9 The Element Allston MA Luxury Apartments

Posted on May 15, 2012 by All Access Boston

There is a new luxury building in Allston MA and you need to take a tour. Although leasing has begun, getting yourself into a unit at The Element in Allston can be difficult. With construction still wrapping up, Boston “red tape” is keeping prospective renters from getting into The Element…unless those renters have an Encore Realty leasing specialist taking care of them. I’m going to go into more detail about The Element in Allston MA below (along with a special deal for our clients), but just in case you aren’t the type to read the whole article, you can skip to the point and contact a member of the leasing team here or simply call 617-981-6900 to schedule an appointment at the Element at 65 Brainerd Rd today.

On to the good stuff…In case you hadn’t heard, Allston’s newest luxury building, The Element at 65 Brainerd Rd, has opened its doors to the public and our leasing specialists are here to give you the tour. This little luxury secret boasts some pretty high end features such as:

State of the art fitness center
Private movie theatre
Grass roof deck
Pet friendly apartments
Granite counters and stainless steel energy efficient appliances
In unit laundry
Purified water
On site bike rentals
Garage Parking

Of course, these fantastic amenities are just part of what makes apartments at The Element so amazing. The real story here is that this luxury building is located in Allston, MA. Allston isn’t known for it’s luxury apartment options except for condos at 147 Kelton and 15 North Beacon. Sure these are great, but you don’t get the full service building treatment that you’ll find at The Element.

Your next question should be, “What do apartments at The Element cost to rent?” Prepare to be excited…studios start at $1,700, one bedrooms at $1,950, one bed plus den at $2,450, and two bedroom apartments at $2,725. With the skyrocketing prices of luxury properties in Boston, apartments at the Element are a veritable steal. I would go so far as to say that even if you were planning on making the jump to a luxury apartment next year, renting an apartment at The Element may make sense for you now to lock in these amazing prices. Historically, prices jump up in luxury buildings after the first year so get in while the rents are low. 65 Brainerd Rd is a fantastic opportunity…but there’s more…

Just in case all that wasn’t enough for you to already be on the phone with an Encore Realty representative, scheduling your tour of The Element in Allston tonight, here’s a little something extra. When you call 617-981-6900 to view the apartments at The Element with Encore Realty and rent one of these amazing luxury apartments before the end of May, you will receive FREE PARKING FOR A YEAR. That is a huge savings. Basically we’re taking an already fantastic opportunity to get in early at The Element in Allston MA and making it even better. There’s simply no reason not to schedule an appointment if you interested in what you’ve read here.

So, pick up your phone and dial 617-981-6900 to schedule an appointment at The Element in Allston today or simply contact one of our leasing agents here. We will make sure that you are next in line to rent one of the fantastic apartments in Allston’s brand new luxury building, The Element at 65 Brainerd Rd.

0 Babson Off Campus Housing

Posted on May 14, 2012 by All Access Boston

The hunt is on for Babson off campus housing. While Wellesley is a beautiful town, a large number of Babson students find that they’d rather live closer to or in Boston and commute to class. Encore Realty has become the go to company for students looking for Babson off campus housing.

Recently, Babson MBA students have been ramping up their apartment searches. We have been busy renting everything from large multi-room apartments in Allston/Brighton to high end luxury apartments along the Green Line. The key is having easy access to commuter lines to Babson. Our experienced real estate rental team knows this city inside out and that includes the MBTA system. Don’t worry about searching through a ton of listings online to find the ones that will get you from Boston to Babson easily…we’ll do all of that work for you.

To get your Babson off campus housing search started, here is a short checklist for you to have ready:

1. Your roommates locked in (no maybes…they’re either in or out).
2. Have a price range that you feel comfortable with.
3. Know any specific features that you are looking for and whether they absolutely make or break a place for you or whether they’d just be nice to have if possible.

It’s that easy. Your Encore Realty real estate agent will take care of the rest for you. We have been helping Babson students find off campus housing for years and are happy to help you as well. Call us at 617-981-6900 or sign up on our website to have an agent contact you today!

0 Purchasing A Condo And The Loan Process

Posted on May 1, 2012 by All Access Boston

Guest Post – Jason Deeb is a Senior Loan Officer with MSA Mortgage and is specifically focused on guiding busy professionals through the loan process as smoothly as possible. We have over 20 years of experience financing condominium purchases in the Greater Boston area and have recently been named one of the top condominium lenders by Banker & Tradesman.

For a vast majority of mortgage loan applicants, purchasing a home is one of the most important transactions that they will ever make. As a result, they usually come armed with a laundry list of questions covering every aspect of the real estate and loan process. However, very rarely do prospective condo purchasers ask how this transaction is different from purchasing a single family home or if there are any areas for concerns that they are not considering. So, during a pre-approval meeting, I always explain that the condo associations must also go through its own an approval process. Even very strong borrowers, who would otherwise qualify, could be denied a loan if the condo they are buying into doesn’t meet Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA guidelines. This can be a confusing concept but when one purchases a condominium, think of it as buying into a business partnership with every unit owner’s decisions adding or subtracting from the value of the units in the complex as a whole. While this is also true of a bad neighbor who lives in a single family house, the dynamic of unit owners in a condo association can cause major problems for maintaining the value of your property, which is a shared goal of the lender and borrower.

While there are many different questions asked about the project, I will highlight the three most common problem areas you should be aware so that you can ask informed questions.

Budget – The association must have a line item for a reserve account on the budget that is equivalent to 10% of the total budget and have sufficient reserves to meet current obligations. Although it cannot be applied to every situation, history has proven that condo associations with weak financials tend to cut back on the property maintenance and/or increase condo fees and issue a special assessment to all the owners.

Occupancy Rates – The association must be at least 51% owner occupied to be eligible for financing. This is more of a concern for lower priced condos and areas where there is a high concentration of renters but something that should be considered before making an offer. Lenders are concerned about these levels for obvious reasons – owners and tenants of rentals apartments do not take the same care as they would with a home which is owner occupied.

Concentration of Ownership – The association cannot have one owner that controls more than 10% of the units (adjusted for complexes with 10 or fewer units). This is more of a problem on new projects where the developer has turned a large portion of the units over to rentals because they did not sell. From the lenders point of view, this is an additional risk because any condo fees or assessments not paid by this individual may need to be made up the remaining tenants, causing financial strain or even forced sales.

These are just a few of the major items we review during the loan process and if these conditions are not met, the condo project may be deemed to be unwarrantable – unable to be sold to any government agency (and 90% of all mortgages are) – and may require higher down payments. Keep in mind, that every situation is not the same, so before beginning your search, I strongly suggest working with local lender who is well versed in condominium financing to help you avoid unnecessary time and expense on your part. For more information on condo eligibility guidelines in Great Boston, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island or New Hampshire please contact me.

0 5 Inexpensive Ways To Fix Up Your Bathroom

Posted on April 28, 2012 by All Access Boston

Yesterday I reached a milestone in my life. I keep thinking I’ve hit the age where I’m officially “old”, but then I’ll do something new to out do myself. My new mark in the never ending advance towards senility involved actually slipping and falling in my bathroom. It was a sad moment for 30 year olds everywhere. I was like the old women in the Lifeline commercial except with finely chiseled abs (*needs citation). This blog isn’t about being old however. It’s realizing how nicely I had redone my bathroom while I lay on the floor admiring my handiwork. So, since my freshly demolished knee has me stuck behind my desk for a day or two, I thought I’d share my tips on inexpensive bathroom renovations.

Like a lot of you, I rent my Boston apartment. This leads to two issues when it comes to having a nice bathroom. 1. Most bathrooms in Boston apartments look like they haven’t been renovated since Def Leppard was topping the charts, and 2. No one wants to spend a lot of money renovating a property that they don’t actually own. So, here are my five tips for renovating your bathroom on a budget…

1. Paint – Seriously, I know this seems obvious, but most people skip this option because most landlords will slap on a fresh coat of white paint in the bathroom for them. However, a little color in your bathroom makes a world of difference. I went with a light blue which I accented with purples and yellows. This immediately took my bathroom from drab to lively and it only took a few hours.

2. New Towel Rods – I’m willing to bet that the rods in your bathroom are painted the same color white as the rest of your room. Lazy property managers won’t take the time to properly tape things off when they paint. They simply go over everything with a gigantic roller. Towel rods can be as inexpensive as $10. Some nice new shiny hardware can really break up a boring bathroom.

3. New Fixtures – You don’t need to spend a ton to replace the fixtures in your bathroom. Don’t live with that awful 20 year old shower head. You can pick up a nice adjustable head for around $25. Now you’re living the good life with an extendable shower head with massage settings. Let’s face it, a good shower head is second only to a good mattress in the list of things that make or break your lifestyle.

4. Accents – I don’t claim to be Martha Stewart, but I’m pretty decent at putting together a few simple decorations without breaking the bank. I’ve got a nice blue vase filled with glass beads and some dried flowers along with a few abstract paintings that compliment the color of the aforementioned paint. Altogether, they were under fifty bucks. You know how I know they look good? Women ask me if another woman did it for me. I know a compliment veiled in an insult when I hear one.

5. Install A Vanity – This is probably the most costly of the five options, but it can be a total game changer. My bathroom actually didn’t have a vanity at all when I moved in, just a huge counter top. Having all of your toiletries lined up for the world to see when they use your bathroom isn’t the classiest thing in the world. So, I went down to Home Depot and managed to get a nice looking vanity for $65. Sure, that’s money that goes into the landlord’s investment, but it’s an acceptable price to pay for the convenience. If you do decide to install a vanity, just make sure to get your landlord’s approval first.

I was able to go from a tired old bathroom to a bathroom with some style and life for about $180. I consider that a pretty good bang for your buck…especially if you live in that apartment for more than a year. So we’ve all learned something. I learned that I am no longer agile enough to avoid slippery tiles and you learned how to give your apartment a nice little makeover at a low price. Now, you go start painting while I ice this knee.

0 South End Apartments

Posted on March 21, 2012 by All Access Boston

It is beautiful out today. It’s hard to get work done when all you want to do is get yourself out to the nearest restaurant with an outside patio. The sunny weather isn’t stopping one thing however…apartments in the Back Bay and South End are renting FAST.

Let me paint a picture in which between too much caffeine and the ferocity of the South End rental market, I almost had a heart attack. I had a client who had contacted me over the weekend asking to go out Tuesday to find an apartment in the South End or Back Bay. “Sure”, I said. “I’ve got five great options that fit your needs. Is there any way we can schedule something earlier than Tuesday? I don’t want you to miss out on any apartments in the Back Bay because they’re renting fast”. Unfortunately, my client could only make time on Tuesday…I think you see where this is going.

By 9am Tuesday morning, there was only one apartment in the South End that was left that fit his needs. To make things worse, our appointment wasn’t until 3pm. This was a bummer, but I had seen it coming. Like I said, Back Bay and South End apartments are flying off the proverbial shelves. Here’s where my cardiac health came into question…

I called up the leasing office at James Court in the South End to confirm our appointment. The property manager there told me that the apartment we were going to see had just rented moments ago. My stomach dropped. I took a deep swig of my morning coffee and prepared to call my client with the bad news. Before I could, however, my phone rang. It was the leasing office at James Court calling back to tell me that a different one bed had JUST come back on the market because the client backed out. Alright…we’re back in business.

Fast forward a few hours and I got my client in there and we were signing papers within ten minutes. That’s how you have to pull the trigger if you want to lock down an apartment in the South End. These properties are renting so quickly that they come and go in less than an hour.

No one likes to be pressured, but at Encore Realty we take one thing very seriously and that thing is educating you, our client. We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t give you the straight truth. We want you to know that if you are searching for an apartment in the South End or the Back Bay, not only do you need to get in touch with one of our real estate agents today, but you need to schedule a showing immediately. THEN, you need to make a decision on the spot. It may make you sweat to be under the gun like that, but it’s in your best interest if you want the best Back Bay or South End apartment.

I’m going to make this simple for you. Fill out our contact form and an agent will be in touch with you immediately. We look forward to helping you.