Advice for First Time Buyer in Metro North area

[Geoffrey Barlow]

Hey All,

Aspiring investor and life-long MA resident looking for some opinions and advice from more experienced investors in the area.

I work for a tech company in the Andover area, but grew up and currently live in the northern Central MA area. My goal is to have a house-hack duplex/multi or a single family with forced equity scenario as my first Real Estate purchase. I'd really like to find something within 15-20 miles of the Andover area as the commute from Central MA daily has taken it's toll on me over the years.

My budget is about $325k with about $10k down, although I have been approved for upwards of $400k on a single family, and most calculators online state I could afford $450ish, but I'm not sure i'm comfortable with a mortgage that high.

Anyone from this area will be aware that it's slim picking if at all in this area for those prices. It actually seems very tough to find a decent multi-family in any price range in this area. I'd be lucky even to find a single-family that needs a fair amount of work for $400k in most of the towns I'm interested in.

My question is where would you be looking and what would your strategy be if you were in my shoes? I have gone back and forth on looking more in this area or staying in the Central MA area as there are better opportunities for investment. I've also debated whether it makes sense to start out with a Condo. Should I stretch my budget as much as possible just to get into this area in hopes of an equity situation later?

Any advice or feedback is much appreciated.

thanks,

- Geoff

[Ann Bellamy]

If you want to live in the Andover area for personal (commute) reasons, then take steps to do so, and don't stay straddled between Andover and Central MA.  The commute will suck the life out of you eventually.  In order to afford, consider a 3-4 family to live in.  While it may not cash flow, it will reduce your living expenses through the rent on the other 3 units, and will give you valuable experience in investing and landlording.  Lowell, Haverhill and Lawrence all provide lower cost opportunities.  You don't mention children, so I assume you don't have to worry yet about the quality of the school system.  If and when you do, then hopefully you will have saved for a downpayment on a house in a better area, and can convert your multi to an all-tenanted building. 

I don't suggest choosing a bad neighborhood to get costs down, as you will have trouble maintaining good tenants.  Rather choose a better neighborhood with deferred maintenance that you can partially do yourself. 
It will take time to find this property.