio-goes-to-creditors/ Just a quick observation for anyone looking in South Boston. I was just going through our apartment database (southie's largest) and noticed a decent amount of 1 bedroom apartments that are under $1,000. Click here to check them out. http://bostonrealestateblog.com/apartment-deals/ I ran into this the other day while looking at a Multi-Family that was in foreclosure and thought it might be of benefit. The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 was sponsored by, soon to be retired, Sen. Dodd (D-CT) and is supposed to help tenants caught up in ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/protecting-tenants-foreclosure-act-of-2009/ I'm going to hear this question daily, come January 15th, when every student in the city returns and starts looking for a new apartment for next fall, "Should I get Renters Insurance?". My answer is always this, "Can you afford to replace all your stuff in a worse case scenario?". ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/renters-insurance/ Seems with the residential market plodding along slowly that Zillow has decided to add rental listings to its website as a new feature. I just did a quick search of the Boston area and found a whopping 5 apartments available for rent. Yes, I know that the feature is new ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/zillow-add-apartment-feature-to-website/ Look for the media to cycle away from the doom and gloom reports of residential real estate and instead focus more on the doom and gloom of commercial real estate. As our economy continues to bottom or hover near the bottom, depending on who you listen to, we will hear ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/what-to-look-for-in-2010/ It's time to get serious about investing in the overlooked squares of Somerville. By Jan. 1st, 2015 Davis Sq. & Porter Sq. wont be the only hot spots for condo development & strong, consistent rents. Here are some facts from tonights meeting that have given me confidence. ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/green-line-meeting-review/ For those of you who are following the Green Line Extension closely there is a meeting tonight at Somerville High School. I'll be attending this meeting and blogging about it later tonight so those who can't make it will have a general idea of how the extension is progressing. Click ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/green-line-extension-meeting-6pm-tonight-somerville-high-school/ The Boston Herald ran a story today that had me laughing. The reporting is a bit all over the place but here is the gist of what's happening with this ordinance. Residents of Allston, Brighton, & Mission Hill were tired of listening to parties held by their college student neighbors. So ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/4-students-or-less-law-update-for-boston/ Only 20 days remain in this current rental season. If you're a tenant that waited till the last minute you are certainly in the drivers seat. Inventories are extremely high. Landlords, if you haven't already, now is the time to pullout all the stops: Pay the Brokers Fee, Ask for ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/20-days-till-september-1st-are-you-all-rented-up/ It's 10:36pm and I'm still at the office after a day full of showing apartments. I was everywhere today. Watertown, South Boston, Dorchester, & Allston. Here is the one theme I have seen throughout all these towns and neighborhoods. ITS JULY! Literally there are 54 days till September 1st and ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/todays-adventure-apartment-showings/ Hope you all enjoyed Bunker Hill Day in Boston today! Yeah, I know, political holiday. I worked today too. There was only thing good about Bunker Hill Day: Free Parking! I would've completely forgotten to if it weren't for Pat. The always pleasant and watchful security guard at the Bank ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/allston-centers-watchful-eye/ Unlike the stock exchange where there are centralized locations for buyers and sellers to congregate. Real Estate transactions take place in many shapes and forms. Which often result in different price points for sales. From the MLS to word of mouth in a popular neighborhood. There are many ways for ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/selling-real-estate-is-more-than-numbers/ Here are the statistics for Single Family Homes in Boston, MA for May 2009. I plan to post charts on the Single Family, Condo & Multi Family markets in Boston at the beginning of every month with commentary on the comings and goings of our current market. If I can ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/boston-single-family-stats-for-may-2009/ I just came across this piece of information while talking to one of our Property Managers this morning here at NextGen Realty. Seems that Roof Decks within the City of Boston need to be inspected every 5 years by the ISD. I never knew this but if you're a property ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/landlord-tips-roof-decks/ Councilor Ross is at it again. Apparently he thinks last years law to limit undergraduate students to 4 bedroom apartments or less is not intrusive or discriminating enough. Now he wants the colleges to do his dirty work. Councilor Ross has proposed that the Universities in Boston should keep records ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/boston-has-its-own-patriot-act-for-students/ Did you know that you can use your IRA to invest in Real Estate? Your Financial Advisor does and he (or she) is very mad at me right now for bringing this up. In 1975 Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/your-financial-advisor-is-going-to-kill-me/ Have you heard the news? Pending home sales were up in December '08. Could this be the Phoenix rising from the ashes of our current real estate market? I know a lot of economists hope to use this data to show a bottom ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/rentals-get-hit-%e2%80%93-first-time-in-5-yrs-%e2%80%93-or-did-they/ I found this question on the American Apartments Owners Association (AAOA) submitted by Janet Portman of Inman News. If you live in an older apartment building and are having trouble with a High Defintion TV then you definitely want to read what Janet has to say below. Q: I live in ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/no-high-def-wiring-landlord-must-give-tenants-a-choice/ Out of the current financial debacle comes a little nugget of good news for our local landlords. As reported in todays Boston Globe by Peter Schworm Northeastern University is delaying its plans to build a 600 bed dormitory on St. Botolph Street. Shelved for the foreseeable future the project was ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/credit-crunch-ends-college-expansions/ Every time someone calls me about an ad I have this question always come up. If you have found your way to this blog because you are trying to learn about Boston and her metro area's let me help you out: MBTA.com/Ridertools or Thrall.net Whether new to town or a student looking for a ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/how-close-to-the-t-is-this-place/ I've written about this subject before but want to revisit it for the sake of our Landlords. If you are trying to rent an apartment in the off peak season (September - January 15th) then you must drop your keys of with a real estate office that you trust. I ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/apartment-rentals-are-key/ Last month while I was on vacation a block of truly luxurious apartments came on-line in Charlestown's Navy Yard. Managed by Roseland Properties and called the HarborView at the Navy Yard this building is truly top of the line. Originally slated to be a condominium building it offers much larger ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/new-rentals-in-the-navy-yard/ So I finished my Move-Ins yesterday for all of Boston, go home, and turn on the TV to see Hizzoner standing in a 7 Bedroom apartment over on Chestnut Hill talking about the deplorable conditions of this apartment and the absentee landlord. Which, after watching the segment, was all true ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/local-media-follows-college-move-ins/ The Case-Shiller Report (CSR), which provides a glimpse into the housing market, is closely reported by all the major media outlets but there are some things about this report that aren't revealed in a 45 second sound bite. First off, their index for home sales in Boston is down 3.4% which ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/case-shiller-report-breaking-it-down/ CNBC landed an exclusive interview with the worlds best golfer Tiger Woods. The beginning of this interview talks about his current investments which included a billion dollar real estate development in the Bahamas. Check out it out for yourself. Tiger Woods Interview http://bostonrealestateblog.com/real-estate-investing-you-need-the-eye-of-a-tiger/ We had a landlord call the office today asking why his apartments haven’t rented yet. That sparked me to look at the rental deals we had closed over the last 3 months to try and find any trends as to why some apartments rent and why some don’t. I wanted ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/why-some-apartments-rent-and-why-some-dont/ Great article today on MSN Real Estate about the limits we as Realtors can go to when discussing the safety of a Neighborhood. In Massachusetts the standard response of most Sale Agents will be "Under MA law we are not allowed to discuss the safety of a neighborhood. If you'd like, ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/how-safe-is-this-neighborhood/ I don't normally ready the Auto section of the Globe but the headline TomTom appears to have met its match caught my eye. I don't want to rehash the article you can read it by clicking on the link above. The only thing I would like to point out is that ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/boston-journalist-vs-tomtom/ Is your goal is to wake up every morning to the aroma of wind swept salt air and panoramic ocean views? Maybe in retirement? A second home perhaps? Why not now? Our good friends at the Boston Globe chose to highlight an auction of condominiums going on March 9th by ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/ocean-front-condos-for-less-than-250k-really/ The Warren Group has released its year end data for 2007 this week. What strikes me most is not the decline in residential sales or prices (down 5% from '06). Instead it's the huge (and I mean huge) pull back in mortgage originations. Down 60% (60%!!!!) from the highs of ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/housing-ok-motgages-in-free-fall/ Graph made possible by the Warren Group http://bostonrealestateblog.com/sales-data-made-easy/ Today is a Great Day to be a member of NextGen Realty, Boardwalk Properties, and Jacob Realty. Our Companies just crossed the 10,000 Landlords mark in our data base with the official count at 10,008 and growing! Also we now have over 75,000 listings in the New England Region. Lets ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/congratulations-team/ Boston’s City Council has quietly endorsed a proposal, spearheaded by Councilman Michael Ross, to cap the amount of students that can rent an apartment in our city. If passed, what has been marketed as a bill to curb “Animal House Antics” by the Boston Herald, no more than 4 students ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/will-no-more-than-4-students-living-together-solve-anything/ The Greater Boston Real Estate Board has successfully blocked a movement to repeal Massachusetts Affordable Housing Law on Beacon Hill. Thought this might be of interest to some of my readers. GBREB Legislative Update - December 2007 ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/gbreb-protects-40b-law/ The latest four letter word in real estate is something that is everywhere… literally. I am not kidding. Some down right scary studies have come out about mold; citing brain damage, links to cancer, and reproductive problems, though nothing is definitive yet. Read: it’s still early. I thought it would be ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/is-that-mold/ These two men are the John Stewart and Steven Colbert of Britain. This Video is about the sub-prime markets. It's about 8 min's long and extremely funny! http://bostonrealestateblog.com/vote-second-best-business-video-on-youtube-by-the-economist/ I know this YouTube spot has been going around the net for a while now but thought since I write so much about investment properties and landlord/tenant relations this would bring a smile to your faces. I still laugh every time I watch this... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/will-ferrel-confronts-his-vicious-landlord/ Right now in the Winter of 08, almost everyone trying to sell a house or condo is starting to get ansy and mostly freak out. Not only are we experiencing a slow real estate cycle but, Nov - March is traditionally one of the slowest periods of the year for ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/cold-and-slow-winter-months-great-buys/ Ok, with the Holidays past us, it’s time to gear up for the Apartment Rental Season. Agents in my office at NextGen Realty are burning up the phones contacting our landlords about their September ’08 availabilities. If you haven’t already you should contact your tenants and see if they wish to ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/landlords-don%e2%80%99t-wait-to-the-last-minute/ I hope everyone has returned refreshed from their Holidays. I wish you all the best of luck achieving any goals that you may have set for 2008. Look for some predictions for '08 sometime later this weekend. Still need to catch up on some '07 numbers first. I do have one goal ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/happy-2008/ Most of Lower Allston groans when Harvard releases details of its latest land acquisition in their neighborhood. Not Today! What's loving referred to as the communist block, in my office, the horrible looking cement fortress known as the CharlesView Apartment Complex has agreed to a land swap, of sorts, with ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/charlesview-apartments-complex-gets-a-new-view/ The Wall Street Journal reported a couple of weeks ago about the opportunities that exist in this current market for small investors of commercial properties. A lot of my clients fit this category and I thought I would pass this information on to the readers of the Boston Real Estate ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/commercial-investing-advantage-small-investors-for-once/ Yesterday I spent the afternoon looking at apartment complexes with one of my original clients. He is an elder gentleman who will remain nameless because he is well known within the real estate community. We were discussing the current market conditions for residential sales. He simply began to shake his ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/buyers-should-copy-investors/ A lot has been written about the Governors Casino plan for the State. I have held back from talking about the subject because I feel the opening of an actual casino is years away... if ever. But, speaking hypothetically, I would like to point out what will mostly likely happen ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/ma-casinos/ While in the office last night I ran into one of my fellow agents who looked like his dog just got run over. Turns out his apartment was broken into and he lost his Laptop, TV, DVD's and a number of other things. I asked him, "Do you have Renters ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/renters-insurance-get-it/ Banker & Tradesman, yesterday, reported that despite the current slowdown in residential sales statewide the rental market is looking at projected increases of 3.9% in 2008 and 3.8% in 2009 due to good/average job growth. Every area of the Boston Metro region experienced growth except the North Shore due to ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/tight-real-estate-market-in-boston-you-bet-for-rentals/ This morning I received a call from my boss, and CEO of NextGen Realty, Demetrious Salpoglou. The cheerful sound coming through my cell phone meant only one thing - our yearly real estate exam was today. Every year Demetrious in all of his impressive/annoying OCD mannerisms administers a 115 multiply choice ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/tis-the-season-for-exams/ This is a great idea! As reported in the Boston Globe this morning Ronald Druker (the man behind Heritage on the Garden & Atelier|505) has submitted plans to the city to redevelop the infamous Shreve, Crump & Low building into a swank luxury office building. The property is being designed ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/luxury-apartments-luxury-condos-and-now-luxury-offices/ Advisory to Landlords in Allston, Brighton, Brookline, Mission Hill, Northeastern, and Mission Hill neighborhoods. Our website traffic is starting to trend up considerably and earlier than last year. Seems like some students are preparing to find an apartment for Sept 08 before they go home for the holiday break. Now is ... http://bostonrealestateblog.com/college-housing-hunt-begining-early/