You might also be able to find something in Blue Bell.Set your priorities about your budget and lifestyle, find a realtor (or two, maybe one in the city and one in the burbs), and start spending time in your target neighborhoods to really get a feel if that's a place you want to live.

What if you were stranded in a raft in the ocean or in the desert and could pay $1,000 for that one-liter bottle to avoid death by dehydrating?

Reason I wanted to clarify is some in some of the responses, I got impression that I was some sort of scumbag investor going in high and then hammering the seller till hes black and blue, waiving a signed contract around.  

I have a family member with a one-time significant amount of money that wants to get into investing, that isn't opposed to partnering and wants to rent my house but only at break even......but they also want to invest in a vacation home on the east coast by the ocean ( I personally think its a bad move).

Pittsburgh is a blue city with affordable real estate.

Look at it this way:  Your share is blue, her share is pink.  

In a three bedroom, we usually paint one bedroom with a color such as blue (medium blue, not a dark/bold color) and sometimes kitchens will get a light yellow or something other than white/beige.

Anyways, asking out the blue for money would not get you anywhere.

I utilized the BRRRR Calculator and at the end I hit the blue " contact a lender" button.

Come even further south to Plymouth and I can get you into one with an ocean view for that price.The South Shore has robust commuter rail service if you're working in Boston or just want to go in to catch the Symphony or a meal in the North End.The bottom line is that you'll get a LOT more for your money on the South Shore.