All Forum Posts by: Ashley Owens

@Cheryl Crockett

I'm late to the discussion thread, but I really appreciate the issue you've raised and wanted to say thank you. I don't personally smoke weed, nor does it bother me when other people do. I think most people have family, friends, or acquaintances that do regularly or occasionally smoke, especially with it becoming more and more legalized.

Almost the exact issue you mentioned came up for me as a landlord just a couple of months ago. I have a duplex where I live on the first floor and my tenants live on the second floor with 4 kids ranging from 2 to 16. One day they texted me complaining that the next door neighbors keep smoking weed in their own back yard and that the smell drifts into my tenants windows right where the kids rooms are. Given that I don't own the property next door, I told my tenant I was sorry that they were having this issue, but that there wasn't really anything I could do about it apart from approaching the next door neighbor. This was near the end of the summer and I think the usage has stopped outside since it's getting cold. So moving into winter, it's not as much of an issue, but I'm sure it will come up again next summer. 

I do worry about losing good tenants from my property, but I also respect that both sides should be able to enjoy their homes. I hope that this is something people are just adjusting to as it becomes more of a regular condition and that it doesn't create any future issues. After all in reality when it's happening outside, it's not that different from having a fire pit or a grill and my neighbor being forced to smell it from their home. What if their a vegan and are offended by me cooking meat? There have been studies that show in open air environments where air exchange is occurring naturally, you would need to basically be standing right next to whoever is smoking trying to breathe it all in to get any type of 'contact high', not the situation your going to have when dealing with the next door neighbor smoking, so the only real issue is just not liking the smell. 

I look forward to seeing what more people have to say about this. Thanks again for the great topic!

Welcome! I'm excited to see more and more architects getting into this. I think we bring a unique perspective and have a lot to offer the building community so it's encouraging. Best of luck!

@Pat McCandless  

Hey Pat, there are a lot of investors on Bigger Pockets that live and invest in the Fitchburg area. If you search for Fitchburg you'll see them come up. I recommend talking to them and some real estate agents that work with investors in the area. I have some names I can pass on if you want to PM me. 

Anywhere near Fitchburg State you're likely to get some college students who want to live off campus, but make sure your numbers work at the regular rental rates since it's not a guarantee. 

If you check the schools website too, they have a number of requirements to allow you to list through them, one of which is some type of onsite manager or security which most investors don't deal with in the area. This is why there are currently only 3 companies on the schools offsite list. 

I highly recommend talking with the local investors before making your decision. Fitchburg can have a lot of pockets and a 6 minute walk can make a bigger difference than you might think. It can definitely be worth it, just make sure you do all your due diligence. 

Good Luck! 

@John Bernabel Welcome to BP John! That first property is one of the biggest hurdles in the game. Congratulations on already having taken that step. We purchased our first in Chelsea and before we new anything about real estate. It definitely wasn't the best deal we could have purchased, but it's been great and we've learned a lot since then as I'm sure you have with yours. Good luck with your next properties and let me know if you ever want to chat about Chelsea!

@Benjamin Van Buren

Good Morning Ben! Everyone has given pretty good advice above and definitely covered all the bases. Knowing your market and collecting some inspiration for yourself from sites like Houzz and Pinterest are definitely important and can be a huge a help in starting off. 

I have to agree with @Thomas S. that finding someone that you can partner with to take on this more final vision piece is your strongest option. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and while we can all learn and improve in our weaker areas to an extent, if you're not the creative design idea concept guy, then you would be well served to find someone in your market who is. Not all designers and architects charge an arm and a leg for their services, so I know that if you look around, you'll find someone you can work with. It's like any relationship in this business, you just have to find someone that's the right fit with you and your company and is interested in the same outcomes you are.

Best of luck! Happy to help if you have any questions. Just PM me.

Welcome @Scott Graham!

I'm an Architect and Investor in the Boston area. There's definitely a draw for Architects to find ways to bring their passion to the investing industry. I've been investing for about 2 years now, although still definitely a newbie myself. If you love the industry, then you're going to love all of the opportunities you'll learn about here on the site and the freedom that comes with being able to do your own projects. 

Best of luck! Maybe we'll have an opportunity to work together in the future.

Ashley Owens

@Daniel Frigo Welcome!

This is a great place to find info and meet people. We just attended our first Black Diamond meeting last Tuesday and it was a GREAT!! experience. Highly recommend it. Not sure if you can make it to the next meeting in Waltham, but the speaker will talking about a flip they just finished and the process of getting through it so it would be a great one to attend. We live just outside of Boston, but just bought a place in Fitchburg which if you're not familiar isn't too far from Holden. We're planning on flipping that one, so if you ever want to grab a coffee or come check the place out, let me know. 

Great advice from @Mark Ott! Make sure you get a solid understanding from the broker of what all of the parameters are for working under them. Knowing what your percentage is from the deals, if there are any desk fees or associated fees that you have to pay, what if any assistance the broker provides you starting out, etc... Things like that are also very important for a new agent. You don't really have a network yet so you need to be prepared for what it takes to build up your client base and advertising. A company that shares those costs with you or provides a certain amount for starting out can make a huge difference! In the Boston area it's also good to think about what areas you want to work in and what markets you're looking to be a part of....the student market is great, but very intense for a few months out of the year when it comes to rentals...the professional market is steadier, but tends to be more focused to specific areas of the city....sales is always a rat race :)

This is speaking from my experience working in the "Boston Proper" area of the city meaning Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway, and the South End. Good Luck! Let me know if I can help out in any way.

@Alan L. Weeks @Peter Bowring

Thanks guys!

@Michael Murray It definitely becomes an obsession if you really enjoy this stuff :) 

I do know Spencer Lofts. Congratulations on the sale! To be honest the current property we own and live in was not a good deal. We purchased it before we really knew what we were doing and got lucky that it cashflows, but we definitely paid too much for it. The deals are harder to find and if you're only looking in Chelsea you probably need to go more direct marketing or driving for dollars. There are some auction properties that make sense, but that's risky. MLS properties for Chelsea have been mostly overpriced so it's not a great resource to use. It's not helping that there are a couple of large companies that I'm told have been scooping up a lot of the cheaper properties sometimes before the markets even aware of them. There just isn't a lot to choose from in the mainstream resources.