Most owners who call us about selling quietly aren't trying to be secretive. They're trying to avoid one specific outcome: their best tenant hands in notice because a sign went up, and now they're selling a building with a vacancy and a worse number.
What off-market selling actually means
Your building isn't listed anywhere. It's shown to a specific set of buyers who already own in Boston, who have told us what they're looking for, and who have agreed in writing to keep what they see confidential. If nobody suitable bites, nothing has happened — no expired listing, no price-reduction history, no record that you tried.
That last part matters more than people expect. A listing that sits for ninety days and gets pulled follows the building around. A quiet conversation that goes nowhere doesn't.
When off-market wins, and when it doesn't
We would rather lose the conversation here than take a building that should have been listed. Both columns are real.
Off-market usually wins when
- The building is tenanted and you don't want the residents unsettled
- You're settling an estate, a divorce, or a partnership and want it handled without an audience
- You need a specific closing date, or a rent-back, more than you need the last two percent
- There's deferred maintenance you'd rather explain in person than have photographed
- You want to know what it's worth without committing to selling at all
Listing it usually wins when
- The building is vacant, renovated and photogenic — competition will pay for that
- It's an unusual property where the right buyer is hard to predict
- You have time, and maximising the number is the only thing that matters
- Owner-occupant demand is in play, which off-market buyer lists reach poorly
If your building is in the right-hand column, we'll say so on the first call. We'd rather be the broker you trust in two years than the one who took a listing that underperformed.
What your tenants find out, and when
Nothing, until you decide. There's no sign, no lockbox, no MLS entry that syndicates to every portal within the hour, and no open house.
When a serious buyer needs to see inside, it's scheduled with you, at a time you agree to, with proper notice to the residents. In practice most buyers on this list can form a real view from the exterior, the rent roll and the operating statement, and only need interior access on units that matter. Nobody is walking your building on a Saturday to kill an afternoon.
How it works
You tell us about the building
Address, unit count, roughly when you'd want to move. That's the whole ask — no financials required to start, and no agreement to sign.
We come back with a number and a name
What we think it's worth and, specifically, who on the buyer list wants that kind of building. A price with no buyer attached is just an opinion.
You decide whether to go further
Plenty of these stop here, and that's a normal outcome. If you do want to proceed, that's when there's paperwork — we're a licensed brokerage, not a handshake.
It's shown quietly and it closes
Confidentiality agreed in writing before anyone sees your operating detail, exact address released only on a signed acknowledgment for your property.
The things owners ask next
Do I pay a commission? Yes — in a typical Massachusetts sale the seller pays it, and you'll know the number in writing before you commit to anything. Nothing about this format changes that.
What about capital gains, or a 1031? Both come up constantly and both are questions for your CPA, not for us. What we can do is structure the timing around an exchange if you're doing one, because the deadlines are unforgiving and they're easier to hit when the sale isn't a public auction. Nothing on this page is tax or legal advice.
Do I have to sell to one of your buyers? No. If the right answer turns out to be the open market, or a buyer you already know, that's fine — see the two columns above.
Will you also try to manage it after I sell? Possibly, and you should know that upfront: the ownership behind this brokerage also owns a management company and a construction company. That's set out in full in the affiliated business disclosure, and it's answered plainly in the FAQ.