Archive for the 'Generl news' category

With the South Boston neighborhood booming with development its residents seem to be drawing the line. Residents have started a petition to block the demolition of St. Augustine’s Church. Although the church is not considered a historic landmark the city requires a review for structures older than fifty years. The developers have indicated that they are seeking plans to rehab the building as well.

American Provisions, our favorite local grocer and lunchtime spot, has finally been granted permission to sell wine, beer, and malt beverages seven days a week!

They first opened their doors in December of 2010 and their liquor license was approved this past November. Employees of the store worked late into Sunday night prepping the back portion of the store to be home to several “craft” and “small-batch” wine and beers….and then, starting Tuesday morning, American Provisions opened the doors to start the newest chapter of their business.

When you’re out and about on Broadway swing by and check it out, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! 

Oh, and while you're at it...pop over to Capital Residential Group for all your real estate needs ;-) 

ally@capresidential.com

South Boston Condo Market Update!!! Average condo sale price in 2011 was $388,724.00.......average sale price thus far  this year is $420,038.00....time to BUY? call Capital Residential for a sneak peek at our upcoming listings!! time to SELL? call CAPRES for a no-nonsense market analysis of your condo/single family or multi-family home...617.268.1119

June and July were very busy months in the South Boston Condo market, 50+ condos were on the market for less than 10 Days!!! Its so important for buyers to get a head start on your condo search so call Capital Residential(617.268.1119) and get a sneak peek at our upcoming development projects!!

South Boston’s newest project: “20-minute” living — where the major stops of daily life — public transit, shops, restaurants, and other amenities — are within a 20-minute walk.

These tiny apartments are now under construction in South Boston. They run along A Street, in the Boston Wharf Tower, one of the Seaport’s newest residential buildings.

These units are as small as 450 square feet. Barely big enough to accommodate a few essentials: galley kitchen, bathroom, and bed or pull-out sofa. Common areas are being designed to influence residents to dine, work and socialize outside of their individual units.

Rents will range from $1200 - $1600 a month.  These units are targeting young professionals who are will to give up square footage for proximity to urban life, here in South Boston.

In today's crazy real estate market, especially here in South Boston where once proud 2 and 3 families stood tall, there are now signs everywhere advertising luxury condos! Rents are sky high, and they continue to rise, while the supply is super low . The million dollar question that you ask - do I rent or buy? Do you spend $3000-$4000 a month on rent or do you scrape up a little extra and achieve the American Dream of Home Ownership? Here in South Boston, a town that has enough realtors to make your head spin, you have more than one option.  But there should be only one choice when it comes to real estate.  That choice is Capital Residential Group (CRG).

Here at CRG we have experienced agents that handle all aspects of rentals and sales. Whether you are renting a studio for $1000/month or buying a $1,000,000 condo, all clients are treated the same. We want to welcome you to this unique and exciting town with the respect that you deserve. If you are about to begin your real estate search for a place to rent or buy, please do yourself a favor and make sure we are first on your list! Give us a call at 617-268-1119 or stop in our office at 611 East Broadway for coffee and a scone (our treat) and speak to one of our experienced agents. Spend as much time as you like in our office lounge browsing through our rentals and sales database. Here at CRG, we love turning newcomers into clients that end up being a friend for life! 

The first step in preparing your home to sell is coming to realization that you must disassociate yourself with your home. Potential buyers must be able to visualize themselves in their new home, not in yours.  So depersonalize, remove pictures of grandma (we still love her), take down the kids artwork off the fridge and hide the golf trophies.

Depersonalizing your home help move you on the next part of the process, removing all unnecessary objects or clutter. By removing clutter you are going to help make the property seem larger and more open. So, take down the knick knacks and souvenirs from last summers vacation. You might want to think about hiring one of the many companies that drop off movable storage units. This allows you to store your personal belongings and have them moved to your new  residence at a time you desire.

This next tips should go without saying KEEP IT CLEAN! Vacuum on a daily basis , clean out the fridge, and use a candle to dispel any nasty odors. You never know when someone might want to see your house so be prepared. 

OK, so now that you have more space to move lets make some minor repairs at little cost to you. Pick up a couple of bottles of cleaner, bleach, and paper towels. Keep the windows clean, bleach the grout and shine that floor, lets make this place sparkle!  

As Boston condo’s become ever more popular due to lifestyle desires and proximity to the amenities of a major US city, many buyers don’t take into consideration the association’s reserve account.

Most buyers know that a condo complex, may it be a former 2 family building or a 300+ unit facility with tennis courts and a pool, that their condo association fees are to cover items such as trash removal, snow removal (if you’re lucky), and the building’s master policy.  The more amenities an association provides, the higher the fees.  But most buyers don’t look beyond the actual association fee.  What they should really be questioning is how healthy the association’s reserve is.

In Massachusetts, the law states all condominiums to be required to maintain an adequate replacement reserve fund collected as part of the common expenses (GL Chapter 183A, S10(i)).  Now granted this may be overridden by a vote of 67% of the beneficial interest in the association at an annual meeting, but Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA all require an annual operating budget to include a reserve fund of at least 10% of the budget.  Considering those GSE’s dominate the lending landscape, it is wise for the associations’ sake to be able to sell and finance units easily by having the reserve.  Also, as with anything, doing the bare minimum to pass can often get you in trouble down the line. 

The reality is, if an association has not properly been funding its reserve, and a deferred maintenance issue rears its head, as it often does with aging properties, the unit owners will face special assessments on top of their monthly condo association fees to pay for said projects.  For instance, if the property needs repointing, or a new roof, and there is not enough money in the reserve, then the unit owners will have to directly pay an increase, ie. special assessment, to have that work done. 

Reserve studies from qualified analysts can be great tools used by an association to give a much better idea of what the annual reserves should be based up on the status of the capital items at the association.  Feel free to inquire to your association to see if they have ever had one performed, especially if you are buying into an older complex. 

The bottom line is, just be cautious to not only confirm what your association has in reserves, but what that amount is in comparison to the actual budget.  That will be a tell-tale sign as to the health of your association, and the avoidance of any future special assessments.  

Andrew Schena

The Gate of Heaven School, which educated the youth of South Boston for decades, is being sold by the Archdiocese of Boston. According to Colliers International, the Archdiocese does not have an asking price for the 44,288 square foot property located at  609 East Foruth Street in South Boston, but will be reviewing offers throughout August. Although a residential development seems most likely, the property could serve as office, non-profit, educational, or institutional space.   
 

There are many people in life that achieve great things.  Those certain individuals are both revered and slandered as most people express their own opinions through many different channels these days.  The one common attribute that most types of successful individuals possess is never being complacent.  Not in their business, not in their personal lives, nor in their individual achievements.   

Success, no matter what you apply it to, is not just a God given right.  There has to be hard work attached to any natural given talent in order to rise to the top.  Many people say that pro-athletes make the millions of dollars because they were given a gift of physical skill or body type.  I agree with that sentiment, but there is much more to it.  What often gets overlooked is the extreme hard work, training and dedication that is committed, away from the spotlight that allows that athlete to fine tune their skills to be the best, and achieve top flight status.  The same goes in business.

After listening to some of the brightest minds and successful real estate business owners over the past few days, there is one commonality found amongst all of them.  Creating a system, and taking action. 

Just having a natural talent will definitely get you places, but if you want to achieve that upper echelon of production, or even if it’s a basic goal, you’ve got to work to get there. Too many people today enroll or start reaching for things that they want, and then expect it to fall in their lap.  They don’t have a plan to get there, and when they meet the first wall of resistance, they give up. 

Success is never easy.  Success is achievement.  No matter if it’s physical, mental, family, or professional, write down your goals, map out how to get there, take action and work with a purpose.  Just make sure you look up from time to time to measure how far you’ve gone, and how effective your actions have been.  You may hit your goals a lot sooner than you think.