I use investment expertise to help you buy, sell and rent out properties in Cambridge, Somerville and Medford.

Real estate services for home and multi-family sellers, buyers and landlords in Greater Boston

 

I was born to do this.

Have you ever felt like you were born to do something? That’s how I feel about what I do. I was actually born in Cambridge, over on 73 Pemberton Street in 1984. I was named after a now defunct grocery store in Harvard Square called Sage’s.

 

Why People Love Working with Sage

“I have worked with many real estate agents in the past and after careful consideration I chose Sage to sell my 2 family property. He provided me with timely and accurate information all along the sales process and he took a very active role in coordinating everything that had to happen. His knowledge, professionalism, caring personality and careful and persistent work helped me and the buyer overcome any obstacles that came our way. With Sage's help I managed to sell my house quickly and effortlessly at a great price. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who is considering to sell their property. “

- Dimitrios K.

“Sage’s warmth, professionalism, and responsiveness made him a pleasure to work with through the apartment search process. Especially during such a challenging time as the pandemic, working with Sage was seamless.”

- Melissa M.

“Sage helped me buy my first investment property in Cambridge with so much knowledge and diligence. He walked me through the process with no rush. It took us 5 months of constant texting back and forth and not one time did he make me feel that my questions were too much. He helped educate me on the market. Multiple times I sent him properties, very eager to put in an offer and he would turn me down, saying this is not a good property or not the best part of town to get rent. He is not the typical real estate agent to make a quick buck. This guy is definitely looking to only make long-term business relationships. As a foreign national that is buying overseas with a lot of money on the line, you can trust Sage with that. Cambridge, Somerville or “Camberville” as they call it is his playground. Not only is he on top of any property that comes on the market even before it’s on MLS or Zillow, he also has connections to off market properties.”

- Nick T.

How I Can Help You Sell

Selling Your Multi-Family Investment Property

Just as many buyer clients reach out to me to help in their multi-family home search, many multi-family sellers also come to me to help sell their property or properties. There are many reasons why I have found clients reach out to me, but here are a few of the top reasons:

  • My niche is multi-family real estate, so I naturally always have multi-family buyers who are aggressively looking for these properties. As a result, I often have at least one buyer who could be interested in purchasing your property. Many agents will claim they have a buyer for your property, but I have found that I more often than not actually do have someone ready, willing and able to buy your property

  • My network is vast in this space. Beyond just having eager buyers ready to go, I have a large network of other landlords who may be buyers or may know buyers in the area. I reach well over 1,400 readers via my local multi-family newsletter. I reach almost 10,000 people via LinkedIn in my weekly musings on all things multi-family. And I reach many people via my MassLandlords affiliation. 

  • Another reason sellers work with me is my intimate knowledge of this space. I know how to position properties for their highest and best use. Sometimes that means explaining to prospective buyers what the top range of a rental could be as-is. Sometimes that means explaining what potential changes to a layout could do to total monthly rents. Other times it could mean low cost updates that could result in a $300, $500, or $1000+ increase in monthly rents.

  • Exit strategies. A key part of selling your multi-family is what to do with the capital. Tax implications are critical to consider when selling your multi-family and I can help walk you through both the tax piece (with the help of a qualified CPA), as well as 1031 exchange strategies and approaches plus timing on future purchases.

Selling Your Condo or Single-Family Home

Selling your condo or single family is a big deal - for most people it is by far their biggest financial asset and I take that very seriously. Before we work together, I take the time to run an intensive comparable analysis on your property, leveraging both market data and my on the ground experience.

If you decide to work with me, you’ll have my undivided attention and complete loyalty pre-listing, during the sale, and anytime afterwards. Here is a partial, but not all inclusive list of items I will take care of for you:

  • I recommend necessary updates to your property. This includes where to spend your money to get a return - and this could range from a full gut renovation to nothing at all.

  • I help coordinate updates with my A+ list of vendors. I have a slew of people I work with consistently from handymen and cleaners to painters and HVAC specialists that I know personally and trust.

  • I help stage & style your home as needed. This includes decluttering and working closely with my stager to ensure your property is positioned in the best light possible.

  • I work with the best photographer and videographer in the business to ensure high end photographs and videos that will generate excitement for your property.

  • I market your property beyond the usual channels through the unique assets I have built up through blood, sweat and tears over many, many years - ensuring your property is reaching as many people as humanly possible

  • I structure the listing to maximize interest, offers, and ultimately the best sales price and terms for your unique situation.

  • I help negotiate the sale to maximize your return. I have over a decade of experience in negotiation and sales, starting with negotiating against top celebrity agents in my former business.

  • I help coordinate all the elements in the background that are required to keep your transaction on track including connecting you to an A+ real estate attorney, handling the final water/sewer read out, final smoke inspection, movers, decluttering and 6D when applicable. 

As I mentioned earlier, I believe in serving my clients to ensure their best interests are taken care of and they get the results they need and deserve.

Additional Selling Services

In addition to the services described above, if you choose me as your seller’s agent you can also expect the following:

Buying A Multi-Family Investment Property

Many multi-family investors in Cambridge, Somerville and Medford seek me out to help them in their property search. That’s probably because I spend a ton of time helping clients purchase, sell and rent multi-family properties specifically in these areas. 

Here are a few reasons why both seasoned and first-time investors tend to work with me:

  • I am connected to a very large network of multi-family owners in these towns and as of this writing I send out a monthly newsletter to over 1,400 owners to these areas

  • Because of my local connection to property owners, I often have off-market opportunities which are available to my clients and not to the general public

  • I am currently the Cambridge/Somerville/Medford/Malden chapter manager for Masslandlords, the largest non-profit for landlords in Massachusetts. This relationship helps ensure I am plugged into hyper local landlord happenings and also further develops my landlord network

  • As of this writing I have rented well over 400 units, making me a true market expert. This helps us ensure we have an accurate reading on what your unit can rent for which is extremely important when purchasing a multi-family property

  • I have relationships with many critical multi-family vendors: from multi-family loan officers, to 1031 specialists, from local handymen, to snow removal specialists, and on and on

I have a deep passion helping clients purchase multi-family properties in these towns and I invite you to reach out anytime with questions!

Buying A Condo or Single-Family Home

Whether you are a first-time buyer or an experienced buyer looking to downsize, I aggressively work the market to find you the best opportunities and educate you on current market conditions to ensure you get the property you want. 

I believe a great buyer’s agent needs to understand 4 key parts of the process to lead to consistent successful outcomes for their buyers:

  1. They need to accurately explain existing market conditions, so buyers have a clear understanding of the price and terms they need to offer to actually win. I will help you win the property you want and ensure you avoid multiple years without a purchased home.

  2. They need to have access to as much inventory as possible. I am part of TAN also known as Top Agent Network, a network for only the highest performing agents in Cambridge & Somerville. This network provides me access to off-market and coming soon properties NOT available to the general public. I have closed multiple transactions through this network and it gives my buyer clients a huge advantage.

  3. Great loan officers. You want to be confident that when you put in an offer and win the offer, you can actually close. Many loan officers don’t properly vet their buyer clients (you!) and as a result, you can run into a scenario where you have an accepted offer but ultimately cannot close on the property. I work with the best loan officers in the business, to ensure you are properly qualified before we even look at a single property, ensuring you will absolutely close on your property when we have an accepted offer.

  4. Finally, you need someone who is going to look out for your best interests at all costs. To me that means protecting the money you put into the property - both in the form of a down payment as well as potential updates or fixes after move-in. It also means protecting you from getting sucked into a money pit property or a long transaction or potential asks from the seller that are unreasonable or ultimately not in your best interest.

Additional Buying Services

In addition to the services described above, if you choose me as your buyer’s agent you can also expect the following:

How I Can Help You Buy

How I Can Help You As a Landlord

Renting Out Your Property

When you work with me, you have a loyal partner for life. I genuinely will do everything in my power to get you the highest quality tenant and the highest possible rent and ultimately the fewest headaches possible.

I am proud to have rented over 400 units in the last 5 years, mostly in Cambridge, Somerville and Medford. I know of no other individual agent who has rented more units without a team or a brokerage full of rental agents during this time period. 

When you work with me to rent your property, I will help you determine rental value and really take it from there. I will conduct all showings, handle all the applications and the paperwork, and provide the documents in your inbox for final review. I work hard to do all the little things to make your job as a landlord as easy and stress-free as possible. 

But I also believe our relationship doesn’t end when a lease is signed. If you need vendor recommendations, if tenant-landlord disputes come up, if emergencies come up, I am here to guide and assist you throughout the process, either through my own efforts or through vendor recommendations.

Landlord Consulting Services

If you own a property you often have to make difficult decisions. These decisions may seem obvious to you, but unless you are truly living and breathing the market every single day like I have, for years, you easily could make a decision that could cost you time, money, stress, or a combination of all three. Below are a few areas where I can come in to help:

  • Rental values. I can help you determine a rental range for your property based on a number of factors including bedroom/bathroom count, location, seasonality, and finishes. I can also project out expected rental increases over a 3, 5 or 10 year period.

  • Property values. If you’ve owned your property for a while it may have appreciated substantially and it may be time to cash out or 1031. I can help you understand what your property could sell for in current market conditions.

  • Wealth preservation or growth. Just as you make changes to your stock portfolio, as time goes on you may want to make adjustments to your real estate holdings. Sometimes that means simply selling and taking the cash. Other times that means identifying properties that are no longer generating the returns you are looking for OR are creating too many headaches - I can help you identify where your property holdings sit on this continuum and recommend solutions.

If you have a landlord specific question and you aren’t quite sure what to do, reach out and I can help!

The Top 5 Benefits of Investing in Local Real Estate

In this video I’ll share 5 massive benefits of investing in local real estate, with a focus on Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts.

What You Need to Know About Buying Your First Home.

This is an easy step-by-step tutorial for first time home buyers looking to purchase their first property in Cambridge or Somerville, Massachusetts.

Let’s Get in Touch

Please feel free to call or text me anytime at 617-833-7457 if you want to talk about all things real estate!

If you prefer to schedule a phone call, please use the form below to put a time on my calendar, and I’ll be in touch right away.

Want to shoot me an email instead? You can reach me anytime at sage@cambridgesage.com