The following article was published in
the August 17, 2005 issue of In Newsweekly and is
published here with permission. The original
article can be found at
http://www.innewsweekly.com/innews/?class_code=Bs&article_code=295
| So much more than a P'town home |
| Dan Hochman isn't interested in selling houses; he wants you to have the home of your dreams |
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by William Henderson August 11, 2005 |
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Dan Hochman. www.ptownre.com. danh@ptownre.com. 617-247-2267 or 508-487-3589 It's 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning when Dan Hochman answers his office telephone, and he needs a moment to step outside so as not to wake his sleeping guests. Getting these early Sunday morning phone calls comes with the territory when you work in real estate, so he's used to it. Away from the city's summer heat and its hustle and bustle, Hochman found a place to call his own and settled in Provincetown. His find was a 115-year-old, two-family home that needed some attention. Accepting the challenge, he educated himself on the ins and outs of five different town boards, meeting all of their requirements, and was successful in creating his oasis in Provincetown. The renovation process, he says, gave him first-hand knowledge and experience in what someone looking to buy and potentially renovate in Provincetown will go through. As a real estate agent, he's not just interested in pairing the right property with the right buyer, he's interested in ensuring that his clients are able to turn the property into the home they dream of. "Provincetown is very unique. It's a beautiful and accepting community," he says. Though Hochman works with buyers and sellers throughout the Outer Cape - Provincetown, Truro and Wellfleet - it's the Provincetown properties that are near and dear to his heart, perhaps in part because of how much he loves the town. He, like many other men and women, stumbled upon Provincetown by chance. Taken there by a friend for a day, he says he fell in love with it and then had an opportunity to rent a room for a couple of summers before deciding it made more sense to buy rather than rent. After deciding to buy a home for himself in Provincetown, Hochman's desire to become a resident and member of the community became all the more possible. That desire, coupled with a successful and fulfilling career as a computer and technology consultant, helped lead him to a career change through which he could develop his other great passion - real estate. Hochman works primarily as a buyer's agent, meaning that if you're looking for a property to buy and you work with him, you have someone looking out for your interests, not the seller's. He is able to guide you through the purchase process in a smooth and painless manner, helping you weigh the pros and cons. He'll make sure that the home you buy is exactly what you're looking for. The desire to find that special property, he says, is what brings most people to Provincetown. Although it's not a place where everyone would choose to have their primary residence, like the many year-rounders who love the fact that Provincetown is their permanent home, a large number of his clients feel that buying in Provincetown is a worthwhile luxury. Having a second home in Provincetown gives many of his clients that special place where they can escape life's stresses. "It's not unusual to spend upward of a year looking for a place," he explained. "Considering that some clients are buying a vacation home, they want it to be their perfect vision. The widely diverse and sometimes limited housing stock in Provincetown is such that it sometimes requires patience to find that perfect vision." A current trend in the Provincetown market is for developers to buy large 100-year-old homes, renovate them and turn them into one- or two-bedroom condominiums. This, he says, makes home buying more affordable and accessible to those who are priced out of single family homes in the currently hot market. Another unique service Hochman provides is his willingness to work with clients from all over. For those living in the Boston area, it's not unusual for him to visit with clients at their home or office before they make a trip to Provincetown to begin looking at properties. He can do a lot of the initial work via e-mail. Hochman is an associate of Pied Piper Real Estate, a gay-owned and operated real estate company open year-round, six days a week and Sunday by appointment. He is available most anytime, as his willingness to conduct an interview at 8 a.m. on a Sunday indicates. "Provincetown is the place to come and run into friends you haven't seen for years just by strolling down Commercial Street," Hochman said. "Most of the gay community comes here at least once each summer. And, as for me, I love being part of a small, diverse community of which I can be an involved, contributing member." |
Page Revised: 11/09/07 21:17:29 -0700.