House Hack in Worcester MA

[Claire Durand]

Hi BP community, first post here! My boyfriend Matt and I have been educating ourselves about real estate for the past two years through listening to podcasts, reading, and watching webinars. We are looking to start our real estate journey this spring, by house hacking. The plan is for me to buy our first property using an FHA loan this Spring and for Matt to buy the following spring.

To give you some background on ourselves, we are both 23 years old and graduated from college last year. I work in accounting at a real estate development company in Newton and Matt is a project engineer at a construction company in Worcester. 

We are interested in buying a multifamily property in the Worcester area because we believe that the area is going to continue to appreciate and it will cut down on our commute time. We are not afraid of tackling a renovation as long as the property qualifies for an FHA loan. In the next few weeks, I am planning on speaking with several different banks to begin the pre-approval process.

We are looking to connect with other investors in Worcester, MA and welcome any advice or recommendations from anyone who has house hacked or bought multifamily properties in the area! Are there any specific neighborhoods that you would recommend or want to stay away from? Has anyone had success with driving for dollars? We are really looking to get out there to better understand the market. Thank you all in advance! 

- Claire

[Ian Hogan]

Hi @Claire Durand welcome to the community,

I think you have a solid plan to grow consistent and smart through the FHA ladder between yourself and Matt. Especially with your backgrounds in real estate from your 9-5 jobs you should have a strong base. While you look for lenders in the next few weeks I would recommend looking for a lender familiar with 203k renovation loans. Not all lenders support or like these loans but they are a great tool for sweat equity while house hacking.

If you are looking to connect with more investors in the Worcester area as well as other MA investors we hold a virtual meetup every month to discuss individual goals, projects, market trends, among other things. The next meetup is on the 21st of January, if you are interested let send me a DM. There are several other investors in the Worcester area that attend, as well as agents, and lenders.

Thanks,

Ian