A plumber said the furnace was working? 

I'm local to the area you checked into on the post.

Need more information about local comps, the condition, and state of the market.

About me, most of my assets are RE but in another market so I would be diversifying in that market.Potential for appreciation is very uncertain: prices have risen a lot locally lately and are as high as they have ever been, and it’s unlikely higher prices would be affordable by locals.

I recommend checking local crime statistics on SpotCrime.

I'm a construction management consultant (so similar to engineering) and investor/agent in the Boston area so I get the need to want/need to stay local.

@Nick D.We are local to the area, I'm from Springfield MA.

You have some good comments above but I would also suggest to try some local real estate meetup groups.

-Local banks were the best.

Granted we only have 17 but still, I’ve never used anything except a simple excel spreadsheet and all my rental properties have a separate savings account under my main account at my local bank.