College Grad looking to buy!!

[Jamiez Gaither]

Hello all, hope you guys are doing well!! 
I am graduating college in May, and I’m looking to buy shortly after. I am extremely interested in housing hacking. But I don’t know exactly where. Im looking to stay close to Worcester, as I think homes will appreciate significantly over the next ten years in that area. 
Some of the towns that interested me 

Worcester, Spencer, Auburn, Fitchburg (kinda far from Worcester, but homes are cheap) 

Would love any sort of input!!! 
Thanks! 

[Kyle Curtin]

@Jamiez Gaither

Hi Jamiez!,

That is a phenomenal plan! I totally agree with @Brian J Allen ! I highly recommend checking out the Leominster at well, it is roughly 25 minutes from Worcester & bordering Fitchburg.

In my opinion, if possible I highly recommend acquiring a 3 or 4 unit building with an FHA 3.5% down, FHA 203k, MHP One (3% conventional with no pmi for single family or duplexes, 5% conventional with no pmi for 3 & 4 families. It is a first time homebuyer loan with some restrictions, but if you fit the mold it is definitely something to look into), or Mass housing 5% down etc. There are a ton of great low barrier to entry first time homebuyer programs out there, as well as down payment assistance programs from cities if you qualify to be able to get into a deal with a very low amount of capital out of pocket.

For 3&4 unit multi's your lender will be able to use a percentage of the rental income from these properties towards your DTI (debt to income ratio) to give you a higher pre approval and make it easier to be able to take on more leverage for a bigger asset. It is very important that you do not over-leverage yourself and potentially bite off more than you can chew because the mortgage (principle, interest, taxes, & insurance) & utilities will be significantly increased, but at the same time is also decreasing your risk because you have more tenants paying rent & utilities before it hits your pocket if they stop paying/etc.

You are in a great position, especially working towards squaring away your housing expenses for potentially the rest of your life right after college! Good luck!

Kyle