Hey Nick! Welcome to BP. I also am a project manager in the area and am in the process of closing on first house hack.
I'm also new, however, I strongly recommend starting by linking up with an experienced real estate agent, getting a search and alerts set up on the MLS, and analyzing those first 100 house hack deals as the podcast suggests. @Michael Noto is an excellent, investor friendly agent in area and active on BP.
As Michael Doherty said, always analyze performance as both house hack and rented with property management. From BP, a rough rule of thumb I've seen is $100 per unit using the 50% expense rule when rented. From my Newbie opinion of what I've seen in my very limited 2 months of searching (may help you get idea of area):
Hartford: tons of Multi-family stock and great spreadsheet cashflow. However, it's high-risk, warzone in most areas, and the tennant class is rough. Can check Trulia for crime maps. Only areas I considered were college rentals for Trinity or Hospital. Do yourself a favor. Drive the street of North/South Hartford before you consider investing. Remember, you will be living there.
Manchester: Manchester is crazy sellers market right now. It's hard to find a deal in general due to so much demand and a relatively low Multi-family supply. It's likely the only way you'd get a deal that meets $100 rule is through a big value add.
EH: Potential here. Think it's a bit easier to get a deal than Manchester, but still a decent tenant class - not a Hartford Warzone. You hit boxes for low-mid class for easy access to highways, Pratt right there, and right out of the city. Probably a mix of Hartford/Manchester.
West Hartford: Saw very little multi-family supply on MLS. I'd imagine it's very hard to cashflow in WeHa, and you'd be betting on appreciation. From the little I've seen, think the play there is getting a value add single family home and renting by the bedroom.
New Britain: Too far for me. See a ton of stock on MLS and hear good things.
Best of luck. Reach out if you'd like to talk!
Sean
