All Forum Posts by: Josh Parra

Welcome Alex Cuevas ! Which areas of Massachusetts are you focusing on?

Rory Gill Welcome! We do most of our work in Southie/Dorchester but also in surrounding neighborhoods. Let's set up a time to meet and get acquainted.

Rick Jones Boston and it's surrounding neighborhoods can be really lucrative with the right deals. We have many luxury markets that don't typically have brownstones but are well worth the investment. Since the Boston area is full of multi-families or as some people call them, duplexes and triplexes, an investor can purchase these properties, in the right neighborhoods of course, renovate them and sell each unit off separately as a condo. Yes, you will be paying a premium, but as you mentioned, with the profit margins in the city, you can make much more and complete fewer projects. Now with that in mind you need take into consideration costs. With a good team you can expect to pay $110-$130 sqft for a rehab and $180-$200 sqft for new construction in the city. It's safe to say that in a typical condo conversion each unit will be at least 1000sqft. Also, if you plan on making any major changes to size, structure etc. you'll need to go through zoning which can take about a year before even getting approval, especially if it's new construction. In cases like this you usually make the purchase contingent on approval. On the other hand if the property is just getting gutted and rehabbed you can expect a 10-12 month project. Factor this in with your holding costs and it can get pretty expensive. If you have any questions about neighborhoods in the Boston area let me know, especially if you plan on marketing. We can let you know about how our numbers work so if you decide to wholesale, you can get the property under contract at the right price. It's super competitive here and homeowners know that they can get top dollar for their property. The good thing is there is a whole city full of hidden gems :)

Colin Alsheimer You are definitely doing it the smart way. An owner occ multi is def the way to go. However, your areas of interest are well above your budget. As a real estate broker and investor in the Boston area, I highly suggest looking for a property in Dorchester or East Boston. These two neighborhoods are the next up and coming areas that fall into your price range and will give you the best return in the future. You do have to be careful with Dorchester though. It takes up about 1/3 of Boston and there are definitely more desirable areas than others so you need to search the best neighborhoods. I live in Dorchester and we are focusing our investments in this area as well. If you ever have any questions please reach out to me. If you can get into a neighborhood before it completely gets gentrified you can maximize your earnings through higher rents, selling the property at a much higher price, or even condo-izing the apartments and selling them off individually. Best of luck!

Looking forward to it Justin Silverio !

Roy Assaf You bet! Good luck :)

Roy Assaf Getting the phone to ring from direct mail is trial and error. It all depends on your area as well. Here in Boston there is a TON of competition but if you create the right list and letter you'll get some leads. Yellow letters should provide a bunch of phone calls but have a low conversion rate. I think the best thing for your situation and what has worked best here is to Drive For Dollars. Gather a list of your own by going out and finding distressed or semi-distressed multis. Also any list you are pulling off of listsource etc. should be scrubbed. With only 400 you should be able to eliminate quite a few. I pulled a list in 2 zip codes specifically for 3 families, 91%-100% equity and found a bunch of discrepancies that ranged from management company addresses, converted condo units, or recently purchased properties. You can scrub your list using MLS (if you have access) to check a property's history or online with the county registry. Some people don't like to scrub and just send, but to me it's a waste of money. Combine that with you DFD list and you should get some hits. My recent list will be testing out zip letters. I like that there is a check example that is included. I took and avg. amount that I'd spend on a property in my target area and put it on the check. This should impact a motivated seller by seeing all of the zeros. I explain that if now is not the time to hang the check on the fridge as a reminder to what could be in their bank account in order to retire, move to their dream city, or share with family. I also include that if it's not the right time for them to send me anyone that they might think is interested and if we buy that property we'll give them $1000. Just some input for you to consider ;)

@Harpreet Walia No problem! With an investment property you'll have to put at least 20% down. If condo fees, taxes etc. aren't too high and your mortgage payment is under the market rent you should be good to go. If you are breaking even and the neighborhood is up and coming it also makes sense to invest because the rents will rise.  

When I first moved to Boston I lived in Southie and was paying $1400 for a 2 bedroom. The neighborhood was on the up and up and a few years later rents of similar properties were breaking $2K. Now you're lucky to find a one bedroom in South Boston for UNDER $2K with the majority of 2 beds avg. $2500. :)

Harpreet Walia if the numbers work then do it! The market here has been very stable and if students won't pay the rent some young professionals/professionals will.

I'm chasing a probate property here in Boston and am in touch with the attorney. I originally had to hunt down the woman's husband who in turn gave me the attorney info. They are clearing title and reaching out to all interested parties once it's a go. Good luck!