Real Estate Addicts

Ben is native Bostonian and co-founder of ZeroEnergy Design Architects who now spends his time focused on his own developments and on design within the maker space at his business HomeMade Modern. Ben is a BIG thinker and shares his portfolio and work on his YouTube channel which has 1.2 million subscribers! In this episode, Ben explains why the HGTV model for television focused on flashy before &...

In this episode, Marc, Dan & Ray discuss taking the leap from gut renovations to new construction. The guys share experience (& mistakes), covering a lot of ground (pun intended), discussing soil and site classification, foundation options, demolition, engineering & civil engineering concerns, surveying as well as many of the “trip wires” or “landmines” to look out for along the way. W...

Real Estate Addicts is excited to share this conversation with Ann Ehrhart, owner of the retail real estate firm Boston Urban Partners, and its newly formed sister company Boston Urban Places. Together, the firms help their clients substantially increase the value of their buildings by creating vibrant and sustainable retail, while fostering a sense of community for tenants living there. Listen in...

In this 2nd part of our 2-part episode with Juline McMullen, Director of Client Strategy at Dale Carnegie Training we take on a wide-ranging discussion on Leadership. Juline explains how effective leaders recognize the potential in others and enable them to perform at their best. We discus the importance of responding instead of reacting, how to be assertive without appearing aggressive and the di...

The power of presentation and public speaking makes a huge difference in our success or failure in many professions but, especially as real estate developers. In this episode Juline McMullen, Director of Client Strategy at Dale Carnegie Training joins us to offer her best advice on mastering public speaking and making effective presentations. We start with the basics like getting to know your audi...

The Real Estate Addicts are joined this week by Michael LeBlanc, principal at Utile, a Boston based“design firm built like a think tank”. Utile has grown from their founding in 2002 to a 64-member team that consistently produces some of the smartest and most innovative approaches to design and urban planning in the City. In this episode Michael shares his perspective on design, why Utile has no on...

The Real Estate Addicts are thrilled to be joined by Ed Glaeser, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and author of the compelling and provocative book Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier. In this episode we explore why change is unlikely to be as terrifying as people have convinced themselves it’s likely to be, why unle...

Carrie Tennant of the Community Builders (TCB) joins the Pod to discus how Affordable Housing is financed and developed. We closely examine low income housing tax credits (LITC) and provide a guide for developers interested in this sector of development. How are LITC's awarded and under what criteria? What is an ideal size project for LITC's? What is a 4% or 9% tax credit? How much of the project...

In this episode we are joined by Josh Brandt, co-found of Stack + Co. and discus how Stack + Co has grown to becoming a best in class Design Build Firm in New England. Josh walks us through the founding of the company through growing the business to the $20mm per year mark. We also discus Josh's first foray leveraging his design/construction background into real estate development. The conversatio...

Mike Costello has served as Director of Recruiting and Talent Acquisition for major companies like Suffolk Construction and American Tower where he currently leads corporate recruiting efforts and is responsible for overseeing 300-400 new hires per year! We discuss tips and tricks for recruiters and job candidates alike so they can make the best hires and career decisions. Some of the highlights o...

Had a lot of fun recording this episode with the hosts of the Cash Flow Kings out of Providence, RI. In this episode we compare the Providence, RI and Boston, MA markets. We compare and contrast buying strategies and compare notes on the challenges and opportunities inherent in each.

Patrick Mahoney of Boston Zoning Strategies offers REA listeners a diversity of experience as a zoning attorney, local developer and former building official. We begin by clarifying and explaining the nuances of some commonly misunderstood zoning terms such as building height, number of stories & FAR. We discus the difference between a story and a “mezzanine”, how to measure grade if the prope...

In this episode we are delighted to be joined by Bruce Percelay, founder and Chairman of the The Mount Vernon Company. Bruce brings us through his career starting in the mailroom of an advertising company to founding a real estate investment firm considered among the leading apartment landlords in Massachusetts. The company has grown over the past 30 years to include approximately 1,600 apartments...

REA is joined by Michael DiMella & P.T. Vineburgh, co-founders of Charlesgate Realty Group to discuss how they’ve organically built an incredibly successful boutique real estate brokerage firm which specializes in the marketing of new construction for multi-unit residential. The guys share how they’ve persevered in an industry where large national brands seem to be eating up more and more mark...

Anne Amagrande, founder of Grande AMA & Associates LLC has created a system of acquiring single family homes in blue-collar neighborhoods in AZ & TX by re-positioning them and executing a planned exit using a “lease option” often targeted to buyers who may have more difficult time qualifying for a conventional purchase. Anne’s system and her private equity firm provides investors with cash...

In this episode, The Real Estate Addicts throw it back to their roots as they are joined by Professor Jonathan Keefe of the BU Program for Real Estate Studies. REA co-host, Marc Savatsky met Jonathan in 2011 when he began exploring a career transition from construction to real estate development and enrolled in Jonathan’s evening course, Fundamentals of Investment Analysis. Aside from helping to r...

Aaron Galvin, Founder & CEO of Luxury Living Chicago Realty (LLCR) joins the Pod to discuss how LLCR is transforming the way luxury apartments are being leased. Aaron works closely with the nation’s top development firms consulting on everything from apartment pricing to finishes to amenity programming. Galvin oversees a pipeline of exclusively listed multifamily developments including new Cla...

We had the pleasure to chat with Bryan Lee, one of the three founding principles at Transom Real Estate on his career in real estate development. Bryan and his partners each hail from Related Beal where they gained experience working on a variety of large-scale projects in various sectors of development. The very first project Transom took on was 212 Stuart St., a major undertaking consisting of 1...

Anthony Fava of Sun Property Group joins the guys to share his path from practicing Civil Engineer to Developer and co-owner of Sun Property Group. Anthony discusses how he and his business partner, Ryan Hunt have built a diversified real estate business which specializes in real estate sales, property management, construction and development. We talk in particular about how Anthony manages his co...

We had the pleasure of chatting with Devon Wegman, founder of Devon Grace Interiors about how her work as an interior designer interplays with real estate development. We discussed the latest trends in interior design, debated where the best places to spend design dollars are, weather you can find acceptable finishes at big box stores like home depot and how to vet out an interior designer before...

In this episode of REA Willie Mandrell of the Mandrell Companies explains how he started investing in real estate with a small loan from a cousin and built a rental portfolio of over 25 properties! In the time since, he’s also built a successful real estate brokerage and has continued to grow into development. Willie touches on rehab costs, property management, and buying section 8 / low-income re...

In this episode Marc, Dan & Ray get some things off their chest and implore “the community” to insist on zoning contingencies. They discus the mechanics of a zoning contingency and then walk listeners step-by-step with #’s through a recent Choose Boston deal that was permitted and flipped

Ted Tye, Managing Partner & Co-Founder at National Development joins REA for a wide ranging discussion on what it takes to become a successful developer and how he’s helped to build National Development into one of the most respected development firms in New England. Ted brings us back to the firms first deal in 1983 and tells us how he got started in the industry. He shares his outlook on the...

#19 Michael Procopio, VP Development at the Procopio Companies on Developing in Gateway Cities by Marc Savatsky, Ray Hurteau, Dan Rubin

The Real Estate Addicts are joined by Attorney Nick Nardone, Partner at Touchstone Closing for an in-depth conversation about the myriad of important legal considerations a developer should be mindful of. We cover topics ranging from: •Title – Do you need title insurance and is there a way to buy it more inexpensively? • Understanding the process for condominium conversion. What is a master deed?...