Spotlights

Brockton working as a team and the community, to make the city’s comeback the best it can be - by Michael Gallerani

In Brockton as the comeback continues, we are always looking to other success stories for inspiration and guidance. Why reinvent something if another has done well with a concept? The ideas may not always translate well, but in most cases the essence of the thoughts can be adapted to the situation at hand, so as to create an environment that may not look and feel like another, but surely offers a unique sense of place and a positive progress that can be built on. For example, Portsmouth, N.H. covers a large area, but gives users a sense that it is cozy and carefree. The streets wind around to give shoppers a small town feel while providing locally owned boutiques, bakeries, cafes, fine dining, theatre, entertainment and social collisions.

Are phasing rights in a phased condo real property, personal property, and/or contract rights? - by Saul Feldman and Angel Kozeli Mozina

In this article I am going to address whether development/phasing rights in a phased condominium are real property, personal property, and/or contract rights. I have been treating development/phasing rights as real property since the early 1970s. Only recently have I learned that development/phasing rights in a phased condominium are still treated as personal property and/or contract rights by at least one of the major title insurance companies doing business in Massachusetts. It is time to resolve this issue once and for all.

Interest rate swaps as a mechanism for managing risk: background and current issues - by Sam Nagler

As a borrower, you may have heard of interest rate swaps as a mechanism for managing the risk of interest rate fluctuations. In a swap, the borrower essentially trades the floating rate provided by its lender for a fixed rate of interest. This is achieved by the borrower entering into a separate transaction with a “swap counterparty”. The swap counterparty is often, but not always, the lender itself. 

Chittenden County is experiencing growth and development with both small and large investors - by Doug Nedde

Chittenden County has experienced a flurry of development and change in the last two years with the majority of growth occurring in the retail and residential rental markets. The closing of Burlington College led to the sale 60 of acres of waterfront and other property including their 77,000 s/f headquarters building to developer Eric Farrell. Construction on that land has now begun under the name Cambrian Rise, a 735 unit development containing a mix of multi-story condos and rental apartments. The development may also soon include residential housing, small studios, restaurants, shops and a hotel. Full build-out is estimated at 10 years.

The amount of available industrial space for lease has tightened, but there remain viable options - by George Paskalis

The Rhode Island industrial market in the first half of 2017 was active and demand came from the traditional industrial sector as well as the marijuana cultivation market. At one point there was a healthy amount of space for lease in the 10,000 s/f - 20,000 s/f range. But since the influx of a vast number of cultivators seeking to find a suitable location, much of the space in this size range has now been absorbed, leaving the traditional industrial users without many similar sized space options. A few larger leases were consummated further lowering the amount of available space.  The availability of modern, functional buildings for sale has also triggered a steady absorption leaving a limited supply of these types of buildings. In a 50 million s/f industrial market with a relatively low vacancy rate to begin with, a surge of activity can have a significant impact on the market. 

Q. Why do I need a competitive advantage? A. To survive for the long term - by Dennis Serpone

If you’re a single male, your competitive advantage could be a luxury car, being tall, lean and good looking. Being financially secure helps. If you’re a single woman, it could be as obvious as being funny, approachable, and attentive. Like a single man, being financially secure helps. That said, in today’s highly competitive environment, a restaurant’s competitive advantage is most noticeable with the staff, from upper management to kitchen workers. With food and beverage businesses, of every size and shape on every street corner, in every commercial bldg., and with new restaurants opening every day it seems, why won’t over 50% of them survive longer than 5 years?

Mid-year report and trends: New Hampshire’s commercial office and industrial market - by Bob Rohrer

A look at vacancy rates and lease rates across the state point to several interesting trends – and the general conclusion that the New Hampshire commercial real estate market has tightened up and slightly heated up. Colliers International | New Hampshire internally tracks 61.6± million  s/f of industrial space and 17.3± million s/f of office space in buildings larger than 10,000 s/f across six New Hampshire submarkets.

Real estate management market is strong both on multifamily and office/retail side - by Christopher Mellen

As of mid-year 2017, our recovery from the Great Recession will be eight years old. Although, to many across the various industries, it doesn’t feel as strong of a recovery as it has been. To us, though, in the commercial real estate business it is hard to relate to a recent year end article in Fortune magazine that stated “If the economy is continuing to recover, most Americans have missed the memo.”

It is important for the appraiser to have some basic knowledge of maintenance equipment - by Jeffrey Dugas

In order to run a golf course, the operator must utilize personal property in conjunction with the real estate. Personal property would include clubhouse furnishings, like tables, chairs, flatware, computers, kitchen equipment, along with golf carts and grounds maintenance equipment. When valuing a going concern the manner in which an appraiser handles personal property is critical to the analysis and conclusions being reported; this is especially true with golf courses. Under federal banking regulations, it is incumbent on the appraiser to allocate the value between the going concern, it’s real estate and nonrealty (both tangible and intangible) therefore a thorough understand of this topic is paramount. 

KeyMe plans significant national expansion with key copying kiosks in 2,000 locations by end of 2017

Boston, MA KeyMe, the company that is revolutionizing the locksmith industry, plans a new, aggressive round of national expansion that ...