All Forum Posts by: Peter Vanko

Thank you, Jonathan - we will give them a try and let you know how they are.

Has anyone had experience with a Boston-region prefab building company for multi-family development?

You won't know TRUE cost/SF until the project is built.

In our market, we use cost/SF as a back-end development metric. 

For instance, if we built it for $300/SF (all-in) and sell for $500/SF, we did something right.

@Prady T., I think you nailed it: the TENANT BASE in Boston has low expectations, so even low quality buildings fetch great returns. Sad, of course, for those of us trying to create Class A assets, but you can't argue with supply and demand--it's simply reality. Boston will never drop in value, or, at least not until Harvard and MIT lose their  status in the world, if ever.

@Darlene Julien investing here is not for the faint of heart. Many real estate transactions are cash deals, or they climb way past asking price if the property makes it to MLS. Prepare to be outbid again, and again, and again, and again. My last "loss" was to a Chinese pop star paying cash who told her broker that she would "pay anything to avoid a bidding war."

I agree that Chelsea, Lynn, Revere have bright futures--at least, I hope they do. Those communities have everything going for them geographically. My fear is their governments don't have the vision.

Time is money, and new construction is often faster than "deep" renovation. We are seeing new construction multi-family's costing $225/SF, completing in 6-8 months. Whereas, renovation projects are costing $150/SF, but taking a year or more. 

In this market, shaving 6 months to market can mean a lot for investor payback, potentially millions to a developer.

Clearly, scale is a factor, as is region as it is directly proportional to low cost labor pools, and/or low cost material sources.

Designer's opinion here: the kitchen has too many cabinets. The layout looks like condo-spec, ready for a family of five.

I suggest higher quality cabinets and countertops, but less of them so cost is equalized. Going more MODERN will allow the minimalist approach to work.

This deal sounds too tight...would need to drive down purchase price in order for it to work.

Pittsfield is a great market for undervalued, high quality buildings. We looked at a beautiful mill building some years ago, but the owner wouldn't part with it for a reasonable price--so we walked. Let me know if you see any big building opportunities--we'd love to partner with you @Leon Henry.

Varies by market, but RS Means is a great (paid) resource

https://www.rsmeans.com/

I my region of the US (Boston, very high prices), we expect to see renovations like this budgeting $150/SF or $50K/unit, whichever is higher.

You can try this firm if/when you have some basic floorplans developed 

https://optimizedconstruction.com/squeeze-page