House Hacking in Boston's HCOL North Shore

[Tyler Palermo]

Hello,

I am looking to start my real estate journey by house hacking in Boston’s North Shore market. The problem is that this is a very expensive market. A decent two or three family typically goes for $550,000 - $650,000+ in the Beverly, Salem, Peabody, Lynn area.

My goal is to finance one of these properties with a low down payment FHA loan and live in one of the units. However, after running the numbers on multiple properties, it seems impossible to be able to break even in this scenario.

The only possible situation where I can see breaking even is to buy a three family at the lower price end and rent out a room in the unit that I will be occupying.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience in a similar market, or has any insight on how to maximize my return. Is there a different strategy I should be considering?

Thank you!