Ben Aiken, South End Realtor, joins Storii Time to talk about contributing locally as a real estate agent and how that benefits not only your business, but also your clients and your community.
Mike: Hello, ladies and germs. Alright, Saad.
Saad: How you doing?
Mike: Good. Well, my AirPods aren’t. I’ll tell you that.
Saad: So here you’re just fine, though. The audio is fine.
Mike: I’m only getting you from the right side. One second.
Saad: Hello? Can you hear me?
Mike: From the right side, but we’re gonna roll with it. Can’t take them off in a bit.
Saad: Love it. Nice.
Mike: Fit. I got my fishing shirt on. I tried Nice.
Saad: Nice.
Saad: I actually don’t even know what’s on this one. It’s just leaves. Got some random leaves.
Mike: Perfect for the summer months. Yes. Exactly.
Saad: Is Ben actually leaving, the beach? Do you know?
Mike: I think so.
Saad:Oh, okay. Good for him.
Mike: Yeah.Good for him is right.
Saad: Yeah. That’s awesome.
Mike: Yeah. He’s down in the Cape.
Saad: Awesome. When comes to the South End, like, I have a couple of very particular questions. Because we keep talking about the market. Like, those agents that are specifically focused on particular areas, I wonder how much they feel it. Like, especially a place where it’s just Right. You know?
Saad: It’s not your average buyer and all that kind of stuff. Like, what does it look like there? You know?
Saad: Do you do a lot of deals in the South End or have you?
Mike: Actually, the start, I did a few way back when.
Saad: Got it.
Mike: And then they’ve been sprinkled in over the years. I’ll have a condo coming up there. It’s a great place to be.
Saad: Yeah. My only deal in the South Bend was Shrish.
Mike: Oh, not oh, I didn’t yeah.
Saad: The spot. The price per I guess, it’s not even about the prices. It’s about the price per square foot. Right? It’s just so different there compared to so many other parts of Boston.
Mike: So, Yep. The North End, Beacon Hill, they’re all, like, tight spaces to bring in, trucks and other stuff. So the renovation costs
Saad: Yeah.
Mike: More so. Yeah.
Saad: Build, build, build. Yeah. That’s why none of these that’s why a lot of these places just stay the way they are. Maybe they do some cosmetic stuff, but Yeah. Nothing full out renovated.
Mike: Exactly.
Saad: So, unlike places like East Boston and other parts of the city. I think East Boston is probably the one where you see the most of that, like, complete gut reno. South Boston too.
Saad: But I mean, yeah, South Bend, you kinda like a lot of people, I think, feel like to keep that like, historic charm, and, you know, I mean, Charlestown, you see some renovations, things like that, but South End, maybe not so much.
Mike: I feel like, sorry. One second. I’m gonna try to see… Where is your boy tonight?
Mike: yep. He is a gentleman.
Saad: Oh, keep calling that.No.
Mike: You were the last good thing about this part of town. Okay. You know that that hot punk?
Saad: Love it. You think you think Ben’s gonna pull a Tony and come for a 05:05 race?
Mike: I keep clicking invite.
Saad: Did he know that it was at 04:45?
Mike: Yes. He did. Oh, yes. He did, Saad. Come on. Come on.
Mike: I submitted an offer through the HomePath portal
Saad: Mhmm. For Fannie Mae. They go right to purchase and sale. So I ended up talking to the agent. I thought I was told it would be, like, a normal process. You basically click all the things that you would that are relevant in a portal.
Saad: Yeah.
Mike: Right. And then upload the preapproval, and that’s pretty much it. And, you have ten days to get an inspection, but I don’t think, like, the purchase and sale is dependent on that.
Saad: so wait…so Wednesday so you have ten days to do an inspection with the P and S assigned before the ten days is up?
Mike: It’s signed, and then you have ten days to do an inspection.
Saad: And so there’s no language in the P and S about the inspection?
Mike: So you’ve gotta take it as is. You can do an inspection for your own
Saad: Info…it’s truly info only. No contingency.
Mike: Correct.
Saad:Are they allowed to do that?
Mike: It’s the bank, man.I don’t know. Seems like they’ve it’s a different it’s a different process than listing it.
Saad: What do you call it? It’s a home path?
Mike: Home path is the portal used by Fannie and Freddie owned proper.
Saad: Oh, okay. So it’s not a foreclosure.
Mike: It is a foreclosure.
Saad: Foreclosure. Okay.
Mike: Yeah. So It’s a foreclosure that was foreclosed and then renovated and then put on the market. So I guess so the bank went That’s what it seems to me.
Saad: Yeah. Think that’s the case. But I guess my question in that scenario is, obviously, with this inspection ruling and what have you, right, coming well, I guess it starts technically August 1, so maybe it doesn’t apply right now for that. But let’s say it wasn’t August 1. Okay? Or let’s say it was past August 1. Right? Does that ruling only apply to, like, agents? Or does it apply to sellers too? Because a bank is the seller, and there’s no I mean, if there’s no license, they just do whatever the hell they want to. Like you know?
Mike: They’re giving you an ability to get an inspection.
Saad: Yeah. But you can’t back out. Or you lose your deposit, which I think goes against what that ruling is. The ruling is to because naturally, that does not protect the buyer. Yeah. This is all about protecting the buyer.So,
Mike: we can we can riff on this. I’m gonna try Ben. I’m gonna…
Saad: Mike. You said he’s ready. Maybe he’s not getting the invite.
Mike: Alright. Let’s do it again.
Saad: Just a heads up. I gotta hop off at 05:15 ish. So…
Mike: Okay.
Saad: You can go a little bit longer with him, of course. But…There we go.
Ben: What’s up, boys? How are we doing?
Mike: Benny. Benny boy. You
Ben: …the volume up.
Mike: Is that, is that the ocean behind you?
Ben: No. It’s just one of the ponds.
Mike: A pond?
Saad: Yeah. One of I can do that. One of. That’s what working mainly in the South End will do. You’ll have one of many ponds.
Mike: Right? Yeah.
Ben: Yeah. This is not my pond. Not my pond.
Saad: How you doing, man?
Ben: Oh, I’m great. Excited to be on with you guys when talking to Mike about this for a while. So glad we can make it happen.
Saad: Absolutely.
Mike: Yeah, dude. The pressure the immense pressure is on. Immense.
Ben: I mean, I I put a I put a polo on.
Mike: Yeah. It looks stretchy. It looks like a good material.
Ben: It is. It’s nice. It’s comfortable.
Mike: Excellent. Alright, sir. Once again, great. Always gotta start with that.
Ben: Oh, I I got that I got that beach salt hair right now.
Mike: Yeah. Yeah. It’s pretty sweet.
Saad: I got it.
Mike: Okay. Let’s start it up, Ben. We’re you’re here to talk about the South End with us. So as you are a resident of the South End, tell us how you’ve sort of, like, shifted some of your business over the years to that and and and how you do things at a at a pretty local level, over there.
Ben: Yeah. So I started just taking business everywhere.Right?
Mike: Right.
Ben: Anywhere would take me, and I found myself just going all over the state, which is great. Sold a lot of great great properties, met a lot of great people. And my wife and I have lived in the South End for maybe, like, twelve years. And once I had kids, I realized that I needed to have some of my time back. And that shifted my focus from just taking referrals all over the state to being more intentional with the people I work with and where I work with them. So I started focusing my efforts in the city. And being a South End resident, I really wanted to work at a place that I could walk to. The South End is is pretty easy. Right? Very walkable.
Mike: Mhmm.
Ben: Yeah. So that’s how I kinda ended up as, as my focus being the South End. And then through the through the kids, I met a lot more people, which was really great.
Saad: And that was gonna be my question was, like, in terms of obviously, being a resident, you you meet people through your kids, day cares, schools, what have you. You meet pay how did you I mean, that’s obviously, it sounds like a key channel for you to grow your your business. It’s just being a resident. Are there any particular things aside from community that you kind of tapped into to grow your business, as locally as you have? Or or is that it?
Saad: Just kind of, like, tap into community channels, be involved, kind of, like, you know, obviously, leverage the the stuff that you’re involved in with with your kids. And there’s no right or wrong answer here. I’m very curious.
Ben: Yeah. Look. Before I had kids, I would host their I live kind of close to the wine emporium, if you know the or not the wine emporium, the Urban Grape. I also live close to the wine emporium.
Ben: But, we used to host, like, wine tastings and wine and cheese at, Urban Grape, and I would just invite everybody in my building. So before kids, that was just a great way for me to get in front of of neighbors and people that I would Vater on the lobby and not have, like, a a deep connection with. And then as the kids got into sports and school, I just tapped into that. Right? We got involved in some of the park associations, community garden. And all these things are just kind of, like, where I’m living my life, and I wanted to make sure that I was a part of not only the community, but figure out a way to kind of transition transition that in the business. So, yeah, goal in staying involved on some level is, like, it it keeps my mind busy not only on what’s going on in my neighborhood, but also working, If that answers your question.
Saad: I think it does.
Mike: It does.
Saad: Because I think, like because I think, you know, we’ve talked about this as a team too. Right, Mike? Like, the tapping into your sphere and to into, like, and leveraging your community to in, like, very authentic and genuine ways. Like, things that that is a part of your life already. Right? And using that to grow your business as well. Not only is that efficient, it’s it’s it’s also not very costly. You’re also you’re already doing it. So a lot of where you wanna be. It’s where you wanna be. So I think that definitely answers my question.
Saad: And I think that’s super important.
Regardless of your if you’re hyperlocal or or or local, like, focus on a specific region or specific town or part of the city, or not. Like, still being involved in those things that, that those things and those where you wanna be, I think is really critical.
Ben: Yeah. Because it keeps you engaged. Right? I found that if I was selling in places I wasn’t passionate about, like, was I giving my was I giving a 100%, or was I mostly focused on just closing the deal? Right?
Ben: Like, I want I wanna be in a place where I’m I’m providing a ton of value to my customers and my clients. And if I’m passionate about the property, I found that I do that on a higher level, than just, like, some relocation that came through other relocation company. And it’s like, hey. I wanna live out in Western Mass. Like, cool. We can do that. No problem. But it’s just more of a transaction than a than building a relationship And helping that customer tap into their into that community, like, I I don’t know how to do that in some of these
Mike: Yeah. Yeah.
Ben: Like, outside suburbs. Like, I had some customers move into my building. I just gave them a list. Like, here’s the parks you wanna check out. This is the neighborhood association. Right? Here’s the list for the community garden, if you’re interested in getting on that. Right? And or and some of the other things I’m just not necessarily, you know, up on.
Mike: Yeah. You’re the welcoming committee….for those people.
Ben: Yeah. Totally.
Mike: And with that, what now, obviously, you’re passionate about the South End. Sell me on it in a way, I guess. Like, could you go over different neighborhoods, like, what you kind of, like, extract as, like, your enjoyment from there, whether it’s bars, restaurants, you know, his history, any of those things? Like, why do you love it?
Ben: Yeah. I mean, it has all those things. It’s eclectic. People from all walks of life, all demographics, you know, all income levels, like, you know, everybody in the South is in the South End. It’s kind of it’s a bit of a melting pot.
Ben: You could tap into any network you want to. The restaurant scene is great. I think the community in the South End is one of the strongest in the city. And I and I mean, like, the core the core markets, like, I don’t I don’t know too much about Hillaire, West Roxbury, and I know they have great communities. But if you’re talking North End, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Midtown, Seaport, will Seaport have community? So, like, the South End, people talk, people see each other out in the coffee shops. Right? I mean, Greystone is a great meeting place. I love Greystone. Madeline’s candy shop, which has become, a great asset and, like, addition to the community.
Ben: So those places where you can really meet people and connect, and people are super happy and welcoming to just talk about whatever is going on that day or right? I mean, a lot of people have dogs. Dogs are really popular. So, we love the South End. It’s super walkable. It’s accessible to the city. Parking isn’t that difficult as other parts of the neighborhood, which is really good. We live in an elevator building, which is in Lubbock, especially with bikes and strollers and groceries and all
Mike: that type of thing. Mhmm.
Ben: But that’s not nothing special to the city. I really like being able to walk down walk down my street and go to Black Lamb or, Pico, which I joke is is the is the South end house of pizza.
Mike: I’m sure they don’t they don’t want that moniker.
Ben: Yeah. Pico is like you can go in there and see three fam right, from different schools because it’s not only I don’t know people that just go to my kid’s school. Like, I know that I know families that go to Kingsley, and I know people that go to Park Street, and I know people that go to the different day cares. Right? Like, Ellis is right around the corner from us. And we’ll see. I’m just around and meet people at the park. The parks are spectacular to meet people. That’s why we go to the lot.
Mike: Real quick, Ben. Are you guys, frozen? Am I frozen right now?
Ben: No. I’m not frozen.
Saad: Okay. Me neither.
Mike: I got I’m not moving.
Ben: I’m staying very slow.
Mike: It would maybe it’s because you were maybe it’s because you were so stoic.
Ben: Yeah. It’s my it’s the hair.
Mike: Not a not a strand will move.
Ben: Yeah. We love the South End. Like, the history is really cool.
Mike: Yeah. Give us, so I, you know, I enjoy going there for, history of the jazz and other art that has, been there throughout the that’s and you can kinda sense it in the streets and this the shops that are still remaining are are terrific. Pivot from here real quick. Tell us about the different types of products that are there and how you’ve seen maybe, like, the building style change and if there are any limitations to keep preserving that historic sense.
Ben: Yeah. Well, the South End, for the most part, the South End is a historic district. There are obviously some parts of the South End that are that have changed and gone against the historic preservation, rules and regulations.
Mike: So what what are the in a general sense, what are those?
Ben: Well, I mean, you can’t you can’t build above the above the brownstones. Right? You’re never gonna see brownstones really get torn down. It’s, for the most part, old commercial getting redeveloped into similar sized buildings or matching what’s next to them. A great example is the l, which was recently built. It’s in the process of being built, on top of it was an old fish market right next to Foodies on Washington Street. And that was a, you know, single level. I think there are two tenants, commercial space, and they’re putting in, I think, 44 units. But it’s a mid rise. It’s like six or seven floors, elevator, roof deck, and that you would want in a luxury boutique building. I think that’s probably the South End sweet spot is, Brownstones and the luxury boutique. There’s Atelier, the Bryant, 2 Clariden, 75 Clariden, 56566 Columbus, which was recently built on the corner of Mass Ave. So you can really find any any type of housing product that you want. And and there’s I mean, you can go down to Soa. Because the the South End is really split up into several different neighborhoods. There’s, you know, the Pilot Block, which is kind of like West Newton to, West Brookline, West Canton, Pembroke from Tremont. I could give you a a verbal map. But, like, they’re they’re, like, very small neighborhoods. They have their own neighborhood association. There’s the Triangle, which is kind of Berkeley, Columbus, Tremont, depending on who you ask. There’s the eight streets, which is kind of by Berkeley down to Peters Park.
Mike: And besides there’s probably varying prices within those hyper local
Ben: Yeah.
Mike: Neighborhoods. Are there different, like, preferences on types of housings and styles? What differentiates them so that they’re distinctly their own thing when you’re going to sell or buy?
Ben: Yeah. So the the layout of the street the South End is a lot of blocks. It’s very, like, a square neighborhood, if you will. But for different neighborhoods, it’s mostly location. Right? So Golden Triangle is closest to Back Bay, closest to public transportation. And they have that same historic charm, but it’s, like, just on the cusp of, like, the madness of Boylston Boylston and Newberry. Right? You can go a little bit deeper. And when I say a little bit, I mean, like, a block or two.
Saad: Yeah. Yeah.
Ben: They exchange pretty quick.
Saad: Yeah.
Ben: You can go over to the eight streets, which is like like, Dwight Street, all brownstones, historic. Most of those have been been converted to condos. If you a lot of the single families, which is a super interesting thing to have in the South End, because they’re huge. I mean, they are fairly expensive.
Mike: Mhmm.
Ben: But you can go to Pilot Block over to West Canton Street and overlook Hayes Park. And, you know, pretty sure Esproges and Neil just sold, one for 7,000,000 that overlooked they actually sold two, one for 4 and a half and one for 7 that overlooked Hayes Park. I mean, just beautiful, beautiful different kinds of property.
Saad: These are single families? Like, single fam like, attached single families? Yeah. Yeah. That’s what I figured. One question I have, Ben, was so, like, one thing that we’ve talked about, Mike and I have, and, like, out in the market, even on the IG lives and things like that is just, like, how the market has shifted a little bit in terms of, like, right now yes. In Greater Boston, especially, supply still is not near the demand level. But, generally, we’re seeing procure buyers. We’re seeing listings sit sit for a little bit longer, depending on where they’re priced. Right?
Saad: I think I believe pricing is the the most important thing right now. Are you seeing some of those same things in the South End specifically or Yeah. Or not so much?
Ben: Yeah. Pricing is always king. Right? Overpricing is a killer. Yeah. I don’t think I don’t think that the days of underpricing something and then expecting a $100 over are still the case. But, I mean, you have to nail the market. I mean, the South End’s a smart market, savvy buyers, a lot of sellers. So, yeah, we have seen things that are either have a floor plan is also an interesting thing that you need to keep in mind. If it has a funky floor plan and a funky price, like, it’s gonna sit a minute. Things that sell in the South End are, like, family friendly. Right? Three beds, if it’s priced correctly, will fly off
Mike: the shelf.
Ben: So, yeah, we we’ve definitely seen a shift in print in the South End.
Mike: Go ahead.
Ben: And, I mean, when I say a shift, it’s, like, 1%, like, minimal. It’s not it’s not a huge shift. I think it I think buyers just have more I think they I think buyers now watch the market more than they ever have, and they keep track on keep track of pricing before they even enter the market.
Saad: Right. Right. Yeah. I think there’s definitely much more particularness. There’s like, hey.
I’ve got the concept of, like, I’ve got a little bit of time. Let me see a few more things. Like, that’s definitely that’s definitely what we’re seeing. And then and, obviously, you know, I live in Cambridge, and and I’ve been here for thirteen years.
Saad: And and that’s kind of it’s really helpful to kinda hear your mindset and what have you, especially now that I have a kid too. Like, if I could if I could find a way, like, knowing that level of detail on, like, by street, by blocks, things like that, particular area in my neighborhood in East Somerville, these types of things, it’s it’s gonna be super helpful if I decide to go down that. Because right now, Mike and I are all over the state. Right? We’re going with the businesses, and it’s fun. It works. It works right now for us.
Saad: But, you know, like, as my daughter gets older and things like that, like you said, life changes. So your business needs to evolve with that. And I think that’s one of the luxuries we have, is that being in this business, you can evolve as your personal situation changes, as well. So, yeah. Definitely helpful insight.
Saad: Guys, I gotta hop off, but I’m gonna let you guys finish off. And Ben, thank you for your time. I really appreciate it.
Ben: Yeah. Of course, man. I’ll talk to you later. Alright.
Mike: Bye, Saad.
Ben: Bye, Saad.
Ben: Yeah. I didn’t really see a shift until well, I didn’t really decide to go hyper hyperlocal until I had my second.
Mike: Mhmm. Yeah.
Ben: So, I don’t know what to do with my time.
Mike: Yeah. Yeah, dude. It’s a product of circumstance, a 100%.
Ben: Yeah. Totally.
Mike: Yeah. It’s a smart move. What it I’m on I’m gonna ask you one, and I’m gonna pause right now to say, what’s up to Garrett and Mark Friedman? That might be your boy, Joe, Simone, World Repairs.
Ben: What’s up? Those those those guys did some worldly repairs for me.
Mike: Love that. Sam, what’s up? Corey? Hafsa, what’s up? Hey, Corey. How are you? Okay. Cool. We’ve got everybody.
Mike: Any question before we head off? Shoot them in the, comment section. And, yeah, dude. I don’t think there’s an industry that, is more personal life and business, like, intertwined together than than ours. So…
Ben: I really like it. I mean at the end of the day, I always focus on solving the problem surrounding somebody’s housing needs. Mhmm. Not, like, not chasing the commission.
Ben: I mean, it really is about helping people and figuring out the best options for them and educating them on how to how to achieve whatever goal looking to do. Like, that’s it.
Mike: Yeah. And I think that if you do that, like, I think when you talk about, like, being transactional before, the only way then things are truly transactional if is if you’re you’re not that. Right? If you if you are that way, you can keep the community going even if they’re further apart. But it is a lot easier to do within your, like, own neighborhood to be like, I know this.
I get caught every other day.
Mike: Like Totally. That that sort of, particular knowledge is huge.
Ben: Yeah. Getting to know, like, who owns a coffee shop? Who owns the candy shop? Who’s the waiter that you like at your favorite restaurant? Right?
Mike: Yeah. Right? Like, personal details versus, like, a influencer going is, like, you guys gotta try this place, the buttery. It had you know? And there’s, like, no you could tell there’s no tie to that place at all besides the one hour that they’re gonna be there eating a sandwich.
Ben: Yes. There’s a new pizza place I heard about. I haven’t had a chance to try it, but next to the buttery, there’s a new pop up pizza place, which is, like, right up my alley.
Mike: Mhmm.
Ben: Right? That’s where, Brick Street Bagels started. This guy, like unbelievable story. He started making bagels, I think, at his house, and then brought them to the park, put it on, like, the South End community board, which is the which is a wild place.
Mike: Oh, yeah. And any neighborhood online forum is ripe with chaos. Yeah.
Ben: Yeah. It’s great. It’s great entertainment. But he ended up selling, like, bagels every Saturday and became a thing, had huge lines in the park. And then he ended up taking over one of the kitchens at, the buttery, and I think he’s moved on to I hope he’s getting his own space because the bagels are great.
Mike: Yeah.
Ben: There are no bagels in the South End.
Mike: Would that be the one that was, like, every day until they sold out or something? Yeah. Okay.Cool.
Ben: Yeah. Now it sounds like someone’s doing a pizza. And, you know, that’s the South End. Right? I mean, people have the space to kind of be themselves, and I like that about it.
Mike: Yeah.
Ben: I mean, you will see all walks of life in the South End. I really, really like that. It’s one of the big reasons we’ve stayed is to have, is to have the kids, like, not be in your typical New England have people from different parts of the country, different parts of the world for them to interact with and be friends with.
Mike: It’s great. Amen. I subscribe to that, man. You know it. Yeah. Cool.
Mike: Any, final thoughts? How do you think it went?
Ben: I went pretty good. What time? Do we were we supposed to start at 04:45?
Mike: Yeah.
Ben: I thought you said five. My bad.
Mike: It’s okay.
Ben: Alright then. I’m sorry.
Mike: I’ll take this on the chin for communication tip, but we’re good.
Ben: K. Cool. Glad I was great. Fifteen minutes late to live. So Corey’s like, what are you guys talking about?
Mike: Tony Singranelli holds the record for being twenty five minutes late to a to a half hour. We we bring it up constantly just because we open.
Ben: Oh, wow. Yeah. That’s so funny. I was I didn’t it’s just you and me on here?
Mike: That’s it. Side left.
Ben: Oh, okay. Yeah. For some reason, I had it in my head that we had, like, a 04:30 call to five, and then five to 05:30 was the Oh, well.
Mike: It worked. It’s great. You’ll be able to chop this up as an ode to the South End. Maybe you can write a poem or a jingle or something, and then you can perform it in the park.
Ben: Diversity is the word I was looking for the entire time. Did you say that? I didn’t say it once. That I think that’s one thing Megan and I like about it.
Mike: Yeah. Yeah.
Ben: But tapping people with differing opinions.
Mike: It’s the best.
Ben: Yes. I would agree.
Mike: Well, that’s it. Cool,
Ben: Thank you.
Mike: Sign off for Ben. Thank you. That was Saad. I’m Mike. This was Storii Time.
Mike: This is the thing we usually say at the end, and we’ll see everybody next week.
Ben: Thanks for your time, guys.
Mike: Thanks, brother. Appreciate it. Bye.
This Instagram live is transcribed for your easy reading. If you want to catch Storii Time live, every week, follow @saadmun1r and @photolowski on Instagram.