All Forum Posts by: Evan Lowry

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Sure thing. I am not an expert by any stretch on the current state of the market, and more importantly I think you'd need to run the numbers on any property (of course) you are considering. Having said that, I have certainly seen multi-families in Nashua, Manchester, and Concord that could cashflow. In my opinion, Manchester has some rougher neighborhoods that might create some management challenges, and the city also requires you to get and periodically renew a Certificate of Compliance for each multifamily that is being rented out. So that's a unique wrinkle there, but they also seem to have the most inventory for small multis. I haven't done any investing in Concord, but it appears to be on the upswing in the last few years and the city seems to have invested in some nice improvements to the downtown area. If you are looking for something more suburban, Milford is a nice town that has a few multis come on the market occasionally. I can't say I know what rents they are getting, though. If you are chasing appreciation, I think the NH seacoast has been doing well lately, but an agent/broker would have more insight there.

Not sure any of that helps, but I think NH is a great place to live and invest, based on our recent experience here. Best of luck if you move forward!

Hi Becky, 

In my opinion the biggest differences for landlording in MA and NH are taxes and regulations. I house hack in NH and manage a fourplex in MA, so I have experienced both markets from the landlord side.

Massachusetts has much more tenant friendly laws and protections for tenants than NH. It is common for courts to award tenants triple damages and attorneys fees for technical defaults by landlords in areas like security deposit disputes or other common mistakes. That risk can be managed by learning and following the rules of the road, but you should be aware of it. Granted, If your househack ends up being  an owner occupied duplex in either state, your risks are lower as some of the same rules don’t apply to you as an owner occupant, but it’s something to be aware of, especially if you plan to eventually move out and become a non occupant landlord. NH, and Nashua in particular, are generally much fairer to landlords and there is more freedom of contract to what you can put in your lease. Just one example: here in NH I believe you can usually charge a tenant application fee. In Massachusetts unless the property is represented by a broker, you usually can’t. Those kinds of nitpicky rules can be frustrating if you self manage. I don’t think they are make or break for your decision, I just think they are good things to know.

In NH, you also have the benefit of no personal income tax and no sales tax, but the property taxes are typically much higher than Massachusetts cities and towns. So your monthly payment will be higher on a similarly priced home in Nashua vs Lowell (in your example).

On the flip side, the Massachusetts markets tend to do better in downturns and recession, at least if 2008 is any indication…

Other than that I think markets like Lowell and Nashua have a lot in common, in the multi family space. I personally think they are both great places to live, especially with the Boston market pricing everyone out these days.

Those are just some quick thoughts I had. I’m sure others will have more to say on the subject.

Good luck on your investment!

Hi Ben, 

Welcome to the area. I moved here not too long ago and I think the quality of life is high and the real estate market is much more conducive to investors than Massachusetts (where I came from).

I have been ‘house-hacking' in Nashua for the past four years or so. I was able to get a five percent conventional loan through New Hampshire housing and after adding some sweat equity to the rental unit, the rent now covers more than the full principal and interest on the mortgage. I recommend using this program if you can instead of an FHA loan because sellers and their realtors hate FHA and it's hard to get fixer uppers to qualify unless you use the 203k program. It's also way more paperwork.

You can find good duplexes and triplexes in southern NH. My suggestion is to find one in a more residential than urban part of town. Nashua and Milford are great towns to look. Manchester has good cash flow opportunities but it can be tough for new buyers to differentiate the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ streets and neighborhoods there. Concord is a great city with cheaper prices for Multis, if you are okay being a little further north.

I’d be happy to chat with you or refer you to the wonderful realtor I used, who has lots of experience with both multi family and first time buyers. It sounds like you are well prepared and asking the right questions already.

Good luck!

As long as your lender allows it, I would be OK with this. While there is some risk as identified above, the estoppels are key for mitigating that. The purpose of those documents is that they establish the terms of the tenancy, that rent is paid, that there are no outstanding claims vs. the prior landlord, etc. Once they're signed, you can rely on them and the tenants would have a challenging path to raise any undisclosed claims. 

Also, on the plus side: one month after closing you can change the terms of their month-to-month tenancy (at least in my state). That could mean you either 1) serve them with notices to quit; 2) raise the rent to market or above; or 3) require a term lease (one year, six months, whatever you like) using your form and with T's and C's you're comfortable with. 

Disclaimer: Am a lawyer; but this isn't legal advice.

 That's very good to know. Thank you for the heads up. What kind of money were you looking at for a full sprinkler system? I can't imagine doing that kind of plumbing in this old duplex would be cheap or easy.

@John McRae

Thanks to you both. Matt, I'll reach out for those referrals if my conversation with the zoning folks goes well. Hope to meet you both at a future NHREIA meeting; hope to make the next few.

Thanks guys, appreciate your thoughts. I researched it some more this afternoon, and it looks like a triplex is a conditional use in my area, meaning I would need planning board approval for a conditional use permit, but not a variance, which is harder to get. I'm going to city hall sometime this week to speak with someone to learn more, but the good news is that it's not a "no go" by any means.

On a related note, if anyone has a good referral for contractors/architects in the southern NH area for a project like this, I would love to hear...

Hello BP gurus,

I have a duplex that's over 3500 square feet, with a large partially finished attic that appears could easily become a third unit, though it will need a fire escape for a second egress.

I would need zoning relief (variance) from the local planning board to become a triplex (there are a few larger multis in the neighborhood), help from an architect on design and code compliance, and a general contractor to build it. I also have a large double lot with plenty of off-street parking, which is a big issue in my area.

Where would I start? Should I be calling an architect first for a consultation, a builder, or a zoning attorney who deals with the planning board regularly? Who would your first call be?

Appreciate anyone pointing me in the right direction as I consider options on my first project of this type.

Thank you!

I use Citizens' bank, and they have never charged me to set up these accounts.