Real Estate Addicts

This week Gaetano (Guy) Morello joins the RE Addicts to discuss his experience developing high end Condos in some of Boston’s most desirable and expensive neighborhoods like Beacon Hill, Back Bay and South End. Guy started out as a Real Estate Broker marketing luxury condo product in New York City and then transitioned his career back home to Boston where he joined his families business in real estate development. Guys firm, High Street Properties owns and manages about 200 units in and around Boston. We discus Guys approach to acquisitions, trade views on the current market and get into specific about what it takes to convert brownstones to luxury (dope?) condos.

Mike Joanis is a licensed professional fire protection engineer and code consultant. Mike has been a tremendous resource to the Real Estate Addicts as we’ve grown and navigated various design issues and worked with local building and fire officials and so we’re thrilled to have him on the Podcast. We start covering the basic like, When is fire suppression system needed? What are hydraulic calculations and FP narratives? What are the elements of a fire alarm system? A standpipe? When is a standpipe needed? Finally, we delve into the nitty gritty of NFPA 13 vs. NFPA 13R systems. Pros and cons of pump and tank systems & elements of a dry FP system.

Matthew Karr joins REA to talk all things estate planning and trusts. We cover the basics and then dive into the details like when does it make sense for someone to set up a plan? What’s the difference between revocable/irrevocable trusts? Living trusts vs land trusts vs realty trusts? Tax advantages to setting up an estate plan when including property in the trust? Costs associated with setting up an estate plan. Finally, Matt provides his best legal analysis on the Movie ‘Knives Out’ and what Hollywood gets right (and wrong) about estate planning!

In this episode Steve Sheinkopf, CEO of Yale Appliances joins the Pod to talk all things related to Appliances! Steve was very candid on his assessment of the industry, how to buy at the best price, when to spend money and when to pull back, what to look for in an appliance, what trends are here to stay and which are doomed to die. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it! As always, thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing.

John Balboni is a Principle at Sullivan & Worcester LLP and an expert on all things related to developing in Opportunity Zones. We dive into the weeds on the benefits this policy provides and the process which must be meticulously followed. An opportunity zone investment makes a good deal better but, can't make a bad deal good! Listen to this episode and find out why. Thanks as always for listening, reviewing and sharing The Real Estate Addicts Podcast!

This week we are pleased to be joined by our good friend Creighton Jones from Rev-A-Shelf, who specialize in Whole Home Organization, with a heavy focus on Kitchen Cabinet Organizers! Rev-A-Shelf is produced by Jones Plastic and Engineering, an American manufacturing company employing over 2,400 workers with over 1,000,0000 sf of plants in the U.S. In this episode we discus the history of Jones Plastic/Rev-A-Shelf, the keys to designing an organized kitchen, which products have been Rev-A-Shelfs best sellers and even which have flopped. We hope you enjoy the episode and we appreciate your sharing and reviewing the Real Estate Addicts Podcast!

In this episode, Marc, Dan & Ray continue the discuss about taking the leap from gut renovations to new construction. The guys share experience (& mistakes) taking a deep dive into framing and considerations which drive structural costs and how to avoid them. We appreciate your reviews and shares and welcome feedback (therealestateaddicts@gmail.com) to keep the podcast interesting and entertaining!

The Real Estate Addicts are thrilled to welcome back Matt Picheny of MJP Property Group, LLC to continue our conversation and dive into the fine points of deal syndication. In this episode we cover: • Mechanics of a syndication 1. Legal Aspects 2. SEC Compliance 3. Investment Structure 4. Financing Structure • Attracting Investors • Tax Treatment Thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing the Real Estate Addicts Podcast. E-mail us at TheRealEstateAddicts@gmail.com; we'd love to hear from you.

Rob Barresi, Senior Vice President at Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage joins the Pod to share best practices around insurance for development and construction. We begin with a high level discussion around the different types of policies and then dive into the details of proper risk transfer in owner/developer/GC/subcontractor relationships, indemnification and hold harmless agreements, waivers of subrogation, additionally insured endorsements, what to look for when reviewing a certificate of insurance and completed operations coverage which is extremely critical. This topic isn’t always glamorous but, it’s certainly critical to understand and get right.

In this episode we are joined by Joe Kriesberg, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Community Development Corporation (MACDC). We discuss community development issues and trends in Massachusetts and around the country. We cover the fundamentals like what a Community Development Corporation does, how an organization can become recognized as a CDC and the benefits which may accrue to an organization that does. Specifically, we touch on Gateway Cities, Chapter 40B laws, low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) and Community Investment Tax Credits (CITC). Finally, we discus the benefits of civic participation and perhaps certain limitations of this worthwhile goal. We hope you enjoy this episode as Joe explains these topics in a way which is easy to understand and appreciate.

The Real Estate Addicts are joined by Mat Picheny, Managing Partner at MJP Property Group. With an investment portfolio of over 2,000 units, Matt shares the ins and outs of acquiring and repositioning multifamily communities. Matt has over 14 years of experience in property analysis, financing, acquisition, construction, and operations. The conversation focuses on syndication which is a way for investors to pool their financial resources to invest in properties and projects much bigger than they could afford on their own. We hope you enjoy and thanks for sharing the podcast with a friend and for your reviews!

We hope you and your families are doing well and you are weathering this uncertainty. We are grateful to be joined again by one of our favorite guests, Juline McMullen of Dale Carnegie Training for a special discussion on managing stress during uncertain times. Juline brings us through the “5 C’s” which are tools to help us through these daunting times. Juline holds a master’s in psychology and is certainly an expert on this subject. We took a lot out of our conversation and we hope you will too!

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 & afters & peppy personalities is not viewers actually want (7:30). We continue talking about how Ben has looked to the food industry to draw design inspiration (11:30). We admire Ben’s remarkable talent in creating memorable design moments which tactically employ labor thereby reducing costs. Ben explains how he deliberately designs his development budgets such that costs are asymmetrical (18:35). Lastly, should we cater our developments to the broadest possible segment of the population or focus on a niche segment of buyers where there may be far less supply of product (24:00).

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. We appreciate your reviews and shares and welcome feedback (therealestateaddicts@gmail.com) to keep the podcast interesting and entertaining!

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 as Ann discusses what’s really going on with brick & mortar retail and the threats she sees, both real and exaggerated. She shares her insight on what landlords and developers can do to avoid the dreaded “dark, empty storefront,” and thoughts on where the industry is heading. Don’t miss this candid overview about real estate’s most rapidly changing sector.

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 difference between feedback and criticism. We hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing the Real Estate Addicts Podcast!

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 audience and planning your speeches; then we dive into using your voice, gestures, and ideas to create impact presentations. Other topics covered include, communicating with clarity and conviction, engaging audience participation and using storytelling to improve effective communication. We hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing the Real Estate Addicts Podcast!

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 one “signature style” and how Utile’s urban planning work influences and improves their design work. Michael walks our listeners through Utile’s very involved client-driven design process and explains how this process yields the right design at the right budget. Finally, Michael shares a “case study” on the Gerard, a 160-unit apartment building which presented a number of challenges during design which Utile did a masterful job of resolving. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. We appreciate your feedback (therealestateaddicts@gmail.com) and your reviews and thank you for sh

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 unleashing private developers and allowing real growth promotes affordability (hint: “There is no repealing the laws of supply and demand!”). We touch on the notion of “landmarks” and Ed explains why “History shouldn’t be a straight jacket”. Other topics we touch on include, public transit, regulatory creep, we compare Detroit to Silicon Valley, Congestion pricing and finally we answer the question, how are good cities like good libraries? Thank you for sharing, rating & reviewing & we look forward to your feedback!

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 will those credits finance? How long do affordable deed restrictions last and what happens when they expire? We hope you enjoy the Podcast and please e-mail us at The RealEstateAddicts with your feedback!