Good to be back... South of Boston.

[Steven Tierney]

Hi Everybody - It's been a while since I've been on the Bigger Pockets forums actively, so I thought I'd say hi.  Since I was last active on the forums, about 2 years ago, my wife and I relocated closer to the ocean into a fixer upper single family property, had baby #2, and I started working part time, and from home, to provide more family flexibility (2 young daughters).  So a few big changes in the past couple of years... I've been wonderfully distracted, but have started to refocus:  I've registered for real estate sales classes next month, and look forward to connecting with new people on here.

I feel like I'm all over the place because now that we've settled into our little house, made a number of improvements to it, we're in a position where we have over $150k in equity in the house, and real estate investing is slowly coming back into focus for me.  2 years ago, primarily out of frustration for not being able to find a primary residence, I stumbled onto Bigger Pockets and found myself looking at distressed properties and making offers on houses to flip... until I found a residence suitable for my family.  That was then...  Now I find myself wanting to get into the multifamily scene.  The south shore of Massachusetts (Scituate) is a tough area to break in, the pricepoint is high, and the market is hot.  I've looked into a number of cities south and west of Boston, but find myself averse to the idea of being a slumlord.  Does anybody else think about that, care about that, or is the only thing that matters the numbers?  Property managers will deal with the issues, right? :)

Besides that, I find myself struggling with the idea of using our primary residence as leverage to get into real estate investing. A HELOC or cash-out refinance could work if we wanted it to, but again, I'm pretty risk averse and don't like that idea. So here's my primary dilemma right now - we have good credit, and solid incomes (above average for the area) - is there a traditional financing option for me that requires a minimal down payment for multifamily investment properties? I believe the Fannie Mae Homestyle loan could work for me if I found a house to flip, but I don't think it applies to multi-unit investment properties.

Anyways, just thought I'd pop in, say hi, and see what you all think.  It's good to be back!

[Christian Allen]

@Steven Tierney I can give my opinion on the Mt. Hope area of the East Side. The prices you see for the MFR are related to the desirability of the neighborhood. That area is known for having "higher" crime and as a result lower rents. The areas between Camp St and N Main St I wouldn't consider to be an area where you will get the best tenants. As you move towards Hope St the picture gets much better but you see how the prices reflect that.

Providence has some great neighborhoods apart from just the East Side but you do need to know where to look.  Depending on the area you can have a good street very close to a bad one.  This is typical for many urban areas.  I personally have lived in Providence for over 3 years and would be more than willing to answer any questions you may have.