Introducing myself - new BP member from Boston, MA

[James E.]

Hey everyone! BP newbie here and wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself.

My background:

I'm James, a 27 year old part-time investor in the greater Boston area. I currently own one investment property in East Boston, my primary residence in Charlestown, and will be *hopefully* closing on a second investment property in Salem next month. 

My goals:

Like a lot of people here, my goal is financial freedom. My interim goal is to get to $1 million in invested capital over the next 7 years.

My strategy:

My current strategy is to buy REO / short sale condos at ~30% below FMV that cash flow for at least $400/month, and hold for 2-5 years. I plan to do this until I have enough capital to "upgrade" to bigger buildings (4-8 units) and keep the total number of buildings to manage under 10 at any given point.

My questions:

1. What areas does everyone like right now? My East Boston place has done very well for me over the past 2 years (~50+% appreciation and steady $600/mo cash flow), but I'm seeing fewer and fewer deals to be had in the better areas. Dorchester, Chelsea, Revere, and some areas of Roxbury and Hyde Park still seem to have some opportunities, but most of those neighborhoods are block-by-block dependent. 

2. What are some asset protection strategies in Mass? I loved the BP pockets on asset protection, however MA doesn't offer a series LLC. Has anyone found a way to replicate the benefits of individual asset protection without the overhead of filing fees for each property?

3. What networking groups have you found to be successful? Most of my friends aren't "in the game" so to speak, so it's tough for me to bounce ideas off of people because they look at me like I have 3 heads. 

Thanks in advance for any assistance and nice to "meet" all of you!

James