Real Estate Addicts

The Real Estate Addicts are joined this week by Michael LeBlanc, principal at Utile, a Boston based“design firm built like a think tank”. Utile has grown from their founding in 2002 to a 64-member team that consistently produces some of the smartest and most innovative approaches to design and urban planning in the City. In this episode Michael shares his perspective on design, why Utile has no one “signature style” and how Utile’s urban planning work influences and improves their design work. Michael walks our listeners through Utile’s very involved client-driven design process and explains how this process yields the right design at the right budget. Finally, Michael shares a “case study” on the Gerard, a 160-unit apartment building which presented a number of challenges during design which Utile did a masterful job of resolving. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. We appreciate your feedback (therealestateaddicts@gmail.com) and your reviews and thank you for sharing!

The Real Estate Addicts are thrilled to be joined by Ed Glaeser, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and author of the compelling and provocative book Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier. In this episode we explore why change is unlikely to be as terrifying as people have convinced themselves it’s likely to be, why unleashing private developers and allowing real growth promotes affordability (hint: “There is no repealing the laws of supply and demand!”). We touch on the notion of “landmarks” and Ed explains why “History shouldn’t be a straight jacket”. Other topics we touch on include, public transit, regulatory creep, we compare Detroit to Silicon Valley, Congestion pricing and finally we answer the question, how are good cities like good libraries? Thank you for sharing, rating & reviewing & we look forward to your feedback!

Carrie Tennant of the Community Builders (TCB) joins the Pod to discus how Affordable Housing is financed and developed. We closely examine low income housing tax credits (LITC) and provide a guide for developers interested in this sector of development. How are LITC's awarded and under what criteria? What is an ideal size project for LITC's? What is a 4% or 9% tax credit? How much of the project will those credits finance? How long do affordable deed restrictions last and what happens when they expire? We hope you enjoy the Podcast and please e-mail us at The RealEstateAddicts with your feedback!

In this episode we are joined by Josh Brandt, co-found of Stack + Co. and discus how Stack + Co has grown to becoming a best in class Design Build Firm in New England. Josh walks us through the founding of the company through growing the business to the $20mm per year mark. We also discus Josh's first foray leveraging his design/construction background into real estate development. The conversation was interesting and engaging throughout. We hope you get a chance to listen and please e-mail us with your feedback to TheRealEstateAddicts@gmail.com

Mike Costello has served as Director of Recruiting and Talent Acquisition for major companies like Suffolk Construction and American Tower where he currently leads corporate recruiting efforts and is responsible for overseeing 300-400 new hires per year! We discuss tips and tricks for recruiters and job candidates alike so they can make the best hires and career decisions. Some of the highlights of our conversation include; how to formally structure an interview, how to ask behavior and situational based questions as well as the best strategies to answer them. We hope you enjoy the Podcast and please e-mail us with your feedback or questions to TheRealEstateAddicts@gmail.com

Had a lot of fun recording this episode with the hosts of the Cash Flow Kings out of Providence, RI. In this episode we compare the Providence, RI and Boston, MA markets. We compare and contrast buying strategies and compare notes on the challenges and opportunities inherent in each.

Patrick Mahoney of Boston Zoning Strategies offers REA listeners a diversity of experience as a zoning attorney, local developer and former building official. We begin by clarifying and explaining the nuances of some commonly misunderstood zoning terms such as building height, number of stories & FAR. We discus the difference between a story and a “mezzanine”, how to measure grade if the property is built on a hill & when a basement contributes as a “story” on a building? We also dive into the notion of “grandfather status” and when a non-conforming feature can actually be considered “exiting to remain” (hint: statue of limitations).

In this episode we are delighted to be joined by Bruce Percelay, founder and Chairman of the The Mount Vernon Company. Bruce brings us through his career starting in the mailroom of an advertising company to founding a real estate investment firm considered among the leading apartment landlords in Massachusetts. The company has grown over the past 30 years to include approximately 1,600 apartments, 5 hotels, as well as select commercial and vacation properties. This was one of our favorite episodes and truly one you don’t want to miss! We’d love to hear your feedback! Please e-mail us at therealestateaddicts@gmail.com!

REA is joined by Michael DiMella & P.T. Vineburgh, co-founders of Charlesgate Realty Group to discuss how they’ve organically built an incredibly successful boutique real estate brokerage firm which specializes in the marketing of new construction for multi-unit residential. The guys share how they’ve persevered in an industry where large national brands seem to be eating up more and more market share. We candidly discus topics like off market “pocket” listings, Realtors who pay to be featured in “Who’s Who” publications and whether print ads really work or if they just make sellers feel special? What does it mean to be a “closer” and should they be remanded to used car dealerships? Finally, we discus the innovative strategies Charlesgate has pioneered in selling new construction. Enjoy the episode and thanks for your reviews on iTunes and for sharing!

Anne Amagrande, founder of Grande AMA & Associates LLC has created a system of acquiring single family homes in blue-collar neighborhoods in AZ & TX by re-positioning them and executing a planned exit using a “lease option” often targeted to buyers who may have more difficult time qualifying for a conventional purchase. Anne’s system and her private equity firm provides investors with cash flow, equity growth and preferable tax treatments. We discuss the nuances of “lease to own” and some of the regulatory pitfalls, how Anne has successfully scaled this business, what improvements Anne prioritizes in a “Rentovation” as well as Anne’s preferred investment structure for investors. E-mail us your feedback at TheRealEstateAddicts@gmail.com

In this episode, The Real Estate Addicts throw it back to their roots as they are joined by Professor Jonathan Keefe of the BU Program for Real Estate Studies. REA co-host, Marc Savatsky met Jonathan in 2011 when he began exploring a career transition from construction to real estate development and enrolled in Jonathan’s evening course, Fundamentals of Investment Analysis. Aside from helping to run the BU program, Jonathan is also the Managing Director of Strategic Services at Cushman and Wakefield where he provides a unique blend of executive and consulting experience to help clients optimize their real estate organization, strategies, portfolios, transactions, projects, and operations. In our conversation, we revisit some of the same the same analytical techniques covered in Jonathan’s course which each aim to help developers make effective decisions about the acquisition, development, financing, and disposition of investment properties. Topics discussed include: Time value of money; aftertax discounted cash flow analysis; net present value; internal rate of return (IRR); investment decision rules; income capitalization and debt coverage ratios.

Aaron Galvin, Founder & CEO of Luxury Living Chicago Realty (LLCR) joins the Pod to discuss how LLCR is transforming the way luxury apartments are being leased. Aaron works closely with the nation’s top development firms consulting on everything from apartment pricing to finishes to amenity programming. Galvin oversees a pipeline of exclusively listed multifamily developments including new Class-A lease-ups, ongoing leasing, and condo deconversions. He manages a team of Realtors responsible for over $500 million in rental volume and over $100 million in sales volume in downtown Chicago. Our conversation was wide ranging and interesting throughout touching on topics including: Macro trends favoring renting and why a once perceived stigma is quickly disappearing Implementing an ideal marketing program consisting of an awareness phase, nurturing campaigns, & pre-launch phase What is a VIP launch strategy and how has LLCR has used this in part to pre-lease at least 25% of a building before it opens Pricing strategies including tips on how to effectively and surgically employ lease-up concessions LLCR’s typical lease up durations and strategies to accelerate those timelines Which capital improvements should a developer prioritize to ensure their buildings are competing with class-A apartment buildings? How Aaron has built a specific expertise in the marketing and leasing of condo deconversions – a trend of investors buying condo buildings and converting them into a apartments which is surging in Chicago. How smart developers are using amenities to effectively bring people together and build shared experiences The way which technological amenities like building wide apps are gaining quick adaption and why they are here to stay Why using amenities which simply “check the box” are inadequate and not even worth doing How to make best use of model units We discus landlord tenant law and compare Boston to Chicago Multi-year leases and two major and often overlooked ways they make a positive impact on buildings

We had the pleasure to chat with Bryan Lee, one of the three founding principles at Transom Real Estate on his career in real estate development. Bryan and his partners each hail from Related Beal where they gained experience working on a variety of large-scale projects in various sectors of development. The very first project Transom took on was 212 Stuart St., a major undertaking consisting of 126 residential, 19 stories and 146,0000-square-foot ground-out development in Bay Village, one of Boston’s most desirable neighborhoods. We discus construction pricing, compare the pros and cons of developing apartments versus condos, how Transom filters opportunities, the merits of debt brokerage, how Transom uses opportunity funds to finance their deals, what makes for good design and why Bryan and his partners are firm believers in spending on design to distinguish their projects. We had a ton of fun recording this episode and hope you will enjoy it too! Thanks for your reviews on iTunes, your feedback and as always for sharing the podcast!

Anthony Fava of Sun Property Group joins the guys to share his path from practicing Civil Engineer to Developer and co-owner of Sun Property Group. Anthony discusses how he and his business partner, Ryan Hunt have built a diversified real estate business which specializes in real estate sales, property management, construction and development. We talk in particular about how Anthony manages his construction staff and has grown his company in terms of its systems and procedures and where they hope to go next.

We had the pleasure of chatting with Devon Wegman, founder of Devon Grace Interiors about how her work as an interior designer interplays with real estate development. We discussed the latest trends in interior design, debated where the best places to spend design dollars are, weather you can find acceptable finishes at big box stores like home depot and how to vet out an interior designer before you hire them. Are subway tiles played out? Should you panel your appliances? Give this episode a listen before you pick finish specifications for you next project!