First Time Home Buyer South of Boston (Quincy, Newton: for sale, 2015)

[erkmove]

I'm purchasing my first home - single, 30YO female, so school districts not important, sense of community and.or neighborhood with young-ish professionals or families and activities is. Work part of the time from home, part of the time in Boston so don't want a terrible commute but not an everyday concern. Friends are in Medford/Somerville but I'm priced out of homes or condos there. Family in CT and on the Cape so South of the city seems better then North. Need to be near-ish the ocean. Budget is $270K for condo or apt, and up to $340K for a home provided it's low maintenance. Ideally wanted to be in Quincy but finding limited options in condos in my price range, move over to Weymouth and a lot of options seem to be just commuter complexes with no character. Have heard mixed reviews of Weymouth as a town also.
What are people's opinions on towns like Abington or Rockland if I were to buy a SFH instead of a condo? I don't especially want to be as far from the city as Marshfield/Scituate/Cohasset, though I love those towns, but I'm pretty much priced out of there too.

[Dm84]

My advice, don't buy an SFH. There's no such thing as a low maintenance SFH, just maintenence and high maintenance. With condos in a complex you pay a condo fee and pretty much everything is taken care of for you. With an SFH you either do everything yourself or pay for it to be done, but you have to do all the legwork.

[MrLinderman]

Originally Posted by erkmove

I'm purchasing my first home - single, 30YO female, so school districts not important, sense of community and.or neighborhood with young-ish professionals or families and activities is. Work part of the time from home, part of the time in Boston so don't want a terrible commute but not an everyday concern. Friends are in Medford/Somerville but I'm priced out of homes or condos there. Family in CT and on the Cape so South of the city seems better then North. Need to be near-ish the ocean. Budget is $270K for condo or apt, and up to $340K for a home provided it's low maintenance. Ideally wanted to be in Quincy but finding limited options in condos in my price range, move over to Weymouth and a lot of options seem to be just commuter complexes with no character. Have heard mixed reviews of Weymouth as a town also.
What are people's opinions on towns like Abington or Rockland if I were to buy a SFH instead of a condo? I don't especially want to be as far from the city as Marshfield/Scituate/Cohasset, though I love those towns, but I'm pretty much priced out of there too.

I've lived in Weymouth for most of my life (minus a 3 year stint in Brighton). Short of the schools (which aren't a concern to you) I can't for the life of me figure out how Braintree and Quincy are hot towns while Weymouth is considered a dump. Growing up (we're the same age), and knowing a ton of people from both towns I always considered Quincy kinda dumpy, and Weymouth and Braintree on the same level (with maybe a slighhhhht edge to Braintree).

Obviously I have bias, but the best bang for your buck is in Weymouth. With regards to a SFH 340k is going to buy you a SFH that needs to be gutted top to bottom in Braintree (which for some odd reason seems to think it's now Newton South or something), or a crappy house in Germantown in Quincy. In Weymouth, you'd get something livable at least. My wife and I have started the search for a house, and the difference in what you get for your money is staggering. We saw houses in Braintree for 450-500 that were awful and needed a lot of work. Weymouth that could get you a very decent place. That being said, I think a condo is your best bet by far.

The only difference is the commute is a bit more car dependent than Quincy, and depending on where, 5 to 10 minutes more from Weymouth. Depending on where you work and when you need to be in the commute ranges from bearable to 1 hour+. However, you'd very likely be getting on the highway at Union Street from most of Weymouth and Braintree (and some of Quincy) so if you drive, it's about the same.

People chide Weymouth for being a heroin town. It's really not anymore than any other town on the South Shore. Weymouth just gets the brunt of the criticism because it's a bit more townie. It's rampant everywhere, including Braintree. Most of the addicts I know are actually from Braintree.

That being said, the biggest difference is that Braintree does have markedly better schools than Weymouth. For my wife and I it's not a huge deal since we will probably send them to Catholic School (there are a bunch in all the towns) anyways.

[Whatsnext75]

+1 on not understanding why weymouth isnt becoming more desireable yet everywhere else is. Its right next to hingham. One would think it would have become 'hot' before braintee esp since its near the water.

[mmyk72]

Originally Posted by Dm84

My advice, don't buy an SFH. There's no such thing as a low maintenance SFH, just maintenence and high maintenance. With condos in a complex you pay a condo fee and pretty much everything is taken care of for you. With an SFH you either do everything yourself or pay for it to be done, but you have to do all the legwork.

At the same price point, a Condo/TH is typically newer than a similarly located SFH which translates to fewer problems. However, I disagree that you pay a Condo fee and EVERYTHING is done for you. Who do you think is going to deal with toilet that doesn't flush, leaky faucet, chirping CO alarm, fridge that doesn't cool, water heater that doesn't heat, etc. Whatever that the Condo fee takes care of (typically lawncare, snow removal, trash, etc), you can easily hire someone to do and probably for less because part of the Condo fee goes toward fattening the Condo mgm. I just want to make sure first time buyers aren't misled about the perceived lack of maintenance in a Condo. 9.9 out of 10 blurt out this misconception and I cringe every time.

[Bruins3445]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

At the same price point, a Condo/TH is typically newer than a similarly located SFH which translates to fewer problems. However, I disagree that you pay a Condo fee and EVERYTHING is done for you. Who do you think is going to deal with toilet that doesn't flush, leaky faucet, chirping CO alarm, fridge that doesn't cool, water heater that doesn't heat, etc. Whatever that the Condo fee takes care of (typically lawncare, snow removal, trash, etc), you can easily hire someone to do and probably for less because part of the Condo fee goes toward fattening the Condo mgm. I just want to make sure first time buyers aren't misled about the perceived lack of maintenance in a Condo. 9.9 out of 10 blurt out this misconception and I cringe every time.

I second this. We recently were drawn to a condo for the "appeal" of the condo fee. Turns out the management company is poorly run and there were strict rules/regulations. If I bought the condo I was interested in I would've had to give a copy of my keys to management, trustees, and maintenance. Uh, no. Sorry but I'm not buying something to deal with people having access to my house 24/7. If I wanted that I'd rent. And I felt like reading through all of the rules/regs just reminded me of renting. So why go through glorified renting just to be able to paint the walls? I agree with the idea of but a SFH that will be able to hold its value better and then contract out what you can't do. I have no idea what your situation is but perhaps you could even rent a room to help cover overhead costs and/or rent room at a discounted price with the agreement that the roommate mows the lawn, cleans out gutters, shovels snow, etc.

[jan0105]

I would not do the schools in Weymouth (drug are everywhere, it's true, but Weymouth makes me nervous) but I'd buy a cheaper SFH there in a second. In fact, if I could afford the time/money, I'd buy one right now and flip it and make really decent money. Weymouth is ridiculous right now.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

We have friends in Weymouth putting their house up for sale because of the impending compressor station. They were on the committee protesting it and were gobsmacked that 1) most people didn't know about it, and 2) if they did -- like their neighbors since it'd affect their neighborhood -- they didn't care.

Their budget is roughly around the OP's. They're currently looking in Rockland, Abington, and Whitman. The OP might want to do likewise, as those towns have always been more budget-friendly. Just be aware that, at that price, a SFH probably won't be move-in ready.

[vtecluder617]

Originally Posted by MrLinderman

I can't for the life of me figure out how Braintree and Quincy are hot towns while Weymouth is considered a dump.

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

+1 on not understanding why weymouth isnt becoming more desireable yet everywhere else is. Its right next to hingham. One would think it would have become 'hot' before braintee esp since its near the water.

I think Braintree is more desirable because of the redline and its "better" schools. Plus the property tax is lower. We actually looked at houses in Braintree in 2013 and they were getting snatched up for over asking price. We ended up in Hanover instead (which we love).

But, Weymouth is definitely a hot spot now as well. I think a lot of people that are priced out of Braintree ended up in Weymouth. Its becoming unaffordable as well.

[MrLinderman]

Originally Posted by xo_kizzy_xo

We have friends in Weymouth putting their house up for sale because of the impending compressor station. They were on the committee protesting it and were gobsmacked that 1) most people didn't know about it, and 2) if they did -- like their neighbors since it'd affect their neighborhood -- they didn't care.
.

I think the fact that a lot of people didn't care is because it's one of those things were there isn't a correct answer per se, and both sides opinions (those that have actually looked at the proposed plans, that is) have plenty of valid points.

I don't love it being in a dense area, but I'm of the opinion that the fears are overstated. I don't think the noise will be too big of an issue for many people, considering how few homes it's actually close to. Picture. That's one of the few places where there aren't a lot of homes, and it's not like that area of Weymouth is terribly scenic, so it wouldn't be an eyesore.

But before I derail the conversation too much, I think you have valid suggestions about Abington (and to a lesser extent Whitman and Rockland). You get a lot for your money in Abington it seems, even more so than Weymouth. I would caution however, that if you're commuting into town, you pretty much have to take route 18 to get to a highway exit, and 18 can be pretty hectic during rush hour.