Before and After

It never ceases to amaze me what a big change some paint and furniture can make in how you view a space. Take a look at what Ashley Whitaker Design was able to do with this dining room.

Now see what some minor and major work can do.

The difference is pretty amazing and when you look at was done, it really was a lot! No worries though, you can get a similar look accomplished for much less. The major work that was done: removing the beams in the ceiling, staining the floors, minor electrical and adding the built in cabinet. Now how do you accomplish this all for much less?

1. Don’t worry about the floors! (If you don’t own, you can’t make this change anyways!) If you notice, an area rug covers most of the floor so there’s little bare wood showing anyways. Find a rug that works with your furniture in terms of colors and you won’t have to worry about the floor at all.
2. Don’t worry about custom built-ins. There are plenty of companies that make pieces you can self assemble that serve the same purpose. Ikea will allow you build a similar cabinet at half the cost of a custom built cabinet.
3. Paint changes everything! Perhaps one of the biggest changes you can make in a room, is the color you paint the room. Know what colors work well with the furniture you’re planning to place in the room. This is what will help make the change seem so dramatic. Most landlords allow tenants to paint as long as the tenant paints it back before they move out.

Three simple steps that can dramatically change the way a room looks and how it is used.

Go Green with Outdoor Lighting

Looking for another reason to change your outdoor lighting to something more green and still think cost is an issue? How much are fewer mosquito bites worth to you? I recently heard story that LED lights attract far fewer mosquitoes than regular conventional lights. After doing some research, it turns out the story is true. Mosquitoes are attracted to ultraviolet light which LED’s produce zero of. So if you’d like to enjoy some longer nights outside this summer but would like fewer bugs, switch to more environmentally friendly LED lights. You’ll be saving the environment and yourself a lot of pain.

Special thanks to Mike Holmes for this information.

Boston Rental Market: Tough on Renters

For those of you that are looking to rent an apartment in the 12 months hopefully you’ve read this article on boston.com or read it in the paper. The article goes on to describe a story that any broker who’s worked in the Boston rental market can tell you.

First, if you think you’re going to get a steal on a place because you’ve heard in the news rents are going down keep dreaming. The article in the paper wisely points out that a minimum you’ll pay for a unit in downtown is $1400. Is this a hard and fast rule, no are there places less than $1400 sure, but they are few and far between and they are smaller than some single dorm rooms. Despite some vacancies landlords are holding out for their price and not willing to compromise. In one case I heard a landlord tell someone about their offer “I’d rather use the unit for storage!”

Second, if you have a pet especially a dog or are a family with small children who need a lead-free apartment it’s a very small market. Rental brokers have been telling people for years that if you have a dog it’s a very small market, very few owners and buildings for that matter take dogs. Unfortunately there are double standards in some buildings which can confuse people even further. At the Ritz and One Charles, owners are allowed to have dogs but anyone renting one of the condos cannot. Renters with small children often find themselves in similar situations due to the fact that the buildings in Boston are so old and so few people have renovated to the standards necessary. This leaves this group with few options depending on what they are looking for and not something they are always pleased with.

Finally, yes the sad fact is that due to previous market conditions most private landlords don’t want to pay the broker’s fee, for the tenant. The market had previously been that people we’re willing to pay to get into that place they saw and loved, but that’s no longer the case. The apartments have gotten older in many cases and more are sitting empty; but few landlords are willing to break the psychological barrier of paying the brokers fee. This surely hurts some landlords as their properties sit vacant for months at a time and others are just dealing with it. There is no right or wrong decision on this one it’s all about what the market will decide and it’s something that both sides should be aware of.

First 10 Days of April Market Report

The market data makes some interesting points this month. If you live in the Back Bay or South End, you’re seeing a sizable jump in the price/ft. but in Beacon Hill there was a large decrease. So if you were thinking about selling last year but were scared, don’t wait this one out because there are buyers out there and willing to pay more!

Back Bay 2010
3 Condo’s sold
Avg. Sale Price: $2,588,000
Avg. Price/Ft: $985.07

Back Bay 2009
5 Condo’s Sold
Avg. Sale Price: $1,345,900
Avg. Price/Ft: $836.83

Beacon Hill 2010
3 Condo’s Sold
Avg. Sale Price: $1,133,592
Avg. Price/Ft: $697.45

Beacon Hill 2009
3 Condo’s Sold
Avg. Sale Price: $3,483,333
Avg. Price/Ft: 1009.20

South End 2010
9 Condo’s Sold
Avg. Sale Price: $ $668,239
Avg. Price/ft: $618.63

South End 2009
7 Condo’s Sold
Avg. Sale Price: $564,143
Avg. Price/ft: $570.03

Where is Gen Y Renting?

Top 5 reasons why Gen Y’ers are choosing luxury buildings over brownstones:

They have to put less money down!
This is a simple answer and the headline says it all. Most buildings only require 1 month down and some sort of minimal security deposit. The building has the advantage of economies of scale and can afford to take the risk of someone leaving; a small landlord can’t afford that. This is the reason private landlords make you put so much money down, because they don’t want you walking out on the lease! Additionally, almost all luxury buildings pay the broker’s fee, which due to the rental market, most private owners have never had to do. In the past, people were willing to pay to get into their places, now with the economy that has changed.

Gen Y likes to be coddled
Growing up Gen Y was the group that was always told they were the best and the brightest and they could do anything they wanted! Their parents took care of them; they weren’t the latch key kids from prior generations. But now that they are out on their own, who is going to do that? Allow me to introduce, 24hr concierge and maintenance staff! Services that had previously only been available to those making high six figure incomes are now available to everyone. Have a problem? Call the maintenance staff; they will take care of it for you just like mom and dad used to. Private landlords can vary in how well they respond, but you definitely can’t get them at 3am if you have problem.

Gen Y likes feedback
Feedback has always been important to Gen Y; they like to know how they are doing. This is a large part of why Gen Y gets technology, because it’s really all about speeding up the feedback process. Keeping this in mind, luxury buildings have responded. Luxury buildings in Boston have developed something called “Building Link”. It’s a system that after a quick setup, sends an email or text message to your phone when an action occurs. This can be that your dry cleaning was returned and is now waiting for you to pick up, or that a package or fax has arrived. If it’s a package, the system will even let you know which delivery company dropped it off. It’s constant feedback. Needless to say, private landlords don’t have anything like this.

Someone waiting for you when you get home
When Gen Y’s came home generally there was someone (a parent) at home waiting for them, to ask them how their day was. Luxury buildings have even figured this out, and have positioned doormen at the entrance so when you get home after a long day’s work there’s someone there to greet you. If you’ve lived there long enough, possibly even by name and ask how your day is going.

They have had better than their parents had
It’s certainly the wish most parents have, that their children have more than they had, but now it’s out of hand. When most parents tell the story of their first apartment they talk about leaks in the ceiling and strange neighbors and bugs of some variety. They generally had to walk to the laundry-mat down the street in the winter and it was up a hill. Gen Y will have no such stories. Many of their first apartments feature granite counters, stainless steel appliances and have laundry directly in the unit. The buildings have rules and regulations that prevent obnoxious neighbors and if something breaks, once again there is someone on call to get it fixed.

So what can private landlords do to compete? The answer is simple, pay  the broker fee if asked, and make sure you update your units every 10 years or so. In ideal world it would be less than every 10 years, but people will settle for a 10 year update. For more information on luxury buildings in Boston call us at 617-449-3642