All Forum Posts by: Lior Rozhansky

@Remy Bonser It's certainly possible, but you need to figure out and understand the different sub markets within Boston you want to tackle and how to evaluate those deals. East Boston is pretty tricky for rental as multies are more valued based on condo potential rather than "true rental property". It'll be tough to make numbers work if you are buying a three fam for 900K+ that needs updates. 

There are other pockets of opportunity within Boston though, from pockets in Dorchester/Roxbury to areas like Roslindale. At the end of the day, you just have to learn prices and rents in these areas and how to evaluate them. Also, if you are buying older, non-renovated multies you'll want to thoroughly assess things like current condition and needed work (since such a large % of inventory here is from early 1900s etc). Hopefully that made sense, but house hacking is definitely the path to get in the game!

@Shayne Mahoney There is still good opportunity if you find the right building. I bought my 3 fam in Everett and it's been doing well, even while I was living in one of the units (I've since moved out). I like cities north of Boston that are close to the coast, i.e Revere, Everett, Salem, Lynn etc. Some markets are rougher than other ones, so you just have to understand the dynamics/numbers of each one. Also, the market has definitely shifted a bit, which I think will provide even more reasonable opportunity for us. 

@Christopher C. Evans North of Boston can be tricky as you need to find the right kind of area that suits your needs. I own and work there, feel free to message me and we can talk! 

@Elena C. welcome! I think there were a lot of valid points, and for you it will be really important to figure what is an "acceptable commute". With regards to investing in Cambridge vs other cities, you need to see how each investment area coincides with your goals. In Cambridge you are unlikley to cash flow anything significant, while areas like Malden, Dorchester etc you should be able to make some nice extra money. 

But, the other side of the coin is buying in Cambridge is some of the ultimate wealth security there is. There's a famous quote from the Harvard Real Estate Professor William Poorvu that selling real estate in Cambridge was the biggest mistake of his career. That's the sort of generational asset that you keep in your portfolio and even hand down to your kids etc. But, just to put numbers in perspective, it's going to be very hard for you to find even something like a small two family for anything in the low 1 millions that doesn't need a lot (like a lot) of work. 

So it's really a financial and strategic decision of do I want basically a trophy asset that I know will likely forever be ok and stable versus do I try to buy some extra units in surrounding areas. Throw in the personal decision of your commute etc and you've got yourself an answer!

@Brian Kosack Your rambling thoughts remind me of mine when I was looking for my first property. I remember looking at masshousing loans, and yes big benefit is the low dp %. You dont want to suck up all your cash on your first deal, as things will hit the fan with property (water heater will blow etc). Have some extra liquidity. 

You probably wont cash flow that well if you do go low downpayment %, but that's alright. You are not playing in a high cash flow area (aka Boston). Also, if going 5% down on the first property will make it easier for you to buy the second one, that's a big consideration. As long as you are not relying on cash flow to live and pay bills, then I think it's the right move. Scale is (and will be) everything. 

Also regarding the price increase, it depends how big of a jump you are making in price. If you are only changing your target price by ~100K, then realistically you'll be getting the same type of area and tenant anyway. It's going to take quite a significant jump in price for you to get a significantly better area and tenant class in the Boston area. 

I ditto Lynn, I think you can find some pretty good opportunities there

@Patrick Wheeler Thanks for the mention! @Ken T., sent you a PM; looking forward to connect. 

@Kapil M. welcome- I am actually just transitioned to full time investor/agent from management consulting, so I hear you! If you are serious about looking at 10-20 units no reason not to assuming you have the cash/balance sheet to do so--finding someone with experience doing with deals will also really help (if not be required) to get a commercial loan. 

That being said, do I think having owned my 3 family first makes me more confident into commercial? Sure, but I defintley would not make it a "prerequisite". 

But as others have said, you can look to buy in cheaper areas like in the South Shore, but you can also find deals in the Greater Boston area--that's where I am hunting every day and I know there are deals. But choosing a market should be more than just about price---look at the fundamentals (population growth, job growth), what you are willing to drive out to etc, and what you strive for in terms of returns vs stability.  

@Shirley X. To be honest I am not ultra familiar with Wakefield (my expertise stops after Malden heading north). But from conversations with people I have heard it's also a good rental market. Not as sure about mix of tenant base. 

But as to your worry about Malden vacancy (congrats by the way!), I would not be stressed at all. Malden has a very strong rental market and I really don't expect you to have much issues with renting out your unit assuming its in decent condition. With the T there you have a mix of younger profressionals as well families--vacancy is not going to be an issue. 

@Mugdha Joglekar So medford/Somerville to be honest you will have a pretty tough time getting a unit there even if you go up to 300K (maybe a really small, say 400/5-- sq foot unit not in great shape, but even then I would say it wouldn't be easy). Malden and Everett are great choices--Malden has the T stop, and though Everett doesn't, it has bus routes and a strong rental market. Other places to consider could be Revere, which has 3 T stops in the city. It's a strong rental market, and there's been some recent activity of larger developments, so the city is definitely getting some attention. Other places to consider would be parts of Dorchester, though with your budget you may have a hard time getting into the desirable parts (Savin Hill etc). In all of those areas (malden, everett, revere, dorchester etc) you are probably looking at around pretty decent shape 2 bed condo, though obviously this can fluctuate quite a bit depending on area and inventory. 

There's a few additional areas you could consider, such as Quincy which has some red-line stops as well some parts of say Roslindale and surrounding areas (though you would be on the lower end). I think you are priced out of brighton with your budget.

You could start looking at all those markets, though too narrow your search down you can start thinking about type of tenant you are looking for (student? family? etc), what exact criteria you would be looking for in a city (is T stop a priority?), and how far you live from those different areas (management ease).