Summer 2017 Real Estate (Boston, Worcester, Lowell: real estate market, renter, mortgages)

[tysmith95]

North of the city you could look at something like Reading or Andover. North reading would probably give you some good options at your price point.

[ashcav]

Dedham gets kind of a bad rap here it seems but I love living there. It's been great for commuting, my neighborhood has a nice park and a lot of kids. Everyone I've talked to is happy with the schools.

I think Norwood and Walpole are good additions to the list as well.

[massnative71]

I'd say Norwood and Dedham are about the same as far as "niceness" goes. Personally I prefer Norwood, that is just me though. Which is my whole point, another's cup of tea may not be yours and there will never be a full agreement among the various posters here. You are looking for a place to LIVE, not something you are betting with the odds on. DO NOT make the mistake of "ranking" towns or moving to a place based on how others may portray it. The 2000s taught us that real estate is no longer an investment. There could be a crash tomorrow and you will be stuck for long no matter where you decide to buy. The important thing is that you are HAPPY, that you don't overextend yourself and make sure you are content with a place that you may be for YEARS or DECADES to come.

[Shizim]

such a random wide spread area. you probably need to focus it more (north, west, south) and then focus. they are all different in terms of feel too.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Shizim

such a random wide spread area. you probably need to focus it more (north, west, south) and then focus. they are all different in terms of feel too.

Right.

[Hollytree]

Originally Posted by massnative71

The 2000s taught us that real estate is no longer an investment. There could be a crash tomorrow and you will be stuck for long no matter where you decide to buy. The important thing is that you are HAPPY, that you don't overextend yourself and make sure you are content with a place that you may be for YEARS or DECADES to come.

Real estate is no longer an investment??? Real estate has always been a good investment over time and it still is. Would you assert that the stock market is no longer an investment because it occasionally tanks? RE just has longer cycles but has also proven itself over time.

Decades? The average home owner lives in a house only 7.5 years. One could probably do well in most parts of Mass fixing up houses and moving every 5-6 years building equity as you go.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by massnative71

I'd say Norwood and Dedham are about the same as far as "niceness" goes. Personally I prefer Norwood, that is just me though.

Norwood has a nicer town center and better restaurants. Dedham is closer to Boston (good for commute time, bad if you want a seat on the Franklin Line). If you take the commuter rail, Endicott is a good neighborhood (Islington in Westwood would be, too, but the prices have zoomed past the OPs budget).

If we're going to judge niceness by how expensive the place is, Dedham wins hands down. There's no equivalent in Norwood to Precinct 1 in Dedham. Just search for $1m+ homes in Dedham and you'll get a couple dozen hits; search for $1m+ homes in Norwood and you'll get nothing.

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by Hollytree

Real estate is no longer an investment??? Real estate has always been a good investment over time and it still is. Would you assert that the stock market is no longer an investment because it occasionally tanks? RE just has longer cycles but has also proven itself over time.

Decades? The average home owner lives in a house only 7.5 years. One could probably do well in most parts of Mass fixing up houses and moving every 5-6 years building equity as you go.

The problem with what makes real estate investing work is leverage. The stock market may have forced people to retire later but real estate investing caused people to file bankruptcy.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Hollytree

Real estate is no longer an investment??? Real estate has always been a good investment over time and it still is. Would you assert that the stock market is no longer an investment because it occasionally tanks? RE just has longer cycles but has also proven itself over time.

Decades? The average home owner lives in a house only 7.5 years. One could probably do well in most parts of Mass fixing up houses and moving every 5-6 years building equity as you go.

Over 30 years yes, it is a pretty safe investment. 5-6 years, only if current trends continue. That is highly unlikely. Figuring you need a place to live anyway and plan on sticking around for a while, then in most cases you come out ahead and build equity (as opposed to renting). People do often fail to take into account upkeep costs, taxes and insurance among many things. Who really has the time for major do-it-yourself projects these days? Very few are skillful enough where their own workmanship would come out to the same standard as by a contractor, that is a detractor in the resale value.


My point is, if you aren't moving solely to be in a home and place you would be happy in for years to come; you are better off parking your money in the stock market. The OP's initial post reeks of one who is getting into RE buying for all the wrong reasons, which I don't want to see happen to anybody.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

The problem with what makes real estate investing work is leverage. The stock market may have forced people to retire later but real estate investing caused people to file bankruptcy.

What investment mechanism hasn't caused some people to file bankruptcy? Like in anything, you have to know what you're doing. Many people who were investing solely as an investment and not as a homestead didn't know WTF they were doing. If you're smart about it and have the money you can still make a lot. Real estate is relatively safe, because the value of the property is never going to go to zero, which can certainly happen with most other investments.

And I don't think you need the 30 year time horizon, either. 5-6 could still get you a good return, especially in this market in suburbs commutable to Cambridge and Boston. As with anything, of course there is some risk. I'd be more worried about buying in the exurbs that aren't close to any major employment centers and where most people move only because they are priced out of closer in suburbs and are seduced by a big, new house.

And yes, if you're becoming a LL, absolutely you have to factor in upkeep expenses and contingency expenses. If you've got a mortgage on the rental income property, that has to be paid regardless of whether the tenant has paid the rent, or even if there is no tenant.