All Forum Posts by: Alexander M Stanton

Absolutely! There is still a fair amount of demand, but I am seeing a lot of clients postponing their search - maybe 10% of people I've interacted with have actually said in writing that they are canceling their search for now, and/or are expressly waiting to see what happens or delaying their move to Boston. 

The biggest challenge right now is on renting things sight-unseen. Most tenants won't rent something without viewing it, but the tenants in place who haven't broken their leases won't let people into their apartment for showings! The properties getting rented have 3D tours, or at the absolute least videos, and primarily properties with 3D tours are getting rented.

 Landlords are scared, and that fear combined with the challenges in getting vacant and occupied apartments rented is creating an artificial dip in prices as high as 40% in some areas and price points. It will take a while to bounce back from this. I would see this as a tremendous opportunity for liquid investors to purchase properties in the next 2-4 months from landlords who don't want to weather the current vacancies.

Fundamentally, we're seeing a big shift from a seller's market to a buyer's market in Boston rentals which as far as I know is unprecedented. I think we will see more landlords paying broker fees to get tenants in place, accepting lower rents, and having to make concessions for qualified tenants. Renters with a high credit score or quality cosigner will have the option to demand discounts if they recognize the situation for what it is.

The flip side is, if things do return to normal in the middle of the summer, we'll likely see a big spike in prices as landlords seek to capitalize on the newfound demand.

@David Barnett

That’s for real! I’m a rental agent in Boston and a lot of students and their parents are still holding their breath. There have already been so many lease breaks and discounted medium term rentals with landlords hoping to lock someone in with a 9/1 price increase

@Karl B.

Those are some really good points, thanks for sharing that Karl!

I’ve definitely noticed section 8 is below market in some areas near me, but well above in others.

I think a great way to get a better picture is to look up the “Small Area Fair Market Rents” which will give you the voucher values for every zip code in a given city.

@Craig Hormes

In my opinion section 8 is a great idea. It’s important to understand the program, because it does change the rules a little bit when it comes to placing tenants and handling evictions.

The annual inspections will help you maintain your units in excellent condition, and if the unit fits your tenants’ needs they will stay as long as they can.

Also I don’t know if it’s as big a concern in Florida but make sure your units are de-leaded!! Most of the section 8 applicants I see are single moms with young kids.

As far as considering section 8 right now, they’re the absolute lowest risk of not being able to pay- even if they couldn’t, you’re still gonna get 70+% deposited directly anyway! Every landlord who has tenants on vouchers up here in Mass is absolutely thrilled right about now.

@Ezra Okon

What services are important to you?

Do you need online rent-collection? A good handyman? Someone else to be the tenants main point of contact, and to locate the right service providers as needed? High-level advertising of units when they are going to become available?

If so, I can help you. I am a real estate agent and investor located in Charlestown MA, and I specialize in using technology to streamline the real estate game for others. I can use quality software to handle the paperwork for you, and be your boots on the ground to check out tenant issues as well as locate the necessary vendors. I also create 3D tours of all properties I work with in order to market them sight-unseen at a level most agents and management can’t compete with due to the COVID-19 insanity.

Let me know if you’d like to chat.

@Alan Robson

One big consideration would be how long he’s been doing this- if he adversely, openly, and hostilely demands control/treated that part of the property as if he owned it for a long enough time he has a legal case to own it. In MA that is 20 years.

Since your mom bought in 2007 it’s only been 13 years so hopefully you’ll be fine! But yeah you’re likely gonna need to lawyer up. And if he’s scaring off tenants and making your life hell in the meantime you might have some sort of case of opportunity cost.

I would also advise talking to a lawyer sooner rather than later because if it does come to a legal battle the first person to file has a little bit of a psychological upper hand in the court system, or so I’ve been told- especially when it comes to disputes rather than overtly criminal behavior.

Also I’m sorry for your loss. I inherited a property last fall from my dad, and I am really glad I didn’t need to navigate such a hostile situation in the middle of my grieving. It’s hard enough just moving forward in a moment like this.

The very best wishes to you Alan.

Hello Bigger Pockets!!

I am a relatively new investor and new full-time Real Estate Agent based in Boston. I am working hard to help others find deals and develop my business to serve, but right now I have a self-serving question about Seller Financing!!

My goal is to find an investment property (4 units or smaller) within an hour of Boston which the owner would consider doing Seller Financing for a house-hack. I have some cash to put down or to build some sweat equity, self manage, do a lot of the cosmetic work myself, and am eager to stop paying rent for good.

For context, I inherited a single-family home last fall, tried to sell it but ultimately failed to get a satisfactory price, and just recently rented it for about $550 over the PITI payments. I also got my real estate license at the beginning of the year, and am working to get into property management and building a 3D tours company. I work hard and have gone ALL IN on Real Estate since I inherited this home.

I've done painting, cleaning, learned that I'm a ****** plumber and I needed to hire help for that, patched drywall, hired help to do my floors and learned that I can TOTALLY do that myself, hired pros to get septic work, well work, and driveway work done. I sank a lot of money into the property and learned so much in the process. I've analyzed around 250+ small multifamily deals in Worcester MA and have spreadsheets for 50+ of them.

I'm definitely a BEGINNER, but I work hard and I would LOVE to hear from anyone who has feedback, advice, thinks there might be some potential here, or could guide me on finding the right resources and asking the right questions for me to find the property so that I can get out of the rental trap and start investing in earnest!!!

Does anyone have any suggestions? ALSO - if you're looking for someone to work hard for you, I'd love to hear about what you need.

@Mark Mahoney Thanks for the comment Mark!! It's been quite a ride since then. I did inherit a property in Belchertown MA last fall and at the time was considering selling. Having been unable to get a satisfying price for it, I just got it rented and will be able to reserve about $500/month after PITI payments on the note (it's a small single fam worth about 230k with 125k debt on it)

I am now licensed as a real estate agent and working with Keller Williams in Boston, I've spent the intervening time to analyze at least 200 maybe more small multifamily (3-4 family) deals in Worcester (I have actual cashflow calculations with reserves usually around 35-40% after debt service for around 50 of them).

In response to the current crisis, I've purchased software and a camera to create 3D tours and video walkthroughs which I'm using to serve other agents and investors, and I've done about 12 3D-tours so far with 7 more lined up for the week.

I'm also in the process of learning some proven strategies others use to find off-market deals and working with another agent/wholesaler to help grow his business and my own.

I am actively looking to find more investors to work with to source deals for them, learn their criteria and add as much value as possible.

My chief personal goal for the year is to purchase my first house-hack likely via a seller financing deal by the end of summer so that I never pay rent again after August 31st. Ideally a small multi, but I would do a single-family if my numbers were satisfying enough.

@Jonathan Bombaci really appreciate your response Jonathan!! I'll definitely see you at the meetup. Have a great day!

@Howard Herrington thanks for that Howard yeah I definitely need to join the Boston REIA