As for housing, I would love to get into house hacking, but a decent 4 family home is in the $700K-$800K range and I would need probably $50K minimum to enter into that plus an emergency fund of maybe $15K.  

These are generally Not Fixers - Most sellers in this situation either:1) have to sell quickly or 2) don't have enough equity to cover real estate fees, closing costs and other fees or3) don't want to or can't afford to do repairs and or don't want to have people traipsing around their house or4) have bought another place and are carrying two mortgages or5) lost a job or have a medical emergency, etc or6) are in pre-foreclosure and have to do something quickly or7) are inherited with a mortgage and can't make the payment or8) have a job transfer and need to sell quicklyI allocate $25,000 per property.

First, you should determine what constitutes an emergency and what can wait until the following business day. figure this out and put it in writing so there's no question.Second, educate your tenants on what constitutes an emergency.

Another option you have is getting a HELOC on your Somerville home for emergencies when your saving is used on a new primary home.

That property will not be for public sale ever, ok maybe in an emergency.

For some investors, moving to an "emerging market" such as this to acquire properties and generate capital then, move on to larger more 2nd and 1st tier markets makes sense. 

You must have a thumb turn on the inside so in an emergency you are not looking for a key.

We have $6K for our emergency fund and $20K for a down payment saved up.

We have $6K for our emergency fund and $20K for a down payment saved up.

They all get my cell phone number and the office number with the extension to the property manager and emergency maintenance.