Boston Out-of-State MFH Flipper

[MIke Steuart]

Hi,

I have a complicated story, so bear with me.  I was a civil engineer for 5 years, then switched careers to be an airline pilot.  During the pandemic I was furloughed, so I renovated my house to studs using a lot of advanced high-performance sustainable building techniques and incorporating a lot of advanced building concepts.  

To demonstrate my technical competence, for my personal house I built a steam shower, installed radiant barriers with rock wool, and a wood stove insert with bathroom radiant heated floors and re-designed radiant floor heat zones, cutting winter energy consumption to 1/8, installed a whole house fan cutting summer energy to 1/2, extensive localized landscaping leading to a reduction to 1/8 the yard work, plus random quality of life improvements like wifi switches, heated floors and toilet seats, skylight install, exposed structural beams, and master bedroom laundry including electrical and plumbing, cathedral ceilings with skylights, a steam shower with wifi controllable lighting and music, concrete countertops, etc.  I did all of the work myself, fully legal and permitted.  I installed 8 branch circuits (2 240V) and plumbing for a new bathroom and laundry room on the second floor with 2x6 joists.  2x6 can't be bored with 2" PVC DWV per code (and as it should be!). Anyway, not to sound cocky, but I can safely build just about anything in residential construction.  

My step brother is a corporate accountant moving back to CA from HI, selling his condo, and with our combined equity, we're looking to invest in a MFH in either Providence or Boston.  I've dealt with the permitting office in RI and I view them as valuable, extremely helpful assets. However, I'm a left-coaster and I'm worried about the legal pitfalls for an investment property if we expand to Boston, especially as a RI resident.  

I would like to buy a multifamily home in Boston with my step brother and renovate it to the maximum extent possible, within our legal limits.  Should I get a MA construction supervisor license?  Or is that unnecessary?  It's called taxachusettes for a reason; are the rates significantly different from what Zillow posts?  Are there hidden fees and significant expenses I'm not accounting for? What well-established big organizations try to squeeze out small business start ups like us in Boston?  Is the permit office helpful like in RI or are there political nuances? Any advice from the Boston area is massively appreciated, because I know this is an investment property, not a homeowner special.