Buying my first Multi-Family in New Bedford, Massachusetts
East Sandwich, MA · Member since 2016 · 34 posts · 6 votes
Hi, I just got pre-approved to buy my first house. I am thinking on buying a Multi Family in New Bedford, Massachusetts because the house prices are really low and I can rent one or two units. But a lot of people say that New Bedford is a very high crime area. I ask for advice from people that own properties or lives in the New Bedford area. Thanks.
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See agentsHey Juan,
I've lived in New Bedford my whole life and will be investing here when I become ready. It is one of the larger cities in Massachusetts so with more people comes more crime. There are definitely certain areas you will want to shy away from, however the city is LOADED with multi family properties so you should be able to find a deal in a nice area. I would recommend devoting a day to just driving around the city and becoming familiar with the different areas. There are tons of little pockets that are a nicer than their surroundings. It's easy to find yourself on a rough street, drive half a mile, then be in a much more attractive area. So it's worth it to take the time to familiarize yourself. If I had to make a recommendation, I would say to start your property search towards the North end of the city then make your way down. Also, you'll want to be sure to screen your tenants well. It's not worth the potential head ache not to. There a plenty of good, hard working tenants in this city, and they'll be easier to find once you weed out the bad ones.
Anyway, I hope this was somewhat helpful. Good luck and remember, you make money when you buy!
I think in major cities there are good and not as good areas. You should attend the South Shore REIA meetings to meet owners. Find the local landlord association meetings.
Consider checking out HUD homes for small multi's owner occupied gets first crack. My son bought a 3 family in Fall FRiver he had HUD de-lead each unit for free.
Paul
Hey Juan,
I've lived in New Bedford my whole life and will be investing here when I become ready. It is one of the larger cities in Massachusetts so with more people comes more crime. There are definitely certain areas you will want to shy away from, however the city is LOADED with multi family properties so you should be able to find a deal in a nice area. I would recommend devoting a day to just driving around the city and becoming familiar with the different areas. There are tons of little pockets that are a nicer than their surroundings. It's easy to find yourself on a rough street, drive half a mile, then be in a much more attractive area. So it's worth it to take the time to familiarize yourself. If I had to make a recommendation, I would say to start your property search towards the North end of the city then make your way down. Also, you'll want to be sure to screen your tenants well. It's not worth the potential head ache not to. There a plenty of good, hard working tenants in this city, and they'll be easier to find once you weed out the bad ones.
Anyway, I hope this was somewhat helpful. Good luck and remember, you make money when you buy!
Thank you very much Paul and Aaron, you guys are really giving me good ideas and at the same time opening my eyes to things I didn't know before.
Hi @Robert Andrade I want to express my gratitude for taking the time to explain in detail your experiences investing in New Bedford. Now I definitely won't invest in a bad section of New Bedford, I will keep looking for the good sections, and thanks again.
I just recently bought in New Bedford after looking for about a year. Plenty of offers put into houses, but never accepted. Patience is key, you don't want to overpay for anything unless you don't care about making money. The time will come as long as you don't push your limits. At times it got frustating and we considered paying a little more just so we could get a house, but that feeling soon went away after we thought logically about it.
I ended up getting a great house in a decent neighborhood for the right price. My biggest piece of advice is don't let the listing price scare you away from seeing it. I still continue to look at the market and see what houses sold for. Some were priced 30-40k over what it sold for! Remarkable!
In terms of the outlook for New Bedford. If you invest the right way, you can get a good house for a good price. If you are in any way handy, then you should be golden. Have respect for your house, screen tenants thoroughly and you should not have a problem in this city! In finding tenants for one of my units, we had a few decent ones, but not completely sold on them, so we waited a bit longer and found some we loved. Sometimes waiting a little while longer is better than rushing into things (for houses and tenants)
sorry this post was all over the place. The biggest thing is that I have confidence in New Bedford. Having lived here my entire life, I was able to see where the good and the bad are. One street to another can make the world of a difference.
Also, here is a tip that I did for a few homes. Go to the local police station...ask them what they think of the area. They can look up calls in the area/that property/etc. Even though I lived in NB all my life and thought some streets were OK, come to find out, it actually gets many calls, so talking with NBPD was worth it! Best of luck!!
Did you ever end up buying in New Bedford? I bought my first multi family in 2017 about to sell it in the next few months and 1031 exchange into a bigger deal.