Brockton, MA Rental Market

[Nick Romano]

Hey guys-  Looking into Multi Family units in Brockton, MA.  Anyone have any advice on the tenants/rental market?  I know Brockton isn't the best town but some of the properties seem to make sense.  I wouldn't expect too much capital appreciation but the cash flow looks like it works.  Is the rental market strong in Brockton?  Will it continue to be strong?

Any success stories there?  Recommended property managers in the area?  Other places to look?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks!

[Jose Brandao]

Hi Nick,

I am from Hyde Park but I invest in the Brockton area. Currently holding 5 triple deckers in the city between me and my brother and planning to acquire more in 2017. The rental market has been strong and demand is high and we expect it to continue that way. Rent has been on the rise over the past three or so years and when we ever list an empty unit it rents within a week or less at top rental rates sometimes over HUD FMR rates (https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/F...) 

I would say Brockton is the closest urbanized major city South of Boston. As such many of the people who no longer can afford to rent and buy in Boston have ran to Brockton and due to the strong job market in Boston many of the people South of Brockton (i.e. Taunton, Fall River, etc) have moved and are looking to move to Brockton to be closer to the job market (easy access to Boston through BAT bus and commuter rail stop). We have had our share of tenant issues as most of the properties we have purchased had been completely occupied and some not with the best tenants. But we have been slowly turning over the tenants and rehabbing and getting a better quality tenants as the pool of tenants has increased in quality thanks to the downward effects I have mentioned above. 

We don't have a property manager at this moment and have been self managing at this point.