Providence, RI oppose to Boston, MA

[Taylor Wrice-Brooks]

Hello All, 

I'm looking to start investing on better properties south of Boston in Providence, RI. City is being redeveloped and I want a piece of the action in the right way before the value goes up higher in the area. Prices are low, which is good but I want to know which direction would be profitable + rewarding. Would going low oppose to taking the risk of finding a private lender to grab something of a higher price ($450k+ multi-family) in a "already "high market value" Boston have a better result or understanding while slowly but surely getting the foot in the door in investing? 

[Anthony Thompson]

@Dedric Polite rents really vary by neighborhood, I'd recommend looking where prospective tenants look to get a sense of the rents in a given neighborhood, for example Craigslist and zooming in on the map to look at units in the same area.

Yes I currently have some rentals in Providence. I pay about as much attention to average cap rates as I do to what kind of cars other people in my neighborhood are driving (i.e., a vaguely passing interest when I notice, but generally not at all). However in another recent thread here on BP someone recommended irr.com for that kind of thing.

What cap rate, cash on cash etc. I want for myself varies with a lot of factors, such as whether I'm investing from a 1031 exchange, how close the property is to me or other properties I own, whether there is a lot (or very little) deferred maintenance, quality of the area/tenants, etc.

I may say in the back of my head, well this cap rate is actually pretty good in this market, but it's a secondary consideration. It's like driving - it's nice to be generally aware of what other cars on the road are doing, but my #1 consideration is what I'm doing with what I have and if it will get me where I want to go.

As far as recommending a specific property management company, I don't tend to recommend vendors on forum threads since who I recommend today for something may change in 6-12 months. So shoot me a PM and I'll give you a couple of potential companies.