83 West Brookline South End Condos

January 17, 2012 By

If you’re in the market for a 2 bedroom home in Boston’s South End, take a moment to look at the development at 83 West Brookline, a gut rehab with all of the bells and whistles. The building is in close proximity to Blackstone Park and all of the great shopping and dining that come with living in the South End. The condos themselves are beautiful. They boast hardwood flooring throughout, skylights, recessed lighting, central A/C, in unit washer and dryer, intercom, solid wood custom kitchen cabinets, high-end stainless steel appliances (Kitchen Aid, Bosh, and LG), gas cooking, granite counter tops, and fabulous views of the Boston skyline (from the penthouse unit).

South End Condo One Bedroom

83 West Brookline Condo Development Market Update

While Unit 2 at 83 West Brookline is currently under agreement and no longer on the market, two (2) condos do remain for sale at this South End property. The 2 bedroom 1.5 bath penthouse and the 2 bedroom 1.5 bath parlor level duplex are still available and priced aggressively. The duplex has undergone an $80,000.00 price reduction. After coming to market with a list price of $695,000, the condo is currently being offered at $615,000. In terms of price per square foot, this unit is $541.85/square foot. The penthouse has also undergone a price drop; from $765,000 to $699,000 ($583.96/square foot). With both units dipping below the $600/square foot threshold, it is anticipated that these units will come under agreement rather quickly.

Filed Under: South End Condos Tagged With:

Real Estate Finally Logs on to Facebook

January 5, 2012 By

Any start-up founded in 2008 or after would be remiss without plotting an online social media marketing course that included Facebook. But in practical implementation terms, are Facebook or Twitter legitimate and earnest ways to drive exposure to your brand? With significant search engine results page (SERP) related penalties being paid in the past by firms who went online and did what all their peers were doing, trying to drive content creation and links, but doing it in an unnatural and manipulative way, any firm has to ask themselves whether they’re poking and tweeting for the right reasons.

What’s the true value of social media in real estate for buyers and sellers, the real essence of it? For instance, as a seller, am I getting any real value out of having an Agent tweet about my listing, or if my Broker has a Facebook page, are they going to sell my house faster? If Brokers are out there trying to do the right things for the right reasons, are social media websites and real estate a value producing combination, or are they just a necessary evil for Brokers who are trying to get ahead in SERPs?

While worth considering, perhaps these are deeper and more thought provoking questions than what we want to cover in this particular article. But currently with more than 800 million active users and more than 50% of those users logging on in any given day, Facebook is a formidable reality that, rather than being taken advantage of for the benefit of SERPs or the like, a firm must make part of their standard operating procedures. And for that reason, we recently implemented Facebook login at Stuart St James.

Stuart St James (http://stuartstjames.com) is a growing Boston real estate brokerage and Facebook login is a feature function that we recently incorporated into our flagship website. Facebook login was developed by our real estate web design & search partner, Displet, and the feature allows users to register or login to our site using their Facebook credentials. Centered on the principal that when real estate buyers and sellers are online, there’s a good chance that they are logged on to Facebook, the Facebook login feature is a technology advancement that makes the home search process more seamless, simple, and efficient by allowing users to leverage their already known and memorized Facebook credentials to setup an account on our site.

At this moment, as far as we know, we’re the only Boston real estate brokerage that offers this convenient Facebook login technology. That badge of honor is surely not going to last. Much like in 2006 when a site like Boston Condo Guy was the forerunner in bringing Google map-based search to the Boston market, the feature function was soon replicated by other brokerages and is now commonplace across real estate related websites.

So rather than focusing on SERPs and how to leverage social media, even with shielding yourself from those “wrong reasons”, we’re trying to keep it simple, focusing on rolling out simple and intuitive technology that ultimately drives a better real estate experience for buyers, sellers, renters, and developers.

Filed Under: Real Estate Technology

Most Expensive Boston Condo Sold (October)

November 4, 2011 By

Would it be surprising to know that there have been ten (10) Boston condos that have sold in the last two (2) months for more than $2,000,000 a piece?  As Boston enters the fall market, the most expensive condo sold in the month of October sets a high bar.  Penthouse unit 21K at the Intercontinental Boston Condo Development sold on October 28, 2011 for $6,000,000

After being on the market for 295 days, with a starting listing price of $6,450,000, the 4,752 square foot duplex broke the $1,200+ price per square foot mark in the Waterfront neighborhood of Boston.

Intercontinental Boston Condo Development

Listed for sale by Jeffrey Goldman of Otis & Ahearn, Goldman describes the listing:

Walking into the 1100 square foot living/dining room of this magnificent four bedroom plus study Penthouse is breathtaking! The spectacular vews of Boston Harbor, 10′ high ceilings, gas fireplace and 500 square foot private roof terrace, make this a rare offering on The Waterfront! Each bedroom, has an en-suite bath and the kind of closet space one can only dream about! With the best concierge services in the city and all the amenities of The InterContinental Hotel at your fingertips!

Interested in making the ultra luxury condo-hotel development home, there are currently 4 units for sale in the building – search all Intercontinental Boston condos for sale.

Intercontinental Living Room Boston

Intercontinental Boston Kitchen

Filed Under: Waterfront Condos Tagged With: ,

South End Boston Parking Spaces

September 26, 2011 By

Hard to imagine that Boston is poising itself for another winter season. Invariably, as the thought of snow and ice, digging through snow, and saving parking spots enters the minds of car owners, parking spaces listed for sale seem to increase in velocity on the Boston MLS. For a complete view, evaluate all Boston parking spaces for sale that are currently available.

Some of the most attractive parking spots continue to be those that are found at Wilkes Passage and Rollins Square in the South End. Prices in these buildings are quite competitive, the velocity is rather steady, and HOA fees are relatively low for garage parking. The one thing to keep in mind when considering Wilkes or Rollins is that you do not need to live in either complex to purchase a parking space in the building, however, you do indeed need to be a resident of the South End neighborhood. This combination of information is not always entirely clear in listings, yet, critical to know especially if you are an investor looking to make an investment in parking spots.

Filed Under: Boston Parking Spaces

Boston Macallen Building Pet Policy for Renters

September 16, 2011 By

Caution to pet owners who are looking to rent an apartment in the Macallen Building, South Boston’s premier green building boasting 140 units with luxury amenities. Building management of the ultra-luxury Gold LEED-certified development that was introduced to Boston in 2007 refuses pets for renters based on policies in the HOA’s condominium documents.

Recently, Macallen Building apartments for rent had inaccurate listing details, indicating to potential renters that pets are allowed.

Following a standard review process by building management of all renters, the Macallen Building pet policy for renters becomes explicit.

It’s quite common for condominium developments throughout Boston to have some sort of Boston condo pet policy in place, oftentimes limiting the number and/or size of pets allowed, however, the differentiation between owners and renters at a particular building like the Macallen Building in South Boston and disparate policies for each is less common.

Filed Under: Boston Rentals Tagged With: ,

Boston Restaurant Week August 2011

August 6, 2011 By

The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau recently announced the continuation of a tradition in Boston, Restaurant Week, scheduled for August 14-19 & 21-26, 2011.

Throughout Restaurant Week Boston, diners can enjoy 2-course lunches for $15.11, 3-course lunches for $20.11 and/or dinners for $33.11 throughout Boston, Cambridge, the suburbs and beyond. Diners can choose from old favorites to the latest culinary hot spots, from nationally known chain restaurants to local chef-driven bistros, from Asian or Argentinean fare to French, Italian, tapas, sushi and new American.

Explore participating restaurants and book tables on the restaurant week website.

Filed Under: Boston Restaurants

Boston Moving Scams

July 28, 2011 By

Following up on What you Need to Know Before Hiring a Long Distance Moving Company, an article we published in the latter half of 2010, USA Today recently ran an article that pulled together some quick tips on how to avoid Boston moving scams.

  1. Don’t book a moving company solely online. Meet your movers before moving day.
  2. Look at a variety of companies and make comparisons among at least three written in home estimates.
  3. Get references from other customers.
  4. Check for a ProMover logo, which indicates that the company has passed an annual check for felony convictions, improper advertising and good Better Business Bureau ratings.
  5. Check Protectyourmove.gov to see a company’s complaint history, its safety record and how it compares to companies nationally.

Perhaps the most important is tip number 1. When planning a move, expenses tend to mount, and it’s tempting to go with a quote that you got entirely online – it seems simple and hassle free, yet it will probably be anything but that. If you’re doing a significant move, you owe it to yourself to have several moving companies come out and actually visit you in your home, do a proper inventory, and verify the surroundings – for instance, if you live on a 4th floor walk up, can all of your furniture fit down the staircase, do you need to coordinate with a Boston crane company, or are you going to incur extra charges because of the number of flights of stairs? More than likely, an online company is going to miss some or all of these things, among others.

Filed Under: Boston Condos

Cleaning Hardwood Floors

July 24, 2011 By

Given the predominance of hardwood floors throughout Boston condominiums, a recent article from the World Floor Covering Association on how to care for and maintain hardwood floors gives you the advice, as well as do’s and don’ts, on how to keep your hardwood floors looking as pristine as possible for as long as possible.

Some of the advice includes:

  • Use welcome maps at the entrances of your home
  • Invest in a vacuum without a beater bar to get in between the planks of your floor
  • Leverage a high quality mop with a rotating head to get into “hard to reach” corners
  • Cover furniture legs with felt or flannel protectors

Buyers moving into a unit with hardwood floors should consider re-sanding and re-finishing the floors before they move in. If you’re considering making any investments into your home, and the hardwoods are somewhere on the list and you think that you’ll eventually get around to it after you move in, think again. You’ll save yourself a tremendous amount of headaches and inconvenience if you quickly knock that job out immediately following the closing of your home when there is no furniture in the unit – plan ahead and line up your hardwood flooring contractor well before closing so that they can start immediately upon you taking possession of the home – the seller should accommodate reasonable requests to gain access to the unit prior to closing should your contractor need to see the unit in person.

Filed Under: Boston Condos

W Hotel & Condos: Boston vs Austin

June 25, 2011 By

Boston is not the only city that the W Hotel & Condo Development calls home.  While the Boston W Condos brought new flair to the Boston skyline with a 28-story glass and steel structure, those in Austin, Texas saw a similar phenomenon.  So which hotel and condo development is better?

Similar to the Boston W offering an upscale new restaurant called Market, the Austin W boasts a similar swanky eatery called Trace.

Both hotel and condo developments sport a modern look and feel with loads of glass, however, the Austin W Residences boast individual outdoor living space in some units whereas Boston does not.  You be the judge, is it the Boston W Residences or Austin W Residences that catches your eye?

Boston W Hotel & ResidencesAustin W Hotel & Residences

W Hotel Condo Window Safety Issues

In mid-June of this year, several people were treated for cuts and scrapes after two glass window panes fell from the Austin W Hotel and Condos.  Austin Police stated that two window panes fell from a 24th story window onto the pool deck of the complex.

Not long before the Austin debacle, the Atlanta W Hotel experienced tragedy when two friends crashed through a seventh-story window, one falling to their death.  .

Filed Under: Boston Condos Tagged With:

Another Craigslist Apartment Rental Scam

June 18, 2011 By

A thrash of apartment rental scams that seemed to begin popping up in 2009 and 2010 have reappeared, and this time, scam artists are targeting luxury Boston rental apartments.

A reader contacted us recently inquiring whether the rental dialogue that they were having with a purported condo owner at Trinity Place, the luxury condo development located at 1 Huntington Avenue adjacent to Copley Square, was legitimate. The reader was kind enough to forward one of the emails they received from the scam artist, which advertises a penthouse duplex available at Trinity Place for rent. The only catch, the owner requests upfront cash through Google checkout before the potential renter can even so much as see the unit.

For some many reasons this is wrong, however, one interesting note is that there are no duplexes at Trinity Place, and further, the penthouse level of Trinity Place, is composed of two separate grand units that are owned by the same individual.

To make readers aware what this scam looks like, we are publishing the email thread between the potential renter (name has been removed) and the scam artist below.

Trinity Place Boston Craigslist Apartment Rental Scam

From: Christy Patton
Date: Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 5:36 PM
Subject: Re: 3 Bedroom 3 Bath Super Luxury Penthouse Duplex – $2899/month (Boston)

Hi, My name is Christy, I am 32 years old and I’m an interior designer.
I apologize for the delay! The apartment is ready for moving in. The address is 1 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02116.

About the viewing, I am really looking forward to meeting you and to get to know you better before renting the apartment to you, but before that I will need to be sure that you are committed to rent it and that you can afford to pay for the rent. Please don’t get me wrong, but I have been disappointed a couple of times before by people who made me arrange a viewing and in the end proved themselves to be nothing but time wasters as they tried to convince me to lower the monthly rent and stuff like that. Every time I made the trip to Boston for nothing wasting both time and money. I will be taking care so that won’t happen again.

Because of that I have decided to go on with this only through GoogleCheckout. They have a program called Letting Protection. It was created especially for these types of situations, like ours, when it’s difficult to meet. They can take care about the viewing and the payment and they are offering assistance and protection for both, landlord and tenant.

If you decide to go on with renting the place I will need some information in order to set up the rental transaction with GoogleCheckout. Please let me know your full name, full address – I will be needing this for the contract – your age, married/children, occupation, car/pet, how many people will move in, when are you planning to move in and how long do you want to stay. As soon as I will have this info I will forward it to GoogleCheckout and they will get back to you with all the necessary details to follow in order to proceed with the rental process.

Let me know if there is anything else you want to know about the apartment.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Filed Under: Boston Rentals
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