Open houses provide terrific opportunities to visit a neighborhood, investigate particular styles of housing, get a feel for space or picture yourself living somewhere.  Your real estate agent can set you up to receive weekly open house lists in your desired area and price range.  Visit an assortment and educate yourselves before getting serious about buying.  Upon arrival, introduce yourself, sign in with your Buyer agent's information, take a listing sheet and respectfully look around.  Feel free to ask questions but save any personal or money discussion for your own agent.
 

Etiquette tips: 

• Don’t use bathrooms or sit on furniture. 
• Ask before opening any closed doors. 
• Do not bring pets.
• Remove shoes if asked.

Other tips:

• Take notes on likes and dislikes.
• Observe other Buyers and listen.
• Concentrate on permanent items as opposed to changeable decor.
• Look up and down and for any signs of neglect or recent repairs.
• Walk the outside of the house/building and any immediate areas.
   

Stay Tuned for Part 2: READY TO BUY!

Looking for a buyer’s agent who can keep you informed and up to date on your real estate search?  You need someone experienced to guide you through this process and help negotiate for a wonderful new home!  Contact us and let one of our experts help!

Need an apartment in Boston?  Here are some spotlighted apartments that are available NOW:

Back Bay  |  185 Beacon St. #5R  |  1BR  |  $2,450 

AVAILABLE NOW!!!  Great views of Boston's historic cityscape, with all new appliances.  Facing South, this one bedroom unit receives an abundance of natural sunlight. This professionally managed building also features a walk-in closet and hardwood floors. Hot Water is included in the rent!  Please contact Andrew Bemben with any questions or to set up an appointment for this Saturday, 11/10 from 10:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.

Back Bay  |  719 Boylston St. #303  |  2BR  |  $3,750

AVAILABLE NOW!!!  Be the first to live in this BRAND NEW, two bedroom, professionally managed unit on Boylston and Exeter St.  New hardwood floors throughout, brand new kitchen with dishwasher and new bathroom's as well!  There is even an extra room for storage or office space, central air and washer/dryer in the unit!  Location is great - close to the Prudential Center and right on the Marathon/Parade route.  Please contact Andrew Bemben with any questions or to set up an appointment for this Saturday, 11/10 from 10:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.

Good news for developers: Boston recently initiated a "Compact Living" pilot.  It's a two-year program that will allow developers to build so-called micro housing units in the City (though the preferred term is "compact unit" instead of "micro unit").  Boston has been considering such a policy for a while, and this two-year experiment will let the City determine how well it works.  

In order to build micro housing units in Boston, developers need to meet a number of standards.  This includes complying with design standards, inclusionary housing requirements and following specific processes and procedures for approval.

Micro housing is often a hotly debated topic.  Opponents typically raise concerns about density and displacing families (who need larger units to accommodate all family members).  On the other side, micro units help promote affordability by creating more units and they help fill an underserved area of housing demand (according to Boston, the number of single people and couples is 2/3 of the City's population, but the number of studio and one-bedroom units is only 1/3 of the City's housing stock).

For more details on the pilot specifics, click here for Boston's webpage on the Compact Living Pilot.  If you are a developer looking for micro housing opportunities in Boston, contact Eric Shabshelowitz to help with your search.

In need of an apartment?  Here are a few featured apartments that are available for immediate move-in and at half of the broker's fee!

AVAILABLE NOW!!!  Wonderful, completely gut-rehabbed, with all new appliances.  One bedroom unit with large, sunny windows, refinished hardwood floors and an abundance of closet space.  Electricity, Heat and Hot Water included in the rent!  Please contact Andrew Bemben with any questions or to set up an appointment for this Saturday, 10/20 from 10:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.

 

Back Bay | 247 Newbury St., U3F | 1 Bed | $3,100

 

 

AVAILABLE NOW!!!  This spacious, sun-filled one bed is a great space for being in it all! As Back Bay maintains to be the neighborhood loaded with entertainment, food, shopping and anything you can fathom. Nestled in a superb location, located on Newbury and Fairfield St. This wonderful unit has a very open living room and large separate kitchen with granite counter tops. Heat and hot water included in the rent as well as a washer/dryer combo in the unit!  Please contact Andrew Bemben with any questions or to set up an appointment for this Saturday, 10/20 from 10:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.

 

 

Bay Village | 10 Church St., U3 | 2 Bed | $2,595

 

 

AVAILABLE NOW!!!  Live in this freshly painted, floor-thru two bedroom in Historic Bay Village! Right in the middle of the South End, Back Bay and Theatre District.  Location cannot be more convenient to transportation, the grocery store/markets, entrance/exit ramp to I-90 and laundry services.  This spacious unit has a very open living room with two, equal, large-sized bedrooms.  Please contact Andrew Bemben with any questions or to set up an appointment for this Saturday, 10/20 from 10:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.

 

 

Back Bay | 475 Beacon St., U9 | 2 Bed | $3,200

 

 

AVAILABLE NOW!!!  Newly renovated, two bedroom, garden floor-thru on Beacon and Hereford St.  New hardwood floors throughout, brand new kitchen with dishwasher and a new bathroom as well!  There is even a private outdoor patio to enjoy the Southern sun!  Location is great for being so close in proximity to the Charles River Esplanade.  There is common laundry right near the unit with hot water included in the rent!  Please contact Andrew Bemben with any questions or to set up an appointment for this Saturday, 10/20 from 10:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.

 

 

Buying a home doesn’t just involve finding a home that you love.  There are certain steps you can and should take to protect yourself – not just during the transaction itself, but also continuing thereafter.  One of those important protections is called a “Homestead”.  Here is a brief overview of homesteads from Attorney Joe Anderson of Crowley & Cummings:

“It is indeed a rarity that someone owns and resides in a home as their principal residence in Massachusetts and has not filed a homestead.  Nonetheless, you do not want to be the unfortunate person left in the cold when it comes to maybe the only fraction of a real estate closing that actually protects the homeowner (as opposed to the 70 other pages of documents and disclosures that only really protect the mortgage lender).  There is a shortage of things in life that are too good to be true, but the Massachusetts homestead is akin to having a professional mechanic replace your brakes for free, if not much better.  In the real estate world and estate planning arena, the greatest financial benefit for your dollar spent might be the homestead.  And when I say dollar, it only costs $35.00 to record a homestead.   

A homestead estate exempts a certain amount of equity in a home which is used as a principal residence from attachment, seizure, execution on judgment, levy and sale for the unsecured debts of the owner of the home.  Exceptions to this protection would include federal, state and local taxes, assessments, claims and liens, liens recorded prior to the creation of the homestead estate, mortgages, orders of the probate court for support, a levy or sale for ground rents (where the homeowner does not own the land) and an execution from a court to enforce a judgment based upon fraud, mistake, duress, undue influence or lack of capacity.     

By law, merely by owning a home and using it as a principal residence entitles the owner to automatic homestead protection of up to $125,000.00 of the equity therein.  However, by actually filing a Declaration of Homestead at the applicable registry of deeds increases the equity protection to up to $500,000.00. 

Under the Massachusetts Homestead Act, the homeowner’s equity is protected for up to one year after a sale of the home, and, if the home has suffered a casualty that results in the payment of insurance proceeds, then the insurance proceeds are protected for up to two years, in order to allow the homeowner time to acquire a homestead in a new (or reconstructed) home.  The Declared Homestead protects the owner, owner’s spouse and minor children.  Even upon the death of the owner, the protection continues for the spouse and minor children.        

Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly regarding your interest in the Massachusetts Declaration of Homestead.  There are some technical requirements, so your best bet would be to arrange to have a Massachusetts attorney draft the appropriate filing.  We can either a) confirm there is an existing homestead filed at the registry of deeds and email you a copy; or b) prepare a homestead for you, free of charge (provided you pay the $35.00 recording fee charged by the registry of deeds).” 

Thank you, Attorney Joe Anderson!

Searching for office space in Boston?  Whether focusing on the Back Bay or the Financial District, businesses considering one of them generally ask us about options in the other.  The Back Bay and the Financial District each have their advantages.  Here is a quick comparison of the rent and vacancy rates of the office markets in each of them:

Back Bay

Source: CoStar

Source: CoStar

Financial District

Source: CoStar

Source: CoStar

You can start your search for Boston office space for lease here.  As always, don't hesitate to contact us with questions or for help finding your new office space.

Massachusetts recorded record temperatures this Summer and the Fall looks like a warm one.  If you can’t get to the beach or prefer to stay in the city but still like to cool your toes, there are many terrific condo and rental buildings with pools!  Most neighborhoods have at least one property with a private pool, a hotel or two with possible pool memberships and an outside public pool as well as the YMCA. Here are a few options to consider when scouting your next move:

Pool at 45 Province
 

One economic indicator that many businesses and real estate investors monitor is employment.  The Boston Planning & Development Agency recently published a report titled “Trends in Boston Business Establishments & Payroll Employment”, which provides some useful data.  Here are some highlights:

• In 2016, Boston’s total payroll and non-payroll jobs increased to 794,038, up from 669,423 in 2010.  Total jobs are forecasted to reach 829,000 by 2030.
   
• In terms of job density, the commercial core of Boston has the highest density.  Downtown/North End had 163,845 jobs per square mile in 2015; Mattapan, by contrast, had 981 jobs per square mile.
   
• The “Health Care and Social Assistance” industry has the most payroll jobs in Boston, with over 140,000 in 2016.  The second highest is the “Professional, Scientific and Technical Services” industry at 80,524.

As it is based on census data, some of the analysis is a little stale (most of the data is from 2015-2016).  However, it does support that Boston continues to add jobs and is expected to do so for the foreseeable future.  Continued job growth is good for real estate investors, as those employees will need places to live.  It is also good for businesses, as those employees could be consumers of their goods and services.

There are a number of strategies investors can employ when deciding what opportunities they want to pursue.  Contact one of our investment property experts to formulate a plan and begin executing on it. 

Or, dive right into your search!  Whether you are looking for multifamily or commercial, you can start your search for investment property in Boston here.