New to Real Estate Investing in MA

Real Estate Agent · Beverly, MA · Member since 2019 · 358 posts · 308 votes

1y

Hey @Account Closed, I am a 2x house hacker and Agent on the North Shore. I started my journey in 2020 and have purchased two duplexes in Beverly since then. You're not wrong. The market is tough here. Things are expensive and moving fast, but not impossible. If possible, I suggest house hacking. It's definitely the easiest/safest way to get started. Save for 5% down and use a conventional loan so you have fewer hoops to jump through.

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George Post
Lender · Boston · Member since 2018 · 53 posts · 21 votes
1y
Quote from @Daniel McDonald:

Hey @Account Closed, I am a 2x house hacker and Agent on the North Shore. I started my journey in 2020 and have purchased two duplexes in Beverly since then. You're not wrong. The market is tough here. Things are expensive and moving fast, but not impossible. If possible, I suggest house hacking. It's definitely the easiest/safest way to get started. Save for 5% down and use a conventional loan so you have fewer hoops to jump through.

Great points @Daniel McDonald!
Remember: with a conventional loan, you typically need six months of reserves for owner-occupied multifamilies. That means if your mortgage payment is $4,000, you'll need $24,000 in reserves after closing.

Try to bake in closing costs—either by negotiating seller credits or adjusting the purchase price. It’s a smart way to ease your out-of-pocket burden and get your foot in the door.
One popular strategy—especially if you're single—is the "rent by the room" approach. You can buy a property with as little as 3% down using a conventional loan, then rent out the other bedrooms to roommates. It's a great way to drastically reduce or even eliminate your monthly housing expense.

If you live there for at least two years and then sell, you may qualify for up to $250,000 in capital gains to be tax-free (as long as it’s your primary residence). That profit can then be used to roll into your next property and continue building your portfolio.

It’s a solid way to get started in real estate investing without needing a ton of capital upfront.

Happy to answer questions if anyone’s considering this route!
Cheers,
George

Got questions? Shoot me a message—I’m happy to help.
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Bryce JamisonPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Mebane, NC · Member since 2015 · 493 posts · 439 votes

1y

House hack. Take a year or 2 to save up a nice down payment and emergency fund then buy a place with as many bedrooms as you can get. You can stay in a spare room and rent the master and other rooms to get more money.

Then save up for another year or 2 and repeat. As you build equity, you can look into other strategies like BRRR, using HELOCs, and 1031ing into bigger and better properties.

Thinking back to when I was 25, I wish I would of had a longer term mindset. At 25, if you house hack using this "sneaky rental" method, you'll be a millionaire, if not multi millionaire, in 10 years.

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Ko KashiwagiPro Member

Lender · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2022 · 967 posts · 445 votes

1y

Great to see other young professionals get into this space. What does your current income look like and have you talked to a lender who have shown you how to qualify potential rent from other units to increase your purchase power? When buying a multi-family (2-4), you could use the rents of the other units to qualify for a higher price which is one way to navigate these expensive markets.

Househack is definitely one of the best ways to get started but you could also consider out of state investing.

310-848-9776

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Mike PaolucciBusiness Member

Realtor · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2022 · 492 posts · 550 votes

1y

Quote from @Account Closed:

Hi All,

I am 25 years old and graduated from college three years ago. I currently work in commercial real estate and am incredibly interested in investing in real estate and work part time at a restaurant for extra cash to save for investments. I have read books on real estate investing and listened to so many podcasts on investing. My goal would be to target 2 to 4 family properties, ideally on the North Shore, and would be looking for long term holds and the BRRR method. The biggest challenge I see with real estate investing is that the real estate market in the Boston/Greater Boston market is crazy right now. Home prices are very high and, as a young professional out of college, the down payment is a major challenge for me. Honestly, I look at homes for sale in various markets throughout New England every day and want to get in the game, but do not know where to start because of this challenge. I have looked into various solutions like syndications, partners, FHA loans, hard money loans, etc. but am really looking for some advice to overcome this challenge. I would be happy to hear some of your stories and any advice on that would be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, I would like to begin making connections with other real estate investors in my area. Whether that is through LinkedIn, networking events, or just grabbing a coffee, I would love to start building my network and learning from you all. If there are any resources (BiggerPockets or elsewhere) that you suggest I would be eager to hear your suggestions.

I appreciate all of you for taking the time to read this, and please feel free to reply or reach out.

Best,

Nick

If you can house hack (duplex or triplex) locally or within an hour of where you live/need to be then suggest you start with that. You'll learn a lot from your first deal and managing the property that will prepare you for the rest of you investing career.

I do not recommend trying to start off with a BRRRR - probably the hardest strategy to pull off successfully and lots of seasoned investors (with lots of deals under their belt) still lose money because of unforeseen issues that pop up.

If house hacking isn't an option then maybe you should look out of state in a market where the numbers and landlord laws make sense. I had to do this back when I started in 2021 while living in San Francisco.

Happy to share some experiences and mistakes I've made along the way.

Good luck with your investing journey.

[email protected]614-892-9184

Reafco - Mike Paolucci 512 Reviews

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Kerlous TadresBusiness Member

Realtor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2023 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

1y

Hey Nick, it's awesome that you're already diving into real estate! If the down payment is a challenge, I'd suggest looking into house hacking—live in one unit of a 2-4 family property and rent out the others to cover the mortgage. FHA loans are also worth considering for first-time buyers, as they only require a 3.5% down payment. BiggerPockets is a great resource for networking, but connecting with people face-to-face will really help you grow.

[email protected]614-490-1163

Kerlous Tadres | Reafco Real Estate539 Reviews

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Jakob Mikhitarian

Member since 2025 · 86 posts · 25 votes

1y

Hi @Account Closed, I'm from southern NH so I'm familiar with your struggle of finding something affordable, especially in the Boston area. With your troubles of saving for a down payment, I would definitely recommend owner occupying a multi family property(house hack). You'd only need 3.5-5% down and can mitigate your largest expense--housing. It's difficult to find good deals within Boston itself, but if you look a bit outside of the city, there are some pretty good opportunities.

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Terrance HillPro Member

Realtor · Memphis, TN · Member since 2010 · 425 posts · 117 votes

1y

Hi Nick,

Welcome to BiggerPockets! I totally get the challenge of getting started in a high-priced market like Greater Boston, especially with down payments for multi-family properties. Partnering, syndications, and creative financing like BRRR or FHA house hacking are all solid ways to start building momentum.

It sounds like you’re serious about learning and growing your network. I’d be happy to connect, share strategies, and introduce you to other investors in the New England area.

Looking forward to connecting!

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Account Closed

Real Estate Agent · Boston · Member since 2021 · 19 posts · 16 votes

1y

Hi Nick, I'm a investor, agent, and full time financial analyst from Chelmsford, MA. PM me, would be happy to chat

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Sophanavy Prak

Member since 2025 · 3 posts · 0 votes

10mo

Good evening,

With the right agent—one who truly understands down payment assistance programs and has strong relationships with lenders—you can accomplish far more than you think. I recently closed on a multifamily home using these resources and secured $50,000 in grant funds.

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Jim McWethy

Investor · Medford · Member since 2019 · 12 posts · 7 votes

9mo

Alsi, start learning all the trades. Take a class or two at a local vocational school. Time and money well spent. You might also want to get familiar with wholesaling and contract assignment.

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New to Real Estate Investing in MA

New to Real Estate Investing in MA

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