All Forum Posts by: Raisa Penney

hi John!

Welcome! I am in a similar situation and my husband and I recently expanded our investment interest from the Boston area up to Maine (we currently own two LTR around Boston). I have loved learning about the markets up there and we're looking forward to expanding our portfolio. Good luck to you, I just joined BP at the start of quarantined and I have learned SO much. 

Raisa

Hi @David Marshall, thank you! I can see there are definitely some options in those areas, I will look further into it! 

Raisa

Hello, 

I'm new to BP and my husband and I are currently starting to figure out our 3rd investment (currently have 2 MF close to Boston). We're still monitoring the Boston area but I have been doing a lot of research into the growth of some cities in Maine. The numbers seem to work well, I'm wondering if anybody has any MF experience in Biddeford, Saco, Westbrook or any other areas in Maine they'd recommend?

We spend a lot of time with family in Wells and I'm also pricing out STR options more south but we're looking for something with more reliable monthly cashflow for now.

Thank you!

Raisa

Hi @Jason Bee thanks for sharing! That is crazy about Bartley street, I actually know that property because I have a friend who has been through almost the same situation and she put in almost the same exact offer and didn't get it. I did a drive by with her and agree, it's a great property but not worth over $720K. 

That's interesting about Lynn, I didn't know about those plans but it makes sense based on it's vicinity to Boston. The pandemic has actually motivated us a bit since we thought this could potentially shift the market from the untouchable state it has been in, so we'll see if that trend continues. 

My husband and I both grew up in Stoneham so it has been interesting to see the changes of that and the surrounding towns over the years. Since we are content (for now) with where we are living in Medford, I have actually started to research some out of state options in New England for a last resort- he's hesitant but since we don't NEED to move somewhere I think it could be a more realistic option unless things really change over the next year. Good luck with your continued search, I hope this all works out in your favor! 

Raisa

Hi @Brendan Murphy! Welcome, I have definitely gotten a lot of BP so far. I agree that the prices for the most part are too high right now, which is why I was curious about some potential other options to research. 

We bought our first two family in Malden in 2013 so the market has changed a LOT since then. We put down 20%, it needed a little bit of updating but nothing major and within a couple of years the prices in Malden had really gone up so it has been consistently profitable so we will hold onto it for a while. We never occupied this one. 

We bought our two family in West Medford in 2015, we only put 5% down because we live in the smaller unit. My husband is an electrician so he felt like he was knowledgeable enough to skip inspection (I don't know that's typically recommended) but it helped the offer get accepted. 

Our upstairs unit is a 3 bedroom (really a 4, but one room without a closet) and the downstairs is a 2 bedroom (where we live) so the upstairs unit covers majority of the mortgage which has worked great. We've slowly done renovations on our unit so we know we can get top dollar once we start renting it. It sounds like you may be looking to occupy as well so this may be helpful. 

We've really gotten serious about buying our third in the last couple of months and I feel like the prices are really too high right now and for the most part the numbers aren't working. With the current situation we are starting to see things staying on the market longer which is definitely an advantage for somebody ready to buy. We receive the daily MLS listings through our realtor for all MF in the area and talking to as many knowledgeable people as possible so we are waiting it out for now.

We expanded our search to some towns a little north of the city (Melrose, Wakefield, Reading) but close to public transit so it's easy to rent to commuters. We haven't put in any offers yet, but hopefully things change soon! 

Good luck, I think Revere and Everett definitely still have some room to grow! 

Raisa

Thanks so much @James Morrison for the tip, I set some keywords! We'd prefer something close but price-wise I was curious to hear if there are any markets we're missing. 

@Anthony Simboli thanks for this tip! That's great, Malden has done crazy well for us too, It's probably worth waiting for the right thing in an area we know to start. It seems like the prices are coming down a bit so we're just watching. Do you usually learn more about the area through BP? Or any other resources you'd recommend?

Thanks!

Raisa 

Hello! 

I'm a new member to the BP community based in Medford, MA. I stumbled upon BP while doing some research on a potential next investment opportunity for my husband and I. We currently own two multi-families, one in Malden & one in Medford (we occupy one unit). We're actively looking for our next move, ideally another MF but I've already found so many new ideas and information from this. Looking forward to learning a lot more! If anybody has had a positive experience with a MF in maybe an area further from the city, I'd love to learn more. 

Raisa