Suggestions to buy house in south of Boston along 93 south (Quincy: to rent, condos)

[Desai]

Me and my wife had been living in Quincy for a about a year now, originally from NC and looking forward to buy our first home. We don't have a kid now but planning for one. Our budget is around 500k for whatever best we can get from condos to single family homes. The few main criterias we have for the house is close easy route 93 access for commute, to be able to sell or put it on rent easily after 5 years. We don't know much about which neighborhood is better. Our search radius is Dedham, Westwood, Norwood, Quincy, Stoughton, Walpole, Hingham and other small towns inbetween. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Especially which neighborhoods to totally avoid. Thank you.

[Steephill2]

braintree has a few mbta stops including a red line one so i would think that it would be more easy to rent out than the other towns you mentioned based on access to a subway line as opposed to a commuter rail or bus access.

[Southshorebound]

Have you considered Milton? Specifically East Milton? The community offers good access to restaurants, shopping and entertainment options plus it is very convenient to 93. Given Milton's location to Boston and respectable schools my guess is you would not have a difficult time renting or selling your home down the road. Good luck!

[jayrandom]

There are a lot of good options south of Boston within your budget. The best option probably depends a bit on where you're going. If you're working in Boston, 93N has pretty bad traffic during normal commute hours. You may be better off taking the Red Line or commuter rail. If you need to drive, somewhere like East Milton is by far the closest of the towns you're considering. The Red Line is another good option, so somewhere like Quincy or Braintree might work well for you. The commuter rail is more expensive and less frequent, but it's nicer and faster than the Red Line, so if you work near Ruggles, Back Bay, or South Station commuter would make sense and all of the further-flung suburbs might work.

If, however, you work off 93S, say at the big office park in Canton near the Blue Hills, then the best commuter options would be different. East Milton would still be reasonable, but it would be less convenient than other parts of Milton, Canton, Dedham, and Westwood. You'd also be paying a premium for proximity to Boston and then driving the other direction--proximity isn't the only thing going for Milton, but it is something to keep in mind.

The other thing you need to think about it is the trade-off between good schools, commute time, and affordability. $500k can get you a house in Milton, but it will be smaller and older. I wouldn't say that any of the towns you've mentioned should be totally avoided, but given your budget you want be able to do better than Norwood as the schools are not considered to be great. Of the towns you've mentioned Milton, Hingham, and Westwood are the ones with "good" schools and all will be at the top of your budget (i.e. you will get a smaller house, although $500k might not be enough for Hingham at all). One town you didn't mention that you should consider is Sharon--it is about as far as Walpole and has better schools and a faster commuter rail line. The taxes are higher there, though, so it's something to watch out for. Canton is another good option, close to 93 and with good access to commuter rail.

As for resale, the one rule that seems to be true is that a small house in a "good" town generally does better than a similarly priced big house in a less expensive town. Other than that it's all pretty much a guess. Anything will sell fast if you price it cheaply enough.

[maggiekate]

I think maybe check out Canton and see what they have. A condo may have high fees so maybe look for a good home.

Hingham is really nice but very costly.

[jellybean23]

Where are you commuting to? My husband and I were in your shoes a few years ago (same budget too) and checked out many of those towns. With no kids yet and looking to sell or rent in 5 years, you should consider places that are close to the T or commuter rail, and you don't need to worry about schools as much. You can probably remove Hingham and Westwood from your list, they are great towns but you won't find a reasonable house there with your budget. Is there a reason you are not considering Quincy itself? Again, not sure where you need to go, but I would probably look at East Milton, Braintree, and Canton.

[vtecluder617]

Braintree. Depending on how big of a house you want, 500k won't get you a nice newer construction single family home. But definitely a luxury condo can be had for 500K in that area.

[pennyone]

Originally Posted by vtecluder617

Braintree. Depending on how big of a house you want, 500k won't get you a nice newer construction single family home. But definitely a luxury condo can be had for 500K in that area.

Braintree is cheaper than Quincy at this point, so you can get more house there than the various parts of Quincy.