All Forum Posts by: Brian J Allen

Click here to know what is going on and what is going to be required.

The list of inspections is pretty exhaustive and covers a lot of things within the building and sanitary codes.

The city believes that it has a problem with many older buildings being in disrepair and not maintained by the owners.

The owners/landlords have issues with the city because they believe the city is overstepping its authority and does not have the right to inspect the buildings.

In the middle, we have the tenants who should have clean and safe apartments to live in. However, many of the issues that the City believes are a problem are created by the tenants, and the landlords do not have the authority to fix them.

Here is some sample language related to tenants in the proposed ordinance:

Tenant Behavior Ultimately, it is the landlord’s responsibility to police their tenants, whether through stipulations in the lease or other means. The behavior of the tenant will be a reflection of the property and the landlord. The landlord should ensure that all tenants know what is expected of them, whether it is when the rent is due, rules they must abide by to keep the property in a safe and sanitary condition, respecting fellow tenants, or generally just being a good neighbor.

I believe that the City has its proverbial head in the sand on this. Most owners want to be good landlords, and most are actively trying to address tenant issues. However, in many cases, it is the tenants that are the problem. Owners cannot get them out and have no support from the court system. When they cannot remove the tenants they can’t fix the units.

It is also an overreach, what the city could start with is helping the landlords deal with their tenants, perhaps starting some sort of arbitration system. The cost of trash removal is really a big burden on tenants, who in turn make that the landlord’s problem by keeping stuff in the halls, porches, and basements.

I use Destiny from Quincy Floors,  they are very responsive, 617.412.1107. not sure the price on Stairs as they cost more, but floors are $2.50/SF

Welcome, Always willing to help in Worcester!

Check out this excellent article from Banker and Tradesman, "You Rarely Know All Your Agent Does". While it mostly focuses on listing agents, the same holds true for buyer's agents.

You only know some of what your agent does. The article does a fantastic job of highlighting things that often go overlooked by sellers. I wish there was something similar for the buyer-agent side.

With the upcoming NAR settlement, buyer's agents must negotiate their commissions. Hopefully, buyer's agents who invest time in viewings and analysis will be appreciated by their clients.

Buyers often overlook many aspects of the process, focusing only on what they consider important. They miss out on crucial elements. Personally, since 2018, I've viewed over 2700 properties for clients. I believe I have a lot to offer a buyer client with their search.

I love the spirit of Jeuji Diamondstone and her dedication to helping renters and improving their housing conditions. With 58% of households in Worcester renting, it's crucial to address their situation. Worcester's housing stock is very old, and most of the three-deckers are heated by gas. Some of these heating systems are over 80 years old.

Jeuji hopes to see these housing units updated with heat pumps. She believes this switch will lower energy costs. However, we need to be cautious about unintended consequences when changing policies. Many heating systems are still working perfectly fine and should be left alone, while the older ones probably need replacement.

Remember the "Cash for Clunkers" program from 2009? Many traded in perfectly functioning cars for a rebate. As it turned out, the best car for the environment was likely the one we were already driving, considering the environmental cost of manufacturing a new one. The same logic might apply to heating systems.

I've spoken with many landlords who have installed heat pumps, and their tenants complain about the higher costs compared to natural gas. Whether this will change over time is something we need to monitor.

There's a notable article in the Telegram and Gazette about the spike in demand at food pantries, "Food assistance: Demand at food pantries spikes as rents increase and wages do not".

It's safe to say that the majority of visitors to food pantries are renters. If tenants struggle to afford food, they'll likely struggle to pay rent. So, how does this affect you as a landlord? Understanding your tenants and their needs is crucial. They're facing pressure from all sides due to inflation, especially in essentials like food, housing, and auto insurance.

What can we do to assist? The key is to create more well-paying jobs in Worcester, close to where people live. With free bussing available, it's essential for people to access public transportation for work. The first step toward this goal is for the city council to recognize the harm caused by maintaining a high commercial tax rate, which drives companies away from the city.

Hopefully, we can explore more avenues to generate employment opportunities for Worcester residents, empowering them to work and sustain themselves.

Now that we're about six months removed from the debate, it's time to revisit what actually happened. Here are three articles that made it into the papers:

"Addiction treatment group buys building in Main South, fueling neighborhood angst"

"Spectrum Health Systems adds property in Worcester as it moves headquarters to Westborough"

"Main South neighborhood remains on edge about planned drug treatment facility"

I find it ironic that no one asked me (the listing agent) how the owner of the property chose Spectrum Health as the buyer. With all the grandstanding after the fact by city councilors and residents, you would have thought someone would have wanted to know the timeline of the sale of the building.

The reality is quite simple. The owner decided to sell the property because it was tough to turn a profit there due to the high tax burden imposed by the city. I was asked to represent the owner in the sale.

We worked hard to find a buyer, but it didn’t happen right away. The owner really wanted to sell to a business that could use the function room within the building. Ironically, the offers we had from private entities to purchase the property were approximately $200k less than the final price.

Why was this the case? The city taxed the owner out of business, charging $21k a year in taxes, and all potential buyers were aware of this tax burden.

We had other bidders, many of whom were churches, but they couldn't secure financing due to the high purchase price of the building.

If folks like Former City Councilor Sarai Rivera were so worried about what would become of the building, they should have come forward before the sale.

Personally, I'm glad they didn’t because it's one thing to be forced out of business and have your selling options limited by the city's burdensome tax policies. It would have been another to lose your potential buyer because the neighbors didn’t want them in the community.

@Daniel Consalvo, I attended the ADU meeting last night with the city. That will help slightly, but not much. The biggest issue for Worcester is the commercial tax rat at over $30/$1000 which discourages businesses from the city. You will see that most of the non residential construction is in Shrewsbury and Millbury simply due to taxes. The city is also encouraging people to apply for variances on smaller than 5000 SF lots which might help. What I am seeing as an agent it many of my clients are selling properties I got them and taking the gains.

Here is an article that appeared in the Worcester Chamber Exchange.

I've been hammering away at this issue for years on my BiggerPockets blog.

Let's not belabor the point, but Worcester's commercial tax rate is directly shaping what gets built in the city.

Sure, you can spot all the shiny new residential developments in Worcester, but where are the hotels? Why does a city of 200,000 souls have a paltry 1132 hotel rooms? Compare that to Providence, with 5500 hotel rooms, 1700 of which are within walking distance of their arena.

This has a direct impact on the City not being eligible to host NCAA and major conference sporting events.

The data in this article is mind-boggling. A hotel property owner could pocket an extra $270k a year by building in one of the surrounding towns instead of Worcester. And don't get me started on grocery stores – building one in Worcester instead of Shrewsbury would cost the property owner an extra $220k annually.

City councilors, can we please get some action here? Let's bring back the lost development, events, and jobs to the heart of the Commonwealth.

Have you seen the latest article from the Worcester Telegram? It's about the skyrocketing rents in Worcester. 

Read the article here.

I've been discussing this issue for years on WorcesterMulti Bigger Pockets Blog.

So, $1919 for a one-bedroom in Worcester? That's way too high. It's changing the whole vibe of the city.

Worcester used to have its own identity, but now it's become a commuter hub for folks working in Marlboro/Hudson, Natick/Framingham, and even Boston, thanks to remote work options.

Let's break it down. Add in utilities at $200 a month, and you're looking at $2119/month. If that's 30% of your income, you'd need to earn $7k a month or $84k a year. But here's the kicker: the median household income in 2021 was only $56,746, and most households below that are renters.

In the article local agents in the multifamily sector talk about why landlords are hiking rents. Taxes, water/sewer, insurance, maintenance – it all adds up.

It's heartbreaking that Worcester is becoming too pricey for its own residents. This has led to a diaspora to places like Webster, Northbridge, and Southbridge.

Sure, there are new units in the pipeline, but they're unlikely to help the typical Worcester renter. It's a tough situation all around.