weymouth/arbor hill area (Boston, Quincy: real estate, for sale, apartments)

[rainbowkittens]

Hi, my husband, two small children, dog and 3 cats will be moving to the Boston area next summer. Because of the pets we're seriously thinking of buying rather than renting even though it will be only for 3 years. I've been looking at Weymouth (as well as Braintree and Quincy) areas. Arbor Hill in Weymouth pops up as a "desired" area in the ads and I wanted to know if that's true or just hype by the real estate agents. Anyone know how safe/nice that part of town is?

Also, how big (reputation, not size) are condos in this area? Are they easy to sell? Easy to lease out? We don't have condos in my part of town.

Thanks

[rainbowkittens]

Hmm, maybe people aren't familiar with Arbor Hill...Any advice at all about areas/parts to stay away from in Quincy, Weymouth and Braintree?

Thanks

[stephen n]

I've lived in the Braintree/Quincy/Weymouth area all my life - so I am very partial toward it! Some neighborhoods are better than others, but none are known as high-crime areas.

I believe that I went to an open house at Arbor Hill several years back when I was looking to buy - from what I recall it was a decent place.

Currently I have a condo in Quincy, and I am very happy with it. Prices have dropped considerably in the area (like most everywhere else) and you could probably get a good deal. However, given the current real estate market, I would not recommend buying if you plan to stay only for three years. Maybe you should look into renting a small house instead.

As for pets, different condominium associations have different rules. My place allows just one pet per unit.

[scf79]

Actually, my husband and I own a condo at Magnolia Ridge (in the Arbor Hill complex), and in our association, pets are allowed (we have three cats ourselves). It's a pretty nice place to be (the neighbors are friendly), but we wish we had a yard ... There seem to be many more units up for sale than there were when we bought ours last year, but I'm not sure how quickly they're moving (to my dismay, prices are indeed lower right now than they were a year ago). Given that, renting may be better for you. Good luck!

[RESouthShore]

Arbor Hill is nice - there are quite a few condos for sale right now and some do allow pets - others don't.

[ice_cream_eyes]

I grew up in the area. I recommend Braintree and Weymouth rather than Quincy. Quincy does not have good schools. (unless your kids are so young that you don't need to worry about that . . .)

[rainbowkittens]

Sorry it's taken so long to respond, I've been swamped with work/kids.

Anyhow, I have noticed that Arbor Hill has had a bunch of places for sale which is why I've been wondering if they're nice or just being dumped all of a sudden. Maybe it's just that the market is moving slowly.

As for renting, the apartments are holding higher prices than buying a house. It seems prices are rather low right now.

I don't need to worry about schools as we'll be homeschooling but usually good home districts and safe areas go hand-in-hand in my experience.

stephen n - you mention that some areas are better than others...how do I find that type of info out?

Thanks for everyone's input.

[scf79]

I suspect that the reason is because the market is moving pretty slowly ... I personally think that as far as condos go, these are really pretty nice (I've seen some not-so-great ones ...).