All Forum Posts by: Brian J Allen

Thank you for the kind words.  Worcester is a great city and i am proud to have spent my adult life here.

lots of investors go out on Saturdays to view properties in Worcester, we could put together an informal one if you wanted to meet some folks

@DJ Richmond if you are looking in Worcester county I can help. The most important thing is to find out where you need to be each day. Massachusetts has lots of traffic and the patterns are predictable but you need to know them. Worcester provides great access to job locations in Framingham/Natick as well as Marlborough/Hudson but those are from different parts of Worcester. And those also differ from where you may choose to live if you were to work in Worcester itself. All real estate is local so make sure you are hyper local on your search and who you work with. Also make sure you work with someone who has walked the neighborhoods that you are looking at. Not just looking at them from google maps.

@Rosario Salamone. I think the value of the paw Sox may be over stated. Worcester is great because it is a livable city with good restaurants and neighborhoods. The paw Sox will help with that neighborhood but the reason people live here is that you have access to jobs to the east with much lower housing costs. The key is finding the right neighborhood which has the tenants you want to attract and knowing the short term and long term work the property will need. These houses have often been neglected and need lots of electrical and plumbing upgrades

@Eric Girard Worcester typically has solid cash flow and maintenance costs are generally less. The key is the neighborhood you pick as they differ greatly. In Boston it is transportation based in Worcester it is parking and location to the highways. Multis in single family neighborhoods have much higher rents then in multi neighborhoods and Worcester provides a mix of each

Awesome data!  In Massachusetts, specifically Boston- Worcester the biggest issue holding back increasing the supply of rental housing is Zoning.  What we see is that most of the new housing hitting the market is on the higher end since land costs and zoning costs are high, the return is only there when rents are higher.  This is leaving a hole in rentals in the middle for workforce tenants that are clean.  We are seeing in Worcester that anything clean is renting right away, and the tired rentals do not command as much attention.

Central MA, Specifically Worcester has not been an appreciation market for multi families.  Most of that is because of the "deferred maintenance" issues.  These houses are really old, and if you don't "go to the studs" you will always need improvements.  Remember it is Street by street in Worcester, and neighborhood by neighborhood.  There are neighborhoods and towns that appreciate, and others where prices are determined by cash flow.  Make sure you know where you are buying, not just what you are buying  LOCATION X3

Looks to be in interesting year in Worcester.  Remember that Worcester is just a big small town so you need to reach out and let people know you are looking to buy.  most of the good stuff never hits the mls.

I sell worcester so i like Worcester.  The key is to buy as is, CASH.  But you will have to have good management in place as the best cash flow properties are difficult to manage.

Ryan,

I work with investors in Worcester and typically go out on Saturdays to view properties.  Let me know via DM if you would like to join.  You can see multiple properties and check out a tour of Worcester while you are at it.