Homeowner in this area, and I own one property in Dorchester, and hopefully closing on another in that same area of Ashmont sq. in the coming weeks. 

The exemption is for protecting small multi-family homeowner's from the woes of a bad tenant and creates flexibility in finding suitable tenants, who thus, are living in close proximity to the owner.

For my business, I still use a title company for the deed transfer and insurance etc. 

I'm in the process of getting an HO6 insurance for my rental property.

Don't  forget insurance.  

However, my rental cash flow pays for my primary residence (mortgage, taxes and insurance) and an extra $300/month.

In our mind this will likely not be recoverable from the builder or association but hopefully a shared cost between both home owners insurance.

Every state has different laws on auctioned hoes, those homes tend to be in bad shape and have a redemption period for the previous homeowner to pay delinquent property taxes which prevents any work on those homes until that period is over. 

I have 2 choices: 1) Pony up the $3,000 out of MY pocket to get the job done (I don't need to bring this money to closing, but I do need to demonstrate to the HML lender that I have the funds to make it happen), or 2) Simply adjust my budget down by $3k.Let's say that the lender charges the following:3% origination fee ($65K *.03) = $1,950Appraisal Fee - $500 Pro-rated Interest (one month) - $380 Title Search / Title Insurance - $175 Pro-rated Property Ins. - $100 Pro-Rated Taxes - $400 Settlement Fees - $400 Recording Fees - $100 Wholesale fees (if applicable) - $500 Since "No Money Down" is not an option, I'll will need to pay these fees up-front in order to get my $65,000.

I still don't understand why someone would pay retail for a trustee auction property with no title insurance or inspection.