You know, posts & numbers like that are why people in the rest of the country think that the coasts are full of out-of-touch liberal elitists, and I say this as a pretty liberal guy who grew up in NJ (but has lived in the South for a long time). $1k in utility, cable, and phone?

Be more liberal with the radius, go a little farther. 

When I am curious as to whether I'm playing it to conservative or too liberal with my portfolio, I see what @Steve Vaughan or @Nicole A. or @Joe Splitrock are up to.

All that being said, living on an acreage is very liberating.

If we can see that it is in process, we might be a little more liberal with borrowers who we know well. 

I'm having trouble grasping that a $550k 4-unit will cash flow at $800/mo without a very liberal calculator.

It's filled with liberal young professionals and has already gone about 80% of the way to gentrification - the average house there now costs around $300, vs. maybe $150 average in the rest of the city.

A fully executed lease is a "sufficient" starting point, but not the end-all be-all.A prudent but liberal/reasonable underwriter is going to want to see the fully executed lease, that lines up with a security deposit and first month's rent, showing up on your bank statements. 

I would love to live there again if they could just get rid of a few liberal cities that seem to dictate the nonsense that takes place.I live in Wyoming.

I'm guessing MA is liberal and tenant friendly which means they would say you're just being a bully and trying to take advantage of higher rents.