Anyone Here Buying Real Estate During the Covid-19 Crisis? (Boston: low income, foreclosures)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Frankly, it sounds a lot more attractive to me than some retirement home.
Also, there are far more condos in the city area than in the suburbs and they are a lot less car-dependent than the few that are in the suburbs. Condos are a great way to downsize and move into town and away from suburbs.
I just messaged my former real estate agent in Littleton, who got me into my little crumbling cottage in 1992 and got me out of my snazzy custom rebuilt house (1250 sq ft of beauty!) in 2018 with work far above the call of duty when I retired to my 800 sq. ft. town cabin in SW Colorado (also referred to the lot by a fantastic real estate agent).
Maybe I'm just lucky with people I hire, but I've had only good experience with real estate agents and for that matter, lawyers. When I've needed a lawyer, I've gotten very good advice and service. I do dislike the whole smearing of a profession, like a knee jerk. (and by the way, I was not an angel of mercy in my RN life, just a competent professional doing a good job. No need for positive lump sums, either!)
Agree. I've also gotten very lucky with the real estate agents I have engaged for my various buying and selling.
HOLY COW -- from 1400 square feet to 4800??? That is quite a leap. Years ago we went from 1500 to 3000 and that felt so cavernous.
I do wonder about home offices. My own thinking (and I don't know if this has broader applicability or not) has swung. Originally, a home office was pretty important, particularly because we needed a fair amount of space to deal with the big desktop computer, with the bulky monitor and the printer and all the attendant stuff. And on the occasions when we did need to do work, we wanted a dedicated space.
But then we migrated toward laptops, and even when we were doing work on our computers, we most often ended up on the couch or sitting in bed, or sometimes the recliner. When our desktop computer eventually stops working or becomes so obsolete that nothing will work on it, we aren't going to replace it. So I was starting to think that we really didn't need a dedicated office anymore, since when we did have it, we reached the point where we rarely used it. But now, with my husband working from home every day, we're really kind of missing having a dedicated office, and he moves around from room to room a lot. He's often in our kitchen or living room, but has to leave once our younger son wakes up and starts his day because he is not capable of remaining quiet for very long. So he goes up to our bedroom, but after a while, he doesn't like being in there, and it cuts off my access to it. So, now I am kind of wishing we did have a room that was more of a dedicated office. (Our current "office" in the house we bought a few years ago isn't really a separate room -- I think it was even referred to as an office, and we use it as such but it is open to the family room and doesn't have a solid door you can shut for keeping it quiet or really cut off from the family room. And if working from home really does become more accepted, more people might want a truly dedicated office. Our's is perfectly fine and works quite well if you are working from home and you are the only one home working, because the kids are at school and the spouse is at work. But when everyone is home, it doesn't work so well.
I have a pretty small house (1100 sq ft). But, because I live alone, I designated one of the bedrooms as a home office. It's a tiny room (maybe 10x10), but I have a small desk and chair, a tiny sofa (really a chair and a half) and a TV in it. I made this an office pre-covid and have been using it a lot, now even more so, of course.
In my old house, I had a similar space as an office, but hardly ever used it. The difference was that room was on the third floor, which was a floor away from a bathroom and two floors away from the coffee. Now with everything being all on one floor, I use it a ton.
Anyway, I find having a designated office space really helps me focus when working from home. While I am in there, it truly is work time.
Ok then y’all can move to Boston when you’re old since you think it’s so great.
If I can afford it, I will. It is definitely my husband's plan -- he talks about it all the time. If Boston itself is still insanely expensive relative to other cities, I'd consider moving cities -- to Chicago or Philadelphia. We have an aunt who lives in suburban Philadelphia and has several friends who moved from South Jersey into the city of Philadelphia and are loving it. These are retired folks and they love being able to walk to shops and museums.
I can certainly understand that there are people who wouldn't enjoy this. There are people who don't like city living when they are young, so I wouldn't expect them to suddenly like it when they're old. I understand there are people who aim to retire to a remote cabin in the woods, and i say more power to them. I personally wouldn't want to, but I understand there are people who like that and do it at the first opportunity.
I know I'm not alone in my thinking, as there was an article in the Globe a year or two ago about people in suburbs such as Wellesley who wanted to sell their houses and move to a condo in the city. But they were having problems doing so because the condos were selling for as much or more than their houses would. So they were staying put, and this put another kind of pressure on the real estate market in that supply was stuck in the closer in suburbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bizcuit
I have a pretty small house (1100 sq ft). But, because I live alone, I designated one of the bedrooms as a home office. It's a tiny room (maybe 10x10), but I have a small desk and chair, a tiny sofa (really a chair and a half) and a TV in it. I made this an office pre-covid and have been using it a lot, now even more so, of course.
In my old house, I had a similar space as an office, but hardly ever used it. The difference was that room was on the third floor, which was a floor away from a bathroom and two floors away from the coffee. Now with everything being all on one floor, I use it a ton.
Anyway, I find having a designated office space really helps me focus when working from home. While I am in there, it truly is work time.
Everything you say makes perfect sense. When your home office is your one and only work office, I can certainly see the psychological benefit of having that space dedicated to work, so you can get into a work mindset versus an at home/leisure mindset.
[quote=chicagoliz;57765723]
We have an aunt who lives in suburban Philadelphia and has several friends who moved from South Jersey into the city of Philadelphia and are loving it. These are retired folks and they love being able to walk to shops and museums.
Heh. I grew up in south Jersey and spent my teenage years getting into Center City, especially after the Hi-Speed line was built. I follow events and all in Philly and it's a fine and more affordable city to live in. I'd live there if I wanted to live in a city again, certainly more than I'd return to Boston.
I can understand where it would be a very attractive option. Surrounded by culture and vibrancy. Walk to restaurants. Mass transit readily available. Plays and museums and music just a cab or uber ride away. Lots of community options and clubs. Don't have to upkeep a house or a yard.
Frankly, it sounds a lot more attractive to me than some retirement home.
Yup, an elevator building in a neighborhood like the South End, Seaport or Kendall Square seems like an ideal place to spend the golden years. Good food, easy access to medical services and all the other retail needs, and no need to be the 85 year old who crashes his Lincoln into a storefront since everything is walkable.
Seriously though, much of the area around Boston did not feel much affect from the "Great Recession" not too long ago. My hope would be that our experience is the same this time around. There is still plenty of demand out there for houses still. I have showings lined up for this afternoon.
Don't get me wrong, real estate agents are great at what they're great at. I've had positive experiences both time i've worked with agents. It's just important to remember they're in sales and have the relentless optimism that most successful salespeople seem to have.
Right everyone wants different things. I guess I’m ignorant to not understand why a bunch of baby boomers wanted to ditch their homes in places like Wellesley and hingham to live in Boston. If they are very wealthy then it’s a slightly different story. My dads cousin had a stroke, sold his home in acton and moved to a 2 million dollar home in the seaport area to be closer to work. But he still had to go to work and needed to be closer.
Personally I want to be near the beach. I don’t care if it’s cape cod or revere..but being able to walk the beach or look at it everyday is on my list.
In my experience RE agents advise bumping up the space because that is all they have to sell. For someone coming from 1,400 sq. feet, a 300%+ bump to 4,800 is ludicrous IMO.
That's what they wanted. This was not a client where I said "hey maybe you want to think about targeting a bigger house." You may consider it ludicrous but he and his family are very excited about their new home.
What I can tell you is this . . . what's out there and available for purchase has no bearing on anything I tell anyone. Every buyer I work with the process starts with a consultation where we talk about their goals for the process. If they tell me they're expecting a baby and are thinking of having a second one in a couple of years, then I'm going to share with them my experience as a father of 3 and how my family's need for space changed as it grew. It may or may not be applicable to the way they live their life and those folks are told that up front.
Quote:
Originally Posted by massnative71
True I have dealt with some outstanding realtors as well as some VERY bad ones. All buyers/sellers must due their due diligence as with any profession.
Yup. Every profession has good and bad. Not all real estate agents are created equal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagoliz
I do wonder about home offices. My own thinking (and I don't know if this has broader applicability or not) has swung. Originally, a home office was pretty important, particularly because we needed a fair amount of space to deal with the big desktop computer, with the bulky monitor and the printer and all the attendant stuff. And on the occasions when we did need to do work, we wanted a dedicated space.
But then we migrated toward laptops, and even when we were doing work on our computers, we most often ended up on the couch or sitting in bed, or sometimes the recliner. When our desktop computer eventually stops working or becomes so obsolete that nothing will work on it, we aren't going to replace it. So I was starting to think that we really didn't need a dedicated office anymore, since when we did have it, we reached the point where we rarely used it. But now, with my husband working from home every day, we're really kind of missing having a dedicated office, and he moves around from room to room a lot. He's often in our kitchen or living room, but has to leave once our younger son wakes up and starts his day because he is not capable of remaining quiet for very long. So he goes up to our bedroom, but after a while, he doesn't like being in there, and it cuts off my access to it. So, now I am kind of wishing we did have a room that was more of a dedicated office. (Our current "office" in the house we bought a few years ago isn't really a separate room -- I think it was even referred to as an office, and we use it as such but it is open to the family room and doesn't have a solid door you can shut for keeping it quiet or really cut off from the family room. And if working from home really does become more accepted, more people might want a truly dedicated office. Our's is perfectly fine and works quite well if you are working from home and you are the only one home working, because the kids are at school and the spouse is at work. But when everyone is home, it doesn't work so well.
A home office is a very popular feature. I get that request a lot. I did some work on my house last year and created a home office. It instantly became one of the most used rooms in the house as my wife and I both work from home quite a bit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayrandom
Don't get me wrong, real estate agents are great at what they're great at. I've had positive experiences both time i've worked with agents. It's just important to remember they're in sales and have the relentless optimism that most successful salespeople seem to have.
I like to think of myself generally as someone who has a positive outlook on life. However, I'm always up front and honest with my clients. I treat people as I would want to be treated because I also once had a bad experience with a real estate agent (and I continue to have regular bad experiences with them but that's a bit different ).
As an aside, the buyers are out there. I put in an offer today on a house in Needham for a client and we were one of eight offers.
What I can tell you is this . . . what's out there and available for purchase has no bearing on anything I tell anyone.
Then you are truly a unicorn among RE agents and your clients are lucky to have found you.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
