The Boston Home Team Blog

Immaculate two-level unit. Charming sitting area, media room and TONS of built-ins. Fantastic flow for entertaining – including a neat pass-through with cabinets and a wetbar! South facing windows and sun porch wash open fireplaced living room with sun. Huge master bedroom with skylights, front-loading washer/dryer, vaulted tile bath with high-end fixtures and media room with wired recess for flat screen. Big back deck overlooks common yard. Short walk to subway, pubs and new Harvest Coop.

I have a small plot at the Brookside Neighborhood Community Garden on Minton Street in Jamaica Plain. This area is commonly referred to as the Brewery District because of the re-purposed Haffenreffer Brewery right next door. This is only my second season with the plot so I’m hopeful it will have a decent yield this year. I didn’t get the space till June-July last year so my growing season was pretty skinny and my crop wasn’t too hot.

Newly turned and planted plot in the Brookside Neighborhood Community Garden

This year I planted lots of greens for my smoothies like kale, spinach, chard, etc. I also have carrots, strawberries, picklin’ cukes, beans, etc. Just the basics – nothing fancy and only a handful of really hearty plants that we eat a lot of. Cross your fingers for me. I’m a gardening amateur so I need all the help I can get. I was pleased when I stopped by the other day after the rain and saw a solitary, brave plant growing out of the otherwise barren garden…

There’s a new Sheriff in town.

Okay, not exactly a sheriff, but there’s a new yoga instructor. Her name is Christine Li and I have the pleasure of being married to her. Christine has been very passionate about yoga for many years now and recently completed her Yoga Teacher Training with Cindi Lee at Om Yoga Center in New York City.

Christine Li practicing yoga at Naonet Reservation near Dover, MA

Christine is toying with a few different creative ideas but mostly they revolve around the idea that yoga can and should be practiced almost anywhere (within reason). yogaSPACE will strive to utilize multiple locations.

“yogaSPACE is about creating and experiencing space within your body and within your mind. When I think about practicing yoga I almost immediately think about all the logistics involved with getting to a yoga class.  Where am I going to go? Do I go to downtown Boston or do I take a local yoga class in Jamaica Plain?   Which teacher will be best suited to helping me find that ‘space’?  I have come to notice this has little to do with the actual physical space I practice in.  I have had the most amazing practices in the middle of no-where on a hot and humid day.  The transformation of bringing my mind and body in union happens some where between my first inhalation into up dog and deep exhalation to downward facing dog.   Where do you find that ‘space’?

Since this is the case, how much fun would it be to practice at a non-traditional venue? Doesn’t our ‘on the mat’ practice teach us stillness with ease in an ever changing environment?  To be flexible…. or balance on almost anything or anywhere?”

If you’d like to get on Christine’s mailing and social media list to learn more about her practice and the alternative spaces she’ll be utilizing, you can email her at yogaspaceboston@gmail.com or call 617-828-7725.

I have been exceptionally lucky to have the opportunity to represent some fantastic homes this year. I’ve had one good-looking website because of all the great photos – but as luck and skill would have it – they all sold. But wait! we’ve got a new, very impressive home near Roslindale Village. This pristine Bungalow is owned by a woman with impeccable taste. Wendy has meticulously maintained her home – and not just the fun stuff. The roof (decking and shingles) were replaced with a 30 year architectural shingle. She had new Harvey windows installed, some of which are wood toned and match the original woodwork. Electric, plumbing and maybe most important- the insulation, have all been done.

Gorgeous Bungalow at 158 Durnell Ave in Roslindale. Click on this image to visit the website and virtual tour on www.TheBostonHomeTeam.com.

For those of you who are more interested in the pretty stuff, Wendy made some exquisite design decisions to optimize flow and function not to mention the kitchen looks HOT! She used custom cherry millwork cabinets that reach all the way to the ceiling. These contrast beautifully with relatively subdued and sophisticated black stone counters. Recessed lights in the ceiling, under the cabinets and pendants over the island provide ample task lighting. The far side of the kitchen has a huge pantry/laundry closet with full-sized machines and a built-in bookshelf in the short passageway to the dining room.

The yard and landscaping are beautiful but not overdone. There’s certainly room for a new owner to make their mark and create their own custom look. Currently, Wendy only uses enough of the driveway to park her Mini Cooper. She has transformed the rest into a garden area. The drive meanders to a garage under the house and could easily be used for that purpose again. However, it is my opinion that this particular basement holds a lot of potential.Right now it’s a pristine storage and work space for toys and garden tools, but as a good portion of it is mostly out of ground due to the slight slope of the lot – I think it has a lot of potential to be converted to additional living space without the feeling of being in a basement. I imagine a 3rd bedroom/study/family room, a more efficient machine room and then a wicked workroom with access to the garage door.

If you’d like to see this home for yourself the first showings are tonight (Friday 27th) from 6:30p-7:30p. I am available Saturday to show as well (two showings scheduled from 11-11:30a) and Sunday an open house is scheduled from 12-2p. You’re welcome to make an appointment if one of those times don’t work for you but I’m really not sure I would count on it being available beyond this weekend…we shall see.

This year folks WUTE Festival will be held from 12-6p in the Southwest Corridor Park. However, there’s a fun parade that begins at the Monument at the intersection of South and Centre Streets at 11a. Show up to Curtis Hall at 9:45a if you’d like to help decorate for the parade. City Feed & Supply is celebrating their 3rd annual costume contest – this year’s theme is the Dragon!

article first appeared in the Jamaica Plain Gazette written by John Ruch

Arthouse vacation rental in Jamaica Plain, MA

For the price of a downtown hotel room, travelers can rent entire gorgeous, furnished condos at nearly a dozen Jamaica Plain homes.

Short-term house rentals might be the best open secret in local travel, and appears to be a growing real estate trend. They essentially offer a bed-and-breakfast type of experience, minus the breakfast.

“We really like meeting the people,” said local real estate agent William Brokhof, who along with wife Christine Li runs a short-term rental property called the “Arthouse” near The Brewery in Brookside. “People come from Australia, Japan—almost every country I can think of.”

The popular travel website “HomeAway” (homeaway.com) shows that JP is a hotbed of Boston short-term rentals, where visitors can stay by the night, the week or the month. A map on the site shows short-term rentals on Carolina Avenue, Lee Street, Parley Vale, Lochstead Avenue, Pershing Road, Moraine Street and S. Huntington Avenue, among other sites.

But most appear to prefer a low profile. When the Gazette contacted several owners, some did not return calls. Others declined to comment, citing concerns about riling neighbors or the hotel industry.

The local Taylor House Bed and Breakfast in Pondside straddles both worlds, operating a B&B on Burroughs Street and a short-term rental house next door on Agassiz Park. Taylor House did not return a Gazette call.

Arthouse vacation rental in Jamaica Plain, MA

The City’s Inspectional Services Department did not respond to questions about short-term rentals. But it appears that no permits are required as long as the guests sign leases; no meals are served to them; and occupancy is kept to a maximum of four unrelated people per unit. Legally, it seems, guests are simply renters, not hotel guests or rooming house residents.

Travelers love the short-term rental option, judging by the many glowing reviews of JP properties on homeaway.com.

“The house is very well-maintained, excellently laid out and very comfortable,” wrote one traveler last August about the Moraine Street house. “Jamaica Plain is a cool part of town, and there is so much to do within walking distance.”

Details of the properties show amenities that range from comfy to stunning, such as the stainless-steel-and-marble gourmet kitchen for use in the Parley Vale property.

Brokhof said that part of the inspiration for the Arthouse came from using short-term rentals on his own travels elsewhere.

“We found it to be way more enjoyable—more space and more privacy,” he said. “People get, basically, a condo instead of a hotel room.”

There was an economic motive, too. Brokhof and Li used to live in the two-unit house, but were forced to move out into a rental house due to personal finances and the economic crisis. Short-term rentals at the Arthouse have been far more profitable than selling it or doing a regular residential rental, he said.

Rates range from $150-$225 a night, with weekly rates around $1,000 to $1,500, and monthly rates north of $3,000. Most renters are tourists, Brokhof said, but some have short-term jobs or are receiving treatment at area hospitals.

It is branded as the “Arthouse” because both units contain the couple’s personal art collection. The upstairs unit’s art is a “little racy”—backstage photos of drag queens at the famous Bay Village bar Jacque’s Cabaret.

“Some people freaked out. We had one couple who took down all the art,” said Brokhof, adding that they now warn renters and that most guests “love it.”

Other than that, renters are typically no problem, he said.

“This niche seems to select for a certain group of people. We just don’t get trouble-makers,” he said.

While short-term rentals have been good business for Brokhof and Li, “This wouldn’t work for everybody,” Brokhof said. He said some local friends and clients have tried and failed.

“It really is a full-time job. You need to respond to people lightning-fast,” he said. “I would say it’s a lot like running a hotel. [Renters] do expect a higher level of service than they would expect at a Day’s Inn.”

He said his experience in real estate promotion and deals—he works with the Boston Home Team, affiliated with Prudential Unlimited Realty—has given him an advantage as well. The Arthouse is currently being advertised in the window of the Centre Street Prudential office as an “affordable hotel alternative.”

For more information about the Arthouse, contact Brokhof and Li at arthouseboston@gmail.com.

The good Queen Isabella, being a pious woman and almost as careful about titles as the FHA, took the precaution of securing the blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to finance Columbus’s expedition…

This is a simulation done by the Mass. Department of Transportation for how traffic and people would flow in an “at-grade” solution to the design of Forest Hills after the Casey Overpass is torn down. Credit Chris Helms

Casey Overpass being built over the old elevated Orange line

Casey Overpass is falling down. Feel free to sing along if you know the words. After several delays and missed deadlines, it seems the “at-grade” solution will win. As usual, Jamaica Plain residents were torn in half over what the resolution should be. It seems we’re not happy unless we’re arguing over what’s best for our little community. I guess that’s just a sign of how much we all love this place.

Whether the “at-grade” solution is best in the long run we won’t know for a while – but as a Realtor who works with a lot of buyers and sellers, the one thing you can take to the bank is how much this will positively effect the cohesiveness of Forest Hills. There’s no doubt the the Casey Overpass has a psychological implication for the public. It might as well be a brick wall.

I am anxious to learn how the pedestrian and bike routes will evolve over time. This is my biggest concern overall. If you can’t easily and quickly traverse the huge intersection into Central Jamaica Plain – Forest Hills will remain the red-headed step child of JP.

Clearly, the triple-decker is one of Boston’s most common architectural typologies not to mention the relative commonality of structure that could eventually allow for the streamlining and efficiencies of construction technique that would be required to create a cost-effective, sustainable program.

Just posted on Yelp:

My husband and I had been casually perusing open houses all over Boston for about a year, when we decided it was time to get serious and contact Will Brokhof and the Boston Home Team. We had read several glowing reviews online, and were also drawn in by Will’s user-friendly website. From our first meeting with Will to our closing four months later, we had no question that he was our man. We appreciated his combination of professionalism and relaxed humor, and sensed immediately that we were not dealing with a typical salesman, but rather a guy that really truly cared about helping us find the right home for us.

I love my clients.

We hit the pavement with Will nearly every weekend for a few months, as he helped us navigate our indecisiveness and desire to leave no stone unturned as first-time home buyers. Will stuck with us as we waffled between wanting so many different things from our first home – A condo or a single-family? A spot in Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury, South Boston, or the South End? Something move-in ready or a fixer-upper? Will showed us so many intriguing properties, with very little direction from us. Like many first-time home buyers, we were initially drawn to all things new and shiny.

It was critical to have Will on our side to point out that behind some of the superficial wow-factors we encountered, there often lurked serious issues with the foundation, or the roof, or the plumbing, etc. Will’s first stop in any home we entered was the basement, and he really helped us to understand the true cost of each property we encountered, by looking beyond cosmetics (things we could change) and really assessing the bones of a place (things we’d be stuck with).

Ultimately, Will’s instincts about what would work for us were right on, and we could not be more happy with where we’ve ended up. It’s worth mentioning, too, that during the course of our search with Will, we changed our budget several times, and ended up wanting to spend significantly less than we had first indicated. We never got the sense that this bothered Will, and in fact, were impressed that the price of a home seemed to have no bearing whatsoever on how much he encouraged us to consider it. In fact, we ended up purchasing the least expensive home we viewed, with absolutely no pressure to do otherwise. We wholeheartedly recommend Will to anyone looking for an honest, fun (we spent alot of time together!), and extremely hard-working ally during what can be a very stressful process.