2023 Real Estate Observations (Boston, Hingham, Hanover: cemeteries, distance, selling)

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

I was only sharing my experience with rentals since this is the real estate thread and the rental market is relevant. Could I afford more? Yes. Do I want to? No. Do I want to save money so much that I'll move into another 1 bedroom and keep working from home a few days a week perched at the end of my bed? Hell no.

This wasn't a request for advice, but sharing of an experience. Unless you're offering to take on the cost of IVF and daycare, or an off-street parking space in Allston, then kindly avoid sharing "advice." I'm perfectly happy to ask when I need it!

Geez someone was just being nice with their response. If you didn't want a response then why even make that post in the first place? People are so mad in this thread, I don't get it.

[Moh1988]

I have many colleagues paying $2600-$3200 monthly for 1 bd in this town (Boston, Charlestown, Brookline)!
Demand is super high with tech/biotech paying great $$$ for entry-level jobs! It's rough indeed.
I absolutely be out of this town if I could get a job outside! Unfortunately with biotech, it's here vs SF! And I pick Boston over SF in a Heartbeat.

[Moh1988]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

And in the past 5 years, my rent has gone up $1000 a month.

This is actually an amazing # for this town! only $200 increase a month! There are many terror stories about $1k increase per month! I was given a $500 increase just last year.

[matrix5k]

This is kind of random but how do people feel about cemeteries? They take up prime real estate and will be there forever. There will eventually be no more space for plots in densely populated areas.

My uncles paid something like $300 for my grandparents' plots decades ago and today it costs tens of thousands of dollars.

Most of my family plans to get cremated and have our ashes planted in a garden or spread in the ocean, and not waste anymore resources once we're gone.

[Highlander617]

Some cemeteries like Forest Hills are actually more like parks, and allow people to walk thought them, and enjoy the natural atmosphere.

[msRB311]

Wow I guess things are rough when people start blaming cemeteries for taking up space lol.

I can also remember when people didn't want to live near a cemetery. I wonder if that's still a thing or people are just desperate and dont care.

Also dumps/landfills - they take up a lot space too.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Wow I guess things are rough when people start blaming cemeteries for taking up space lol.

I can also remember when people didn't want to live near a cemetery. I wonder if that's still a thing or people are just desperate and dont care.

Also dumps/landfills - they take up a lot space too.

I still hear this occasionally. I'm curious if the realtors/agents here see this manifest in ways that actually impact sales (i.e. people love a home, but some buyers are scared off by the graveyard)?

In Eastern MA, I feel like there are cemeteries (some 200+ years old) everywhere. We had two small ones in the woods behind my childhood neighborhood with stones from the 1690s through the early 1800s. It seemed like many of my classmates had then nearby too.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Wow I guess things are rough when people start blaming cemeteries for taking up space lol.

I can also remember when people didn't want to live near a cemetery. I wonder if that's still a thing or people are just desperate and dont care.

There are still plenty of people who don't want to live near cemeteries. I had a buyer I was working with once who wouldn't even consider a house if they drove by a cemetery on their way there. I think I ended up cutting ties with him after I heard that because . . . well . . . this is New England and there are old cemeteries sprinkled all over most towns.

Originally Posted by msRB311

Also dumps/landfills - they take up a lot space too.

Yeah . . . you can't just build on an old landfill. Way too much nasty/toxic things in an old landfill. Many of them have been capped and are parks now though.

My mother-in-law actually grew up in Brookline near Skyline park which is a former landfill/dump and when she was a kid they used to have an incinerator there too. The ash that thing spewed into the air was SO toxic that maybe 10 years ago they finally realized it and the town of Brookline dug up all the soil on the street she grew up on and brought in fresh fill.

FYI, this is the same dump/landfill Larry Bird used to live adjacent to. The "Hick from French Lick" was widely known for his extreme frugality and so he bought a house in front of the dump to "save money." He also repaved his mom's driveway himself in IN one summer and badly injured his back doing so which is what started all of his back issues and ended his career fairly early. Penny wise . . . pound foolish . . .

[msRB311]

I think people tended to not want to live near or next to a dump...but in my town i see some pretty nice new construction homes going up next to the dump, lol. I've driven by and it doesn't smell or anything so I don't see what the big deal is. It seems pretty well contained.

That is funny that someone didn't even want to have to drive by a cemetery. I drive by a cemetery everyday, it's actually very pretty, lots of trees, flowers and bushes. I'd rather drive by a cemetery than a mall or a super busy place everyday.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

This is kind of random but how do people feel about cemeteries? They take up prime real estate and will be there forever. There will eventually be no more space for plots in densely populated areas.

My uncles paid something like $300 for my grandparents' plots decades ago and today it costs tens of thousands of dollars.

Most of my family plans to get cremated and have our ashes planted in a garden or spread in the ocean, and not waste anymore resources once we're gone.

In Europe, it's common for burial plots to be reused after a contracted period or used more efficiently. Some graves are dug up after a number of years, the remains removed, and reburied in a mass grave in order to reuse the plot. Burials also take place vertically to increased utilization. Remains can also be removed, the hole deepened, the original remains go on the bottom, and another burial done on top.