I am located in the Boston, MA area (as is the property).

On average, public transportation costs less than owning a car.

You need a special tire hauler's license just to transport them.

Workers Credit Union and East Boston Savings are great sources.

I've noticed it's pretty common in the Boston area to see houses that have three apartments but are only zoned for two.

ESA does not grant passage on airlines or public transportation.  

David - Boston area

In Boston, MA  a lot of the recent college grads deal with this and need a guarantor (parents, some other family) to sign off on the lease. 2) It's very rare that the tenant will receive their security deposit BEFORE moving into their new place because there are a lot of steps in the process of getting security deposits from the bank > tenant.

@Jim K. thats fascinating, and actually not too dissimilar to Boston--more money here in general but more in-laws, old triple-deckers, illegal conversions and grandfathered weirdness than you can shake a stick at.

Basics:-I currently live, and wish to continue living, in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/Charlestown in a “nice” 1-2 bed (w/ significant other)-Assume I am fully extended with 20% down on a ~$900k property (or less on more, as I am willing to tolerate a negative cash flow of ~$2k/mo, inclusive of my personal rent)-I do not presently have a contractor/“team” and am not personally “handy” thus would need to factor in significant costs to any rehabOptions, as I see them:-Buy a 1-2 bed in an area I want to live, live there-Buy a multi family in an area I want to live and rent the other unit(s) - may overextend myself and I will not be able to carry the nut if significant vacancies-Buy a cash flowing rental property (single family, multi family, condo) in an area I don’t want to live (e.g., Everett, Revere, Chelsea, Dorchester, other B/C neighborhoods, out of state) and rent in my desired areaIf you were in my shoes, what might you do (aside from compromising on my desired location and house hacking a MF in a B/C neighborhood)?