A complete list of all open houses scheduled on Sunday, May 1, 2011, in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston.

Please contact me for details and to set up private showings.

Above, 86 Marlborough Street #1, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. Rob Kilgore of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is the listing agent.

The War of the Roses is a 1989 film starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. In it, a once-loving couple turn into mortal (literally) enemies.

A similar story is being played out in New York City.

The New York Daily News ran an article about a couple who once lived in holy matrimony in a Brooklyn brownstone. Eventually, they had irreconcilable differences. But, instead of getting a divorce and selling their property, they used Sheetrock to split the house in two and both continued to live there.

Since 2007, it’s been estimated that, combined, they have spent more on attorneys and litigation than the house is actually worth.

After visiting “civil court, family court, housing court, bankruptcy court and appellate court”, a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge has decided enough is enough and is forcing them to sell the property in order to satisfy outstanding debts and, hopefully, put an end to the entire episode.

Or, not.

While Chana was angry with the ruling and vowed that it would not be final, Simon, who owns three other Brooklyn buildings, was “very happy” with the decision., according to The Real Deal.

There’s a moral here. Actually, probably more than one.

More: “War of the Roses”over as sweater-mogul Simon Taub, wife Chana finalize epic, nasty divorce – New York Daily News

The first photos from The Modern Phase II project have been released. The new development, situated behind its sister, The Modern, Phase I, is located on Northampton Street between Tremont Street and Columbus Avenue in the South End. Its address is 265 Northampton Street.

The first listings from The Modern Phase II have been entered into our local MLS. The lowest-priced unit is a third floor one-bedroom, one-bathroom home with approximately 819 square feet of space. It is listed at $399,000. The highest-priced unit is a “sky-level” home on the seventh floor. It has one-bedroom and one and ½-half baths and approximately 863 square feet. It includes a ~706 square foot private balcony (!!) and a garaged parking space is included in the purchase price of $749,000. A two-bedroom, one and ½-half, third=floor unit is listed at $499,000.

Most units come without parking, which can be purchase for $23,000. Condo fees look to be in the under-$.60 per square foot range.

Phase II is to be expected to be completed this coming July.

When completed, The Modern project will have 62 units between the two buildings along with underground parking.

The Modern, Phase I was completed in 2006 with unit sales continuing to be made throughout 2007 and 2008. Coming at the end of the real estate boom, the developer had a bit of difficulty selling off the last units, although many sold for close to full asking and at prices seen in more-established sections of the South End.

This time around, the developer should have no problem finding buyers. There’s pent-up demand and the future looks brighter than it did, four years ago. I predict a fairly quick sales cycle.

The development team includes the Metric Corp., New Boston Ventures, and PEG Properties & Design. New Boston Ventures has a lot of experience with projects in and around the South End while PEG has been known in the past for ultra-quality renovations of South End, Back Bay, and Beacon Hill townhomes.

Ricardo Rodriguez of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is the listing agent for all of the Phase II units.

The first open house for The Modern Phase II is this Sunday, May 1, 2011, between 11 AM and 1 PM.

Please contact me for complete details and to arrange a private showing or to arrange to meet prior to Sunday’s open house.

Below, three photos.

Development website: The Modern 2

Images above are of the model unit; finishes have not been finalized in all units.

A New York City lawmaker is threatening the very livelihood of real estate agents across the country by proposing legislation that would ban the invention of neighborhood names that have given us SoHo, TriBeCa, and DUMBO.

According to the New York Times, state assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries is writing legislation that “would punish real estate agents for inventing neighborhood names and for falsely stretching their boundaries. It would also require that name changes get city approval.”

That sound you just heard was a collective gasp from hundreds of thousands of real estate agents across the country who live and die by coming up with creative names for otherwise moribund and boring neighborhoods.

But, seriously, the obvious silliness of this should be obvious. No nickname has ever been forced on anyone, anywhere. No one has to call the area South of Houston Street “SoHo”.

Here in Boston, of course, we have our own nicknames. In the South End is “SoWa”, the work of Mario Nicosia of GTI Properties who thought it made sense to brand an area where he owned a lot of property. It only stuck because people thought it made sense. It narrows an existing neighborhood into an even smaller one.

You have to be a real pessimist to think that real estate agents spend their days just dreaming up new neighborhood names. It doesn’t work like that. And, when they do offer up suggestions, it’s mostly tongue-in-cheek, like when I wanted to call the area between the South End and South Boston “SoSo”, because the neighborhood is, eh, just kind of so-so.

I’m not sure how the assemblyman thinks he can punish the agents and developers. Put them in the stocks? Fine them? Send them to Long Island?

ProCro, SoBro, FiDi, BoCoCa: A Lawmaker Says, ‘Enough’ – Cara Buckley, The New York Times

Here is a list of all open houses scheduled for Sunday, April 24, 2011, in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. (There are very few open houses scheduled due to the Easter Sunday holiday. Note that many of the open houses are actually scheduled for Saturday, not Sunday.)

Above, 220 Commonwealth Ave #3, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. Betsy Herald of The Charles Realty is the listing agent.