House Hacking South of Boston

[Joseph Algeri]

Hey BP community!!

My name is Joe (age=26) and I'm a new REI, looking to purchase a 2-3 unit MF south of boston (potential house hack). I currently own a 3BR/2 bath single family in Middleboro mass (around where I work) but I'm looking to get a little closer to the city. I currently have around 120K in equity in the home (MV =320K / balance due 200k) if I was to sell the property around Market value. I'm looking for some help on how I can purchase my second property and what areas I should be looking in.

I am currently looking in the Quincy/Braintree/weymouth area but the prices of the homes in the market are above 550K easily for even a 2 unit MF. I have also considered looking into the Randolph/brockton/stoughton areas since the value of the homes are much more affordable but I have also heard the tenants in that area can be difficulty to work with and find. In your opinion is it worth spending more/lower ROI in the Quincy are to secure more dependent tenants and invest in an area where more appreciation may occur VS spending less/ greater ROI (cash flows are better) in an area such as brockton/stoughton?

In terms of funding the purchase it would be great if I could take a home equity line of credit against my house and purchase the second property upright. I however don't believe I will qualify for a loan since the I will have two large mortgages and will not meet the required debt to income ratios (They will not count the income on the rental property because I have not been a qualified landlord for more than two years). It will also be close for me to hit the 20% down payment required to close for a second investment property. Selling may be my only option but at least it will allow me to put 5% down since it will become my new primary residence.

Any opinions on the  location to purchase a MF property or alternative financing options would be very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to help out a new Real estate investor.

Thanks for all the help

-Joe

[Michael Fratalia]

Hi @Joseph Algeri, welcome to the forum.  If you're flexible with towns, you should be able to find something that will fit your needs.  How handy are you with putting some (a lot) of sweat equity into a property?

I'm a residential and commercial agent out of Westwood, MA and currently working with several multifamily buyers in the 95 corridor.  Feel free to reach out anytime.

@Patrick Wheeler, great info.  I'll keep you in mind for any referrals in the city.