Real Estate Addicts

In this episode we are joined by our good friend Nick Schiffer, owner of NS Builders, co-host of the Modern Craftsman Podcast and overall great guy! Nick has built a highly admired construction company focused on providing top quality craftsmanship to the high-end residential market. In this episode we discus the pressures of managing a job from clients to sub-contractors to schedule. Nick shares his views on making construction a more collaborative experience, his (strong) views on ensuring that design is deliberate and thoughtful, the challenges of running your own company, managing employees, as well as aligning team member incentives and expectations. Finally, we foray into Nick’s vision for his company and get his take on real estate development and how he envisions taking his skills, experience, and team he’s built and apply them to developing his own unique projects. Where to find our Guest: Nick Schiffer https://www.instagram.com/nsbuilders/ https://bit.ly/nsbuildersyoutube Thank you as always

Josu’e Velney served five years in the Marines and twelve years in the Somerville Fire department. He’s been deployed three times. He’s held titles including lead scout machine gunner and team leader & Lieutenant and now he’s a broker, licensed builder, business owner & entrepreneur. Josu’e started buying and renovating homes in 2010 and after a bad experience with a dishonest general contractor he decided he needed to deepen his understanding of the build process and enrolled in Wentworth where he earned his bachelors degree in Construction Management at night. He’s done rehab work, ground-up development and has his eyes set on continuing to grow into much larger multi-family projects. We have a ton of respect and admiration for Josu’e & had a great time hearing his stories of fighting fires (both proverbial and real ones) and solving problems as he builds his business. This episode is a can’t miss. Thank you as always for rating and reviewing the Real Estate Addicts Podcast! Podcast Sp

The Addicts are joined this week by William (Billy)Senné. Billy takes us through his career in real estate from renting college apartments as a BC undergrad all the way through building out a broad and successful real estate development business focused on brokerage, real estate development, property management & real estate consulting. Billy shares his growth strategy, vision for the company, hiring & team building strategy, Thank you for rating, reviewing & sharing the Real Estate Addicts Podcast! Podcast Sponsor: First Boston Capital Partners https://grossmanco.com/private-lending/ Trusted partner & private lender providing loans to builders, developers and real estate investors in MA, CT, RI, NH & NY.

This week the Addicts are thrilled to be joined by Principals Kevin Deabler and Eric Robinson who founded RODE architects in 2006 and have grown the firm to a team of 30 talented architects who are continuing to enhance the vibrancy of the City with smart and exciting design. We discuss RODE’s design process which begins with studying the massing and the bigger, more sculptural moves of the design to ensure the building is compelling and interesting while also fitting into the surrounding context. We discuss the state of architectural design and debate whether technology that makes the process of drawing buildings quicker and easier is always necessarily a good thing. We spend some time talking about how RODE strives to always find interesting moments within the design and how they pick those moments. Finally, we take on the major topics of affordability and sustainability and how those two topics are inherent to how RODE approaches their work.

Trevor is the founder and CEO of Carrot, a lead Generation Hub used by 7,000+ real estate investors & agents to attract and convert more motivated seller leads. Using Carrot investors transform their typical boring website into one that allows you to build a true online presence and stand out in today’s crowded market. Carrot is designed to increase credibility and authority, amplify your marketing efforts, optimize SEO and lead conversion. Intrigued? Check out this episode and learn more about Trevor and his vision for the business and how it can help developers meet sellers directly and uncover valuable off-market opportunities.

This week we are excited to be joined by longtime friend of the Pod, David Grossman of The Grossman Companies. The Grossman Companies is a family-owned real estate firm with local roots dating back over 120 years. David leads the firms private lending group, First Boston Capital Partners. We discuss the criteria David looks for when extending loans to builders, developers, and real estate investors, what a typical loan structure might look like as well as other creative financing options David offers such as short-term bridge capital for acquisitions, ground-up construction or renovations. We talk about the current inflationary (?) trends in the market, the Grossman’s 2.5 million SF portfolio of real estate. David also shares the story of how the Grossman Companies partnered with a local investor and was able to execute a very successful strategy aimed at capturing growth of the emerging market in East Boston between 2013 – 2015. If you’d like to connect with David and The Grossman Companies or have any

Most sequels usually pare in comparison to the original but, like the Godfather Part II this episode is the exception that proves the rule. We start by discussing recent escalating construction costs and supply chain issues. Is the lumber market like the market for toilet paper at the start of Covid or is this inflation and is it here to stay? Mike gives us a status update on their successful lease-up efforts at The Caldwell and the strategies they are employing to fill the building quickly (12:00). We talk about the growth and vision for Procopio Companies (17:40), Mike’s hiring philosophy and even current open positions. Marc and Mike trade thoughts on the trajectory from small scale residential to building highrise and comment on the various inflection points one hits as they grow on that continuum (23:00). Mike offers his take on where the sweet spot is along that line. Dan somehow gets Mike talking about digital currency and NFT’s (28:01), we talk automated parking (30:00), technology Procopio is

This week we're excited to be joined by our friend Adam Burns of Burns Realty & Investments. Adam is true entrepreneur who has built a successful and vertically integrated real estate business which aside from developing a large portfolio of apartments and condominiums also offers brokerage, property management and construction management (and Cannabis Distribution?). What does it take to make the leap from 3,6,9 units projects to 30, 60, 90 unit projects? Are reports of the death of real estate in the City greatly exaggerated? Adam's preferred mix of condos vs. apartments? How Adam raises capital for his projects. What it takes to find and attract family offices to participate in your deals. Give a listen & let us know what you think by rating/reviewing and sharing the episode! Also, check out Adam's new YouTube Series, "Bring It here: It"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW51aMgQswU

SHOW ME THE MONEY!! In this episode we talk about the most important ingredient in a development deal, cash. Brian & Doug from Finance Boston are "Capital Markets Advisors" (don't call them "debt brokers!"). We start with the basics like defining the capital stack, debt vs. equity and get down to the nitty gritty deal terms and concepts. It's easy to shop for the lowest possible interest rate but, we explore all the various other less obvious factors that you should be aware of when shopping for debt and equity. We cover some key metrics that lenders look for and discus why you might be missing opportunities and the best deals by going it alone without a "Capital Markets Advisor." Thanks as always for listening, rating, reviewing & sharing Real Estate Addicts with a Friend!

It might not be obvious but, landscape architecture (LA) plays a significant role in real estate development, especially during public process and project entitlement. Michael D'Angelo of MDLA is one of the best landscape architects in Boston and we are thrilled he could join us on the Pod. Topics covered include: LA's role on the development team and process, Trends in outdoor space for multifamily developers/office developers, overlap between civil design and landscape arch, value engineering considerations with landscape design and much more! We hope you get a chance to listen. Thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing!

In this episode Ray maintains his contrarian streak as we take a deep dive on interior finishes. Floating vanity or typical floor mounted vanity? Floors and then baseboard or baseboards and then floors? Conduction cooking vs gas cooking? Curbless showers? Countertop options? Window options? Casement vs Double Hung? Vinyl vs Fiberglass? Fiberglass vs Wood? Thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing the podcast!

This week the Real Estate Addicts introduce a new episode format called, "THIS OR THAT". Being a real estate developer is largely about evaluating tradeoffs and alternatives and making the best decision possible which is why this type of discussion is relevant to what we do everyday. Housewrap or Zip Wall? Engineered I-Joists or open web truss? Fiberglass vs. wood vs. vinyl windows. MDF cabinets vs plywood cabinets? New construction vs renovation? THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE PODCAST WITH A FRIEND AND FOR RATING & REVIEWING!

In this episode we are joined by our good friends Alex and Harrison of of Wollaston Real Estate of “Wolly Wednesday” YouTube fame. The conversation was fun, funny and interesting but, very candid and very real throughout. We talk about how Alex and Harrison became partners and got into the business, their model of buying and renovating buildings in emerging or gateway cities like Holyoke, how Alex and Harrison raise money. Alex shares how a few difficult deals early in their partnership set them back on their heels, what that was like, and how they’ve honored their word and climbed out ensuring all their investors capital was returned and how they’ve restored a strong footing towards success. Please give this one a listen and as always thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing!

Christopher Quinn, Partner at Apex Projects LLC, a high-end luxury residential custom home building company based out of New Canaan, CT joins us to talk construction. Chris shares his experience building some of the most bespoke homes in some of the nations wealthiest zip codes like Greenwich CT, Westchester NY & the Hamptons. Some of the topics we covered include typical build costs, building for fee versus spec development, typical fee structure for GC work in Chris’ market, managing the client/architect/contractor relationship, how to building a bowling alley & what is a pajama room?

Tyson Reynoso, Senior Director at King Street Properties joins the Pod to break down a complicated and seemingly recession proof sector within the real estate development space, Life Sciences. The news is flush with stories of the “Life Sciences Land Rush” and we dissect what that really means and cover such topics as, what are typical build costs to construct or renovate a life science facility? Once completed, what are the ranges of expected rents for these facilities? What are the key attributes that make for a successful retrofit of an existing building and why typical tall office towers are not ideal candidates? What is the range of project sizes within Life Sciences? What is the smallest viable lab development & could a small entrepreneur break into the space? If you enjoy this episode we’d be grateful if you could share it with a friend & leave us review on iTunes.

This week we are excited to be joined by Former Boston city councilor Josh Zakim who recently started a new nonprofit called Housing Forward-MA as well as Jenny Schuetz who is an expert in urban economics and housing policy and a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings. Jenny walks us through a recent report from the Brookings Institute that she helped to author called, “Zoned Out Why Massachusetts Needs to Legalize Apartments Near Transit”. We discuss the current real estate market as well as land use regulation, housing prices, urban amenities, and neighborhood change. This was an interesting and thought-provoking conversation throughout! We’re grateful to Josh and Jenny for joining us and to all our listeners for sharing the Podcast with a friend.

This week we are joined by our good friend, Tim Roman of Imperial Kitchen and Bath. Tim founded the company back in 2012 in Edgewater, NJ and has rapidly grown servicing real estate developers and builders up and down the E Coast. We enjoyed diving into the weeds on the latest trends in cabinetry and kitchen design, typical cost ranges for new kitchen installs, trends towards smart and maintenance free kitchens, common pitfalls of natural finish / wood cabinets and how to save money without compromising quality when designing a kitchen. Finally, Tim helps clear up the age-old question, what exactly is “European Cabinetry” and why does every new listing description like to say they offer it?! It’s always a pleasure catching up with Tim and we know you’ll find his passion for the business obvious and inspiring. Follow Tim's work on IG @Imperialkb

This week we are thrilled to have Deborah Ryan of Deborah A. Ryan & Associates join the Addicts to discuss state and federal accessibility requirements. These sections of code are technical, they can be complicated, but they are incredibly important to understand. We discussed how developers can ensure compliance with accessibility requirements during the planning and design stage to avoid costly mistakes. We cover a number of specific topics including the differences between Group I and Group II units and when each unit type must be provided, the definition of a “Townhouse” and how that is changing, the process for filing variance applications and why you might need a CD burner before you can submit one. We personally learned a ton throughout recording this episode and we know you will too. Thanks for listening & for sharing the Podcast with a friend!

Ted Tye, Managing Partner & Co-Founder at National Development is back for another episode! The world has certainly changed since our first episode we recorded with Ted (in person) about a year ago and we discus what those changes mean in terms of the real estate market. In this episode we discus issues related to local politics and the upcoming mayoral race, we check in on what’s happening with land costs, construction costs as well as rents and sales. We touch on the lending environment, developers decisions to hire union or open shop labor and how that varies by region as well as the advent of “virtual community process” and we conclude with a really fun game of over-rated, under-rated or appropriately rated.

Our good friends, Garrett Hogan and Max Taylor, Principals of OnPoint Capital join the Pod this week to discuss their real estate development business. We talked through OnPoint's experience with modular construction, how they structure development deals with investors, their experiences with zoning approvals in the City of Boston and we got into detail talking about numbers for ground up, renovation and modular builds. We typically try to storyboard an episode but, this conversation seemed to just go in all kinds of directions and was fun and interesting throughout. Thanks for sharing the Podcast with a friend & we hope you enjoy!