***PRE LEASING FOR BEGINNING TO MID SEPTEMBER*** ***STARTING PRICE FOR ONE BEDROOMS. SQ. FT. RANGES TO 1028*** There is a washer and dryer in unit and 9-10 foot ceilings. The kitchen features granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and unique two tone cabinetry. Cultured marble bath vanity, as well as ceramic-tile floors in the kitchen and bath. The building amenities include a 24 hour concierge, 2,200 sq. ft. fitness center, clubroom with fireplace and bar, movie/theatre room, business center/conference room, indoor heated swimming pool, underground parking garage, and courtyard with patio seating area. Located two blocks from the MIT/Kendall Square T stop. Close proximity to the Charles River, the Esplanade, Cambridgeside Galleria, Museum of Science, Harvard University and MIT. Convenient to Memorial Drive, Storrow Drive, Interstate 93, and the Massachusetts Turnpike. Cats ok. Deleaded.

Click here for more pictures and details on this Grand Central: Boston Apartments Apartment for Rent in Cambridge, Kendall Square, MA.

I apologize for not adding to the blog in so long but we are working tirelessly on a few exciting things:

1. We hope to launch our new website by the end of this month (fingers crossed).
   The result of which will revolutionize the way people find apartments for rent on the internet by creating a very easy and simple user experience.
   Stay tuned.
2. We have also accelerated our national expansion efforts; hoping that we will be helping renters find great apartments, save time, and money throughout the U.S.
3. There are some exciting partnerships in the works that would add even more value to both our users and to the listing owners/managers.

Back to the rental market:

There are new or at least a much larger group of entrants to the rental market, namely:

• Home owners whose property got foreclosed.
• Tenants in foreclosed multi-family buildings that are getting evicted by the banks.
• First time home buyers or just buyers in general that now can’t get a mortgage because of the much stricter guidelines and full doc’ loans.
• Buyers that are scared about prices going down even lower who are still waiting things out.
• You have more students that require more apartments due to the new law that limits the amount of students in each apartment to 4.

As a result, we are noticing an upwards trend for prices of rentals this Spring/Summer season.

IG

If any of you ever wondered what makes this group of extremely wonderful and generous people donate their time and expertise for free then here is your answer.

A broker or real estate agent gets paid the equivalent of 1 month’s rent in virtually every transaction in which an apartment is rented.

There are 3 ways that they get paid:

1. You, the renter, pay them a full month’s rent fee.
2. You split the month’s rent fee with the landlord so each party pays a half-month’s rent.
3. The landlord pays the full month’s rent fee.

Scenario 3 is better known as the “No Broker Fee” apartment.

From my experience, if the landlord is willing to pay such a high incentive, the fee ends up being passed down to you anyway in the form of higher monthly rent. For example, a $1200 a month apartment with a one month’s fee would end up being $1300 a month ($1200/12=$100 extra dollars per month) so the landlord recovers his expense. Your rent is higher than it could have been if you rented the unit directly through the owner/property manager.

Also another point worth driving home – no matter who pays the broker fee, the more rent you pay, the more fee they get. That relationship usually leads to you seeing apartments that are at the top if not slightly over your price range.

Bottom line is this: if you want to avoid paying a broker fee you should not go around with brokers. It doesn’t matter whether they classify them self as Fee or No Fee; there is no free lunch.

IG

So for all you April-September renters, I would suggest you start your search early. As soon as the weather gets warmer and more people are out looking, prices will rise and inventory will go down.

The early birds get the worm.

On another note, Boston Real Estate Now, The Boston Globe Blog covered a new rent calculator-thingy called Zilpy.com. I’m not entirely sure how they get their information, but you can get some detailed info about Boston, MA (or any location you desire), such as:

• Renter occupied: 64 %
• Population: 589,141
• Vacancy rate: 4.9 %
• Median household income: $39,629
• Monthly rent affordability: $990
• Crime rate index: Violent: 5; Property: 4 (1-lowest, 5-highest)
• Ethnicity: White (54 %); Black (25 %); Hispanic (14 %)
• Age groups: 25 to 34 (21 %); Under 18 (20 %); 18 to 24 (16 %)
• Education: High School (38 %); College (13 %); Graduate School (10 %)
  Source: zilpy.com

Good luck,
IG

***HEAT AND HOT WATER INCLUDED*** This one bedroom in Back Bay features a living room, kitchenette, foyer and one bathroom. There is a coin-operated washer and dryer, a dishwasher and disposal. Hardwood floors throughout. It is T accessible and there is both on- and off-street parking. It is available until the end of August and you can renew the lease in September.

Click here for more pictures and details on this Grand Central: Boston Apartments one-bedroom apartment in Boston, Back Bay, MA.

Great Views! One bedroom plus study, with all utilities and parking spot included!!! Newly refinished wood floors, big unit, with views of Boston skyline. Coin-op washer/dryer in basement. Lots of charm and character in this historic house, shared yard, walking distance to tennis courts, park, shops, bars and restaurants. Twelve-minute walk to Porter Square, Twenty-minute walk to Harvard Square, two-minute walk to bus to Porter or Lechmere, five-minute walk to bus to Kendall/M.I.T.

Click here for more pictures and details on this Grand Central: Boston Apartments one-bedroom apartment in Somerville, Porter Square, MA.

How does it all affect the rental market?

Well, my prediction is that the rental market is going to heat up gradually, not explode immediately. But overall, locally and beyond, rents will go up and inventory will go down.

Usually when the sales market struggles people tend to rent and when more people rent it gives the rental market a boost.

Based solely on that fairly sensible theory, the rental market is bound to explode since the sales market is free-falling to one of the worst slumps in its history.

The reason I think the rental effect will be more gradual is that a lot of real estate investors, large and small, amateur and professional, went into what’s known as “The Flip Craze” (The purchase of property for the purpose of quickly renovating/building and selling for a profit. In many cases it involved converting the legal status of units into condos) That craze overwhelmed the market with a huge inventory of condos.

A lot of those developers are now faced with some difficult decisions:

1. Try and sell anyway for their desired price and wait an indefinite amount of time for that to maybe happen
2. Sell and take a loss, just to try and minimize the damage (short sale)
3. Foreclose
4. Rent the unit. Which in many cases allows them to hold on to the property until the market bounces back.

I see a lot of number 4’s out there.

That said, foreclosure rates are close to or past all-time highs in certain areas, many of those properties are multi-family homes or multi-unit buildings. Mortgage companies and banks that foreclose on those properties usually try and sell them.

Because selling a vacant property is a much easier task, if the property that is foreclosed upon has tenants those tenants will be evicted, forcefully, like by cutting off heat, electricity and water. So many people find themselves in a surprise apartment-hunt situation which makes for some more competition than usual. The result is rents will go up and broker fees will be harder to avoid.

Although I can’t control rents going up I can say that smart renters will use GrandCentralApartments.com and will avoid Broker Fees ; )

IG

This four bedroom on Commonwealth Avenue features 1.5 baths, living room, and a kitchen. Coin-op laundry in building. The kitchen has a dishwasher and a disposal. Back porch. Parquet floors. HEAT AND HOT WATER INCLUDED!! $650 per bedroom. Pets are welcome. Seconds to the T, shops, banks, restraunt, and shopping. Completely renovated. All new appliances.

Click here for more pictures and details on this Grand Central: Boston Apartments four-bedroom apartment in Brighton, Aberdeen and Commonwealth Avenue, MA.

There has been some outrage over this from the SPOA (Small Property Owners Association). The only reasoning I was able to find as to why they are changing the zoning rule and almost blatantly discriminate students as a “Problem Tenant” is the need to reduce partying in certain residential areas were students live.

Overall I don’t think it will have much affect on the rental market as a whole but it will certainly cause a spike in lack of availability and lead to higher rents in the student-congested areas in and around the city.

After working with hundreds if not thousands of students to find them housing I can maybe remember a dozen cases were more then 4 people were sharing the same unit.

It’s also worth mentioning that there is always a very low inventory of 4+ bedroom units regardless of who is looking.

Apartments tend to be smaller in the city. Landlords have an easier time renting smaller apartments. At one time there were larger apartments, but property owners broke those larger units into many smaller ones because they could make more money.

Living on top, under and beside students at various periods of my life I find that you don’t have to live somewhere to participate in a party, so the argument of less people living there = less partying is, to me, irrelevant.

Overall I find the argument that led to the zoning change outrageous but I don’t think it will have much affect on the market.

IG

This three bedroom apartment features a living room and an eat-in kitchen. It has hardwood floors, carpeting in the bedrooms, a garbage disposal and a refrigerator. The house was built in 2003. Parking is available off-street and the apartment is within walking distance of South Bay Shopping Plaza and public transportation. Hot water included. The apartment is deleaded and accepts Section 8.

Click here for more pictures and details on this three-bedroom apartment in Roxbury, Boston, MA.