We will be running an online transparent auction for the individual units. To schedule a showing of a garage or enter a bid, please contact Bob Doyle at 617-876-5678 or send an email to bobdoyle@informationphilosopher.com.

Fifteen of the garages will be sold as condominiums starting in the Spring of 2013. First refusals to purchase a condominium garage, by meeting the offering price of the highest bidder, will be given to some abutters, neighbors, renters who live nearby, renters who need garages for their businesses, and renters who store vehicles used only occasionally. We will have a page on each garage with details about it, The page will include the number of bids, the bidding history, and the current high bid, similar to an eBay auction. High bidders will be notified by email when their bids are exceeded. As we get closer to the closing date, bidders will be asked to complete a purchase and sale agreement and put a deposit in an escrow account.

Mortgage rates are at historical lows and Federal Reserve statements suggest that they are likely to remain so at least through next Spring. We encourage those considering buying a garage condominium to investigate refinancing their existing home mortgage to get the funds needed to buy the garage.

Thirty-year mortgages are now available for about 3%. A 30-year ARM 5/1 is available today for the incredible fixed rate of 2.25% with $2100 in points and up-front fees. The Doyles just took out such a mortgage (a $220,000 loan with an $841 monthly payment) to help finance their purchase of the garages, which they expect to pay back before the end of the 5-year fixed-rate period by selling over half of the garages.

We expect that the refurbished garages will rent for about $250-$300/month. At today's mortgage rates, a $350-$400/month mortgage will likely pay for a 30-year mortgage that will be enough to purchase a garage, depending of course on the market price of a condominium garage next year.

To establish their market value, we will be promoting the DeLeo Garages to all the residents of our neighborhood - Huron Avenue, Gray Gardens, Upland Road, Winslow and the other "Little Dublin" streets off Sherman Street down to Walden. We may also advertise them widely and even place one unit with Coldwell Banker on Huron Avenue.

But our first preference will be to sell the garages to our abutters, near neighbors, and current renters, so some are being granted first refusals.

Purchasing a property in Cambridge when the real-estate market is in a slump, and when mortgage rates are at historic lows, should mean that the value of the property has nowhere to go but up.

And for abutters, purchasing a parking facility next to their land will surely increase the value of the joint property by more than the cost of the garage itself. Note that the three Winslow Street abutters will be granted permanent easements into the DeLeo Garages (increasing their property values slightly), even if they do not buy a garage at the present time. We will write into the condominium bylaws that these abutters have a permanent right of refusal to buy any condominium garage that is put up for sale in the future.

While this is a good time to buy, it would seem that this should not be a good time for the Doyles to be selling. Please remember that we only bought the property (paying a significant premium over the price the developer paid) to prevent it from being developed, ruining the views of all our close neighbors and putting several more cars onto our already crowded streets.