All Forum Posts by: Matthew Mello

Currently throwing in offers on a house south of Boston. The agent informed me that the town assessors have it as a single but the building department has it listed as a 2 family so I just called to verify before putting in the offer. They were wrong both have it as a single. 

So my main question is can I legally rent out the in-law, I'm hearing mixed things?

Now my next thought is just gone and make it a legal two-family by going for the variance. Everything seems to be to code, utilities are even separate, just shared septic (which is what scares me) I believe every unit should have its own in order to make it a legal 2.

Any and all input is welcome. Thanks in advance. 

@Nick Earls it’s going to be 825 Davol St. Durfee street is right near there a couple min walk and there’s a lot of multi family’s. My thought is that that’s the first street that’s going to feel the impact from the train. The area currently is an okay area. Not the best not the worst but it could be a hidden treasure if that train gets things going in the right direction

@Dung Nguyen it’s spotty. I’m buying right off of Plymouth ave. It all depends on which streets. The street I’m buying on I’m cool with but 3-4 streets down I wouldn’t be. Feel free to get in contact with me and I’ll be happy to help with any questions about areas.

@Dung Nguyen I’m in the process of purchasing my first in Fall River (grew up here) but honestly the prices in New Bedford are not bad at all, you can find 3 units for low 300s easy. Keep in mind there is a 4 billion dollar railroad expansion coming this way with construction work for the next 5-6 years. Might be a good group to target for rentals.

I stood away from providence because the taxes are insane. That’s where I first started looking. I was also looking at Attleboro (great school systems, people will

pay a premium for that) and Taunton but Fall River and New Bedford seemed to be the best priced market and the ones that had the biggest chance at going up in value due to the train.

Looking for recommendations on an inspector for the Fall River mass area. Just had an accepted offer and I would love recommendations from local investors. Thanks in advanced. 3 family is that changes anything.

@Anthony Thompson sorry I only saw the first part of your comment at first for some reason. Just read the entire thing sounds great yeah I assumed suctions were going to be a pain. The owner occupied only ones might be something to look into. Thank you for the advice!

To be honest either, I think the bank owned would be easier in my situation but over all whatever would work. 

Began doing some heavy research on buying my first multi-family in southeastern MA / Providence RI area

I will be occupying one of the units and renting out the other units. I want something that needs a little work but nothing like a total gut. I have the skill set along with people close to me to do the work myself but then the main question here is...

what are the cons of buying a foreclosed house? What kind of financing will I be able to get? Will I need to put 20% down? Any hidden surprises.

Not insanely worried about cashflow, my goal is to be able to live on the property for near nothing and then when I move out and buy a second have my first one have a cash flow. I'm mainly looking to have some equity right away and the easiest way is looking like foreclosed properties.

Thanks in advance for the responses.

@Lauren Juarez

Hey Lauren, actually through podcasts.

Yeah, I was thinking of a 203k but they can get picky on who does the work. I would have to chat more with the lender on that and see what I can do myself and what has to go through someone they approve. I do not know this for a fact but it is what a friend of mine told me.

I have pretty spot on credit with a good amount of credit history for my age. So my plan of attack would be get one of these mortgages until I gain some equity and then refinance it to get rid of the awful PMI

@Anthony Thompson

Thank you so much for all the advice! Yeah, I grew up in Fall River and have been back there for a few months now so I know that commute can be awful once you hit exit 1. On the other hand I’ve also been commuting to Boston for the past few months so nothing is worst. Haha

Again thank you for your time I appreciate it