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Old 03-08-2015, 11:24 AM
 
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Hey folks. We are planing to buy a lot / land, building or house to house temporary people or eve long term resident in self containing studios.
We are undecided with SF, NYC and Boston. Which has the best potential of the three? Like student, newcomers, tourist and also not bad city administration for permit, taxes, construction permit ect. Our goal is to provide affordable housing in expensive global dynamic cities.
Thanks
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Old 03-08-2015, 03:42 PM
 
Location: (six-cent-dix-sept)
6,639 posts, read 4,547,400 times
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my vote would be boston. although affluent students from harvard, mit, bu, bc, tufs, ... would probably take advantage (probably cheaper than room-and-board -- even a small studio apartment looks favorable to sharing a dorm room with 2 strangers).

else, visiting/adjunct professors that dont want to look for a new place to live every semester would probably be interested if it is close to their college and very affordable.

if it is subsidized affordable housing (section-8) i think the larger need would be nyc and boston (although i mite be mistaken about san francisco) ?
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Old 03-09-2015, 05:51 PM
 
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SF has become so expensive so fast that there is a gigantic need for this type of housing ("affordable"). To give an idea of how drastically average rents have gone up and in how quick of a span of time: When I moved to the SF bay area in 2010, average rent for a 1 bedroom was somewhere just above $1500-$1700.

Today that has gone up more than 2-fold, and as a city SF has surpassed NYC...you're lucky if you can even find a studio (yes, a studio!) for less than $3000 these days in SF. It is utterly ridiculous and a bit hard to believe how unaffordable SF has become in such a short amount of time (we're talking like ~5 years here).

Some reading:
Depressing San Francisco median rent map shows rents up all over the city - On the Block
San Francisco Rent Prices Will Make Your Jaw Drop — A Studio Apartment Costs How Much?
Nicole Jones: Pregnant Single Mother Lives In San Francisco Garage, Still Costs $1,000 A Month
San Francisco housing flyer: rents are out of control - Business Insider

These three cities (NYC, Boston, and SF) have all traditionally been very expensive places to live. But what we're seeing happen in SF has been incredibly fast and potentially historic (and not necessarily in a good way as the city has essentially been transforming overnight).
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Old 03-10-2015, 03:48 AM
 
832 posts, read 1,250,945 times
Reputation: 562
Quote:
Originally Posted by HockeyMac18 View Post
SF has become so expensive so fast that there is a gigantic need for this type of housing ("affordable"). To give an idea of how drastically average rents have gone up and in how quick of a span of time: When I moved to the SF bay area in 2010, average rent for a 1 bedroom was somewhere just above $1500-$1700.

Today that has gone up more than 2-fold, and as a city SF has surpassed NYC...you're lucky if you can even find a studio (yes, a studio!) for less than $3000 these days in SF. It is utterly ridiculous and a bit hard to believe how unaffordable SF has become in such a short amount of time (we're talking like ~5 years here).

Some reading:
Depressing San Francisco median rent map shows rents up all over the city - On the Block
San Francisco Rent Prices Will Make Your Jaw Drop — A Studio Apartment Costs How Much?
Nicole Jones: Pregnant Single Mother Lives In San Francisco Garage, Still Costs $1,000 A Month
San Francisco housing flyer: rents are out of control - Business Insider

These three cities (NYC, Boston, and SF) have all traditionally been very expensive places to live. But what we're seeing happen in SF has been incredibly fast and potentially historic (and not necessarily in a good way as the city has essentially been transforming overnight).
That's exactly why we put SF in the mix. Out of control rent.But the first poster does have a point with students in Boston.
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Old 03-12-2015, 06:37 PM
 
Location: Cambridge
45 posts, read 59,836 times
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I don't know how you're going to do this in any of the places you imagined. I'm from Cambridge and any shoebox size piece of land is nicked up in seconds around here and you'll be paying an arm and leg for it. That's before you even factor in the zoning regs, community oversight panels, property value assessments, etc.... I'm telling you, at least in the case of Boston, your plan to charge "affordable rents" won't work unless you're committed to losing a lot of money. It's that simple. You might be able to scoop up some land in Roxbury, East Boston, Dorchester, Everett, Revere, but even there it isn't cheap - and some of those places won't attract those "students, tourists, newcomers" that you're looking for.

If this is something you're committed to, I'd just say buy an existing property and condo-ize it and then charge the rents you'd like. You're still going to have to slog through the zoning regulations and probably fight some people in the community who'd rather it went to family use in that case, but at least you'll get it up and running faster than if you built it.
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Old 03-12-2015, 09:27 PM
 
Location: (six-cent-dix-sept)
6,639 posts, read 4,547,400 times
Reputation: 4730
another consideration, i don't think there is much land to build on in any metro (particularly in the north east).

i think i heard that in many cities/states there is a regulation that a percentage of new housing units be dedicated to section-8 for obtaining permits and such.
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Old 03-13-2015, 08:51 AM
 
Location: Brooklyn, New York
5,451 posts, read 5,679,560 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jayo2k View Post
That's exactly why we put SF in the mix. Out of control rent.But the first poster does have a point with students in Boston.
There is no way in hell you can just go in and build in SF or NYC, I don't know about Boston. If you are going to buy land in either of those two cities, you will be overpaying by a lot. What is your target price point per sq foot?
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Old 03-13-2015, 09:33 AM
 
1,642 posts, read 1,390,376 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gantz View Post
There is no way in hell you can just go in and build in SF or NYC, I don't know about Boston. If you are going to buy land in either of those two cities, you will be overpaying by a lot. What is your target price point per sq foot?
In Boston your best bet would probably be to buy a triple decker in Allston/Brighton (college kids) or Southie (22-35 crowd). They'll either be really expensive or need renovations.
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Old 03-13-2015, 03:22 PM
 
832 posts, read 1,250,945 times
Reputation: 562
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gantz View Post
There is no way in hell you can just go in and build in SF or NYC, I don't know about Boston. If you are going to buy land in either of those two cities, you will be overpaying by a lot. What is your target price point per sq foot?
I know for land, but one thing people start doing in cities like Paris and London is to buy property and rent the rooms.
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Old 03-13-2015, 05:25 PM
 
10,839 posts, read 14,680,600 times
Reputation: 7872
Quote:
Originally Posted by HockeyMac18 View Post
SF has become so expensive so fast that there is a gigantic need for this type of housing ("affordable"). To give an idea of how drastically average rents have gone up and in how quick of a span of time: When I moved to the SF bay area in 2010, average rent for a 1 bedroom was somewhere just above $1500-$1700.

Today that has gone up more than 2-fold, and as a city SF has surpassed NYC...you're lucky if you can even find a studio (yes, a studio!) for less than $3000 these days in SF. It is utterly ridiculous and a bit hard to believe how unaffordable SF has become in such a short amount of time (we're talking like ~5 years here).

Some reading:
Depressing San Francisco median rent map shows rents up all over the city - On the Block
San Francisco Rent Prices Will Make Your Jaw Drop — A Studio Apartment Costs How Much?
Nicole Jones: Pregnant Single Mother Lives In San Francisco Garage, Still Costs $1,000 A Month
San Francisco housing flyer: rents are out of control - Business Insider

These three cities (NYC, Boston, and SF) have all traditionally been very expensive places to live. But what we're seeing happen in SF has been incredibly fast and potentially historic (and not necessarily in a good way as the city has essentially been transforming overnight).
Is San Fran really that expensive? On craigslist, I found if you are willing to share a house with a couple of roommates (but you private room), there are plenty of options for about 600$-800$, in the city itself. That's not too bad for a young single person.
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