Real Estate Addicts

We’re excited to have Tim White of J.L. Dunn & Company join us to discus the unique challenges of Being a General Contractor in Boston and the evolution of the construction business. We covered a wide range to topics including:

What’s the difference between a GC and CM? Are there any true GC’s left out there? Is the pendulum swinging back?

Is it challenging to get multiple bids in a market where everyone is extremely busy?

How has the skilled labor shortage affected Tim’s business in Boston?

Do you feel that the quality of drawings has diminished over the years? What do you think accounts for that & how does it affect your jobs.

Recommendations for a developer on hiring a contractor? What questions should they ask?

What’s the difference between GMP and lump sum and are there situations where one is better than the other?

Developers are sometimes lured by a low conceptual level budget and then come to find out pricing is much higher. What advice do you have for developers to avoid falling into such a trap?

The Real Estate Addicts are joined onstage by Ricky Beliveau of Volnay Capital for a live-podcast at Boston Largest Real Estate Networking Event, The Real Estate Guild! We go over basics of finding investors for your first deal and the different ways you can structure that kind of loan. We discus the differences between being a custom homebuilder and a spec developer and the challenges inherent in each. We delve into the stressful side of being a ddeveloper and share a few of the many things that keep us up at night.

In this episode the Real Estate Addicts talk with Jeremiah O’Neill & Rens Hayes of H+O Structural Engineering fame about the ways a strong structural team can impact a development. We discus structural considerations developers should keep in mind during their due diligence, the various framing options a building can utilize (i.e. 4 over 1, 5 over 2, etc.) as well as their limitations and cost impacts. Finally, we conclude with a game of “help me avoid looking stupid” where Jeremiah and Rens define some common terms and engineering principals.

In 2009 Jason started his own real estate investment and development group that would later become, The Cincotta Companies. He cut his teeth renovating residential apartment buildings in the North End before endeavoring to build out a high design boutique scale apartment portfolio which started with 26 West Broadway a 31 unit ground up steel and concrete building in South Boston. Finally, Jason shares his vision for his hospitality business and shares the experience of building his first marquee project the Sarasota Modern.

Ricardo Rodriguez of Coldwell Banker shares his secrets and strategy on how he’s earned the title of Coldwell Banker’s #1 Team in New England and become the NAHREP #1 Latino Agent in the U.S. Ricardo most recently Ricardo has been the exclusive listing agent for well known projects like The Lucas, The Henry, The Marc and Port 45. Ricardo works with developers early to establish an ideal unit mix, unit size and pricing strategy based on a comprehensive and well thought out marketing plan. Ricardo holds no punches as he discuss competition from low-cost brokerages, pressures on commission and the proliferation of tools like Zillow. Finally, we talk about design trends, lifestyle marketing, listening to the market and using strategy to price units effectively.

Developer Kate Earls of Airsafe Contracting joins the guys and explains how she transitioned a lead paint abatement business she ran with her husband almost 20 years ago into a very successful residential development company self-performing their own general contracting on their myriad of projects across Boston. Kate shares how she’s overcome adversity including a story of a local municipality spot-zoning a specific parcel she had already purchased and having to completely rework her original ‘zoning compliant’ project. We talk about escalating construction costs and why her company recently purchased a full size excavator. Kate shares her advice for other women looking to get into development and finally, we conclude with a discussion on the merits of scaling a development business and why Kate has preferred to keep a steady pace and active project count over the years.

Benjie founded Arx Urban in 2013 after a stint on Wall Street. His most recent development endeavors are socially minded and he shares in detail how he’s been able to attract capital for these projects which aren’t necessarily typical development plays. Benjie was an early adaptor of “crowd-funding” deals and we discuss the evolution of this egalitarian way of finding investors. Finally, Benjie details a new project in Allston which he’s proposing as an innovative “Co-Living Space.” We conclude with over-rated/under-rated and hit on topics ranging from modular construction to micro-apartments and fractious topics like rent control.

Matt shares his experience as a seasoned real estate developer on what it’s like to do deals across the country in many of America’s gateway cities with a focus on sustainable urban infill projects. Gerding Edlen’s Boston developments have been resoundingly successful and include buildings such as 319A Street, The Troy and most recently the Eddy in E. Boston. Matt explains why Green is not just a color in your Crayola box anymore and why Gerding Edlen is committed to both sustainability and building equitable cities. He shares the details on Gerding Edlen’s story from a merchant developer to a true investment manager who has raised over $1.5 billion in the past ten years building an incredibly successful development business that is known across the country.

Real Estate Addicts hosts Marc, Dan & Ray respond to a broad range of listener questions and offer our best tips and advice. What are the strategies and approaches you should consider when your approaching the neighborhood during the community process, what are the biggest things a Realtor can do to add value for a developer client, views on coop versus condos, criteria for buying your first multi family investment property, we explore ranges for cost per sf to build, what profit range do you target and how do you calculate that, partnerships and joint ventures, discuss how we track project budgets, how accurate are appraisals, affordable value add improvements for rental properties, and we conclude with a discussion of what we’d like to see more of and see less of in real estate development.

Justin Silverio, founder of Open Letter Marketing LLC joins REA to discus how he’s developed an expertise in direct to seller marketing to find his most profitable deals and help others do the same. Justin explains how he’s tested and proven his strategies over the years and offers his secrets on which approaches work best. We drill down into the details like how long does it take to see results? How much does a marketing campaign typically cost? What is the response rate and conversion rate for direct marketing? What is ringless voicemail & are there any other innovative approaches buyers can employ to reach sellers directly? Finally, Justin indulges the hosts with some “role-play” on what a typical first call with a potential seller might sound like and the most important parts of the script to keep nearby.