A 3 family home in Belmont recently came on the market that may interest investors, developers, and potential developers. Many updates are required to maximize the re-sale value, and it could be ripe for a triple condo conversion project with a fat profit margin. This is basically a "fix and flip" project where a multifamily home is converted to three condominiums, which are sold individually.
Property
The property at 69 Marlboro Street is a large 3-family near Fresh Pond and just blocks from the Cambridge line. It has 3,840 square feet of living space. The three units have separate electric meters.
Back yard
Unit 1 and 2 each have 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. They have wood floors and tall ceilings. The living rooms have bay windows. Unit 3 has 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom with the possibility to add a 2nd bedroom. Considering it is the top level, Unit 3 has good ceiling height. It may need additional work related to heating.
Living room with bay windows
The building is hooked up to natural gas for heat and hot water. Each unit is in need of renovation. The basement could also potentially be finished, and it has good ceiling height in most places, aside from HVAC ducts in the middle. Finishing the basement could add significant livable space to the first floor unit and still leave storage space for each unit on the other side.
Basement (one side)
The building has great “bones” for a developer to do a gut renovation. The existing interior layout would be conducive to open layout designs. There are front and rear porches, plus Unit 2 has a front balcony. There are sun rooms in the rear. There’s a back yard as well as a smaller front yard, and the property has a 2-car garage.
Garage
Condo conversion
If a developer renovates this building and converts it to three condominiums, what would be the market value when selling them?
Let's start by looking at Belmont averages for condo sales: Over the 22-month period from 5/16/21 to 3/15/23, the average condo in Belmont sold for $711,033 with an average size of 1,337 square feet and an average price per square foot of $534.
Comparable sales in the same part of Belmont as Marlboro St that sold recently indicate that the sale prices would be higher. For example, 32 Unity Ave and 47 Berwick St each sold last May for over $600 per square foot. 61 Dartmouth St sold for $554/sq ft-- and since it sold in September of 2021, the price would be higher today.
Since the units of 69 Marlboro would be newly renovated, they should command premium prices in the market. The table above shows prices for sales that would be comparable to renovated units at 69 Marlboro St. “Total Adj” is a factor applied to the PPSF figures to adjust for differences between the comp and the subject property. For example, I adjusted 30 Unity Ave’s PPSF upwards to account for its inferior condition and larger size compared to hypothetical finished units at 69 Marlboro. 68 Dartmouth St has its PPSF adjusted upwards due to its inferior condition and earlier sale date, but downward for its smaller size, leading to an 8.4% upward adjustment overall (these assessments contain subjectivity).
With 1,280 square feet per unit, the condos at 69 Marlboro St could fetch around $740,000 each at $580 per square foot. This doesn’t give any credit for a finished basement, which would add value. In total, sale proceeds from 3 condominiums at 69 Marlboro could be in the range of $2.2 - $2.6 million.
Do you know anyone who might be interested in this real estate development project? Please feel free to connect us. Franklin Real Estate is here to help with the whole process.
Listing for 69 Marlboro St. Belmont, MA
These floors would look nice after after being refinished
Open layout potential
What could you do with this wall..?
Spacious front deck with potential
Good ceiling height in the third floor unit
Sun room
Bathroom
Listed by Boston City Realty
