First Time Buyer - Where do I start? - Massachusetts Market

[Matthew Cataldo]

Hello All,

I decided a few years ago that I wanted to get into the real estate business by buying and holding rental properties. Over the past 4 years iv managed to save around 150K. I live in Massachusetts near Boston and properties around here are extremely expensive and I am interested in looking more towards the central Mass like Worcester. Worcester is much more appealing because its the 2nd largest city in MA and has 3 colleges and many multi family units for sale at a much cheaper price than Boston. Iv seen prices range from 250-350K for 3 family units where as in Boston those units go for 1M +

My question(s) as a first time buyer r is how do i determine if its a good deal. What do you experienced investors look at ? The worries I have are:

1.) What research do you trust when deciding if the area is a good neighborhood? 

2.) How do i determine if i know that i can get the units rented out ASAP

3.)  What constitutes a good deal? Is there a certain number i should be trying to get to for cap rate ?

3.) what kind of financing should i do ? Is there a specific one that people typically do? i dont plan on living in this unit either.

4.) Is it a hassle to manage a building? How much should i stash away for unexpected maintence

5.) what do people do when tenants cant/wont pay - i know mass makes it difficult for the landlord to get these situations resovled. What do people do in their lease agreements in order to avoid this to the best of their abilities ?

Thanks for the help.