Name: Leonard Lucas
Title: First Vice President/Senior Loan Officer
Company: Love Funding
Location: 170 Newbury St., Boston 02116
Birthplace and year: Lawrence, MA - 1953
Family: Wife, Susan
College: Kenyan College - AB Economics; N.E. School of Law - JD
First job outside of appraisal: Lawyer - O'Connell Welch & Quinlan
First job in real estate or allied field: Love Funding - Vice Presdient
What do you do now and what are you planning for the future? Originate HUD loans for senior housing and healthcare; Act as an intermediary for placing non HUD debt and equity for senior housing/healthcare.
Hobbies: Ski, cycle and read
Favorite movie: "The Godfather 1 & 2"
Person you admire most (outside of family): James Bond
Key to success: Keep your eye on the ball (presuming you know what the ball is)
If you had to choose another vocation what would it be? Real estate developer
How many of you remember real estate development in the late 1980s? Project sourcing was difficult, until it wasn’t. Into the 90’s, a few years after, banks and other financial institutions were very happy to fund projects.
Our current, highly competitive real estate market poses specific challenges for investors who are considering taking advantage of a tax-deferred 1031 exchange. In this market, investors will have no problem selling their current property if priced properly, but they may find it difficult to find a suitable replacement property
Over the past several weeks, I have completed appraisal assignments for private clients. Interestingly, after submitting these appraisals, I received several phone calls – not to question the value, content, or any incorrect information, but rather to discuss the price per s/f compared to the comparable sales used in the report.
Attention to owners of real estate in the Commonwealth (and the title companies and other professionals who advise them), the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (the “DOR”) recently adopted a new “millionaire’s tax” via 830 CMR 62B.2.4
The purpose of this article is to address problematic or confusing issues which may help assessors and appraisers to better understand how to value real estate for tax assessment purposes.