Moving back to boston (Worcester, Newton: apartment, rental, mortgage)

[efreid]

Hi all,
I am looking for some advice and help. I am moving back to Boston in March after 17 years or so away, and have a decent job in Brighton, so with that as a location I am looking in the metro west for a home/rental. Unfortunaterly the relocation is mostly out of pocket as I plan on using most of what they gave me for the actual moving truck from NY for my family when they come up and for deposits on an apartment. The plan is for me to (at the moment) stay with a friend in Providence which is free but a horrendous commute for about 2 months and hope my house in NY sells by then, and go home on the weekends to see my wife and 6MO, if after 2 months it does not, my family will come up and we will find a rental & daycare because she will have to go to work to cover rent & mortgage.

I am looking for two things. A cheap (100/wk) room that is closer than Providence to limit the wear and tear on my car as well as less gas cost for about 2 months mostly I would only be there M-F. And second a 2-3 BR house or side by side townhouse (under 2K/mo)to rent for a year or two until we decide where to settle. and is within 45 min drive to Brighton. If my house sells quicky then we would be looking for a good deal (under 420K)and just (hopefully) just move into a new house again within a hour drive in traffic to Brighton by the big LED sign on the pike (think any town Stow(a reach) or closer, North of 27 south of 2.

Any ideas or help would be appreciated

[Woof Woof Woof!]

You could post an ad on craiglist looking for a room to rent in a nearby area. You'd be a good roommate because you'd be gone most of the time. Basically, you just need a bed to sleep in.

[Baton Rouge]

As for when your family arrives, be prepared for the rental prices and how much they have risen in the last 17 years. Also be prepared to live farther away from Boston than you could before due to those increases. We lived in Boston (Allston/Brighton and Rozzie) from 1965 to 1995 then in Framingham from 1995 to 2003. We can't move back to Boston because we couldn't even buy back either house, if it were possible (not, of course), due to the rise in RE values (recession notwithstanding) there. Living in Worcester is not living in Boston. There are houses in our price range but we don't either want to downsize that much or live in the more squalid areas closer to the city. Yes, there is squaller in Boston - even in Newton/Dedham/Waltham, etc., they're just not on television, in movies or travel magazines. Our needs are different than yours so you'd not be in the exact same predicament, but there have been changes that will surprise you - most of which is how more upscale and costly the city has become that has both good and bad aspects to it. Best of luck, I'm envious of your opportunity, especially given our current location.

[efreid]

thanks Baton,

I am well aware of the costs and have already decided that a 2br will do if I can have a shorter commute (my current one is almost 2 hours each way! out at 7am in at 730pm when I only work 9-5:45) Thankfully my new job pays pretty well and my wife has very marktable skills and should be able to help as well once daycare is figured out. But we have decided that for quality of life reasons to be as close to work as possible even if that means a smaller home/lot. Sudbury is is our dead end out west, Westwood to the south and Winchester to the north. It is just not worth missing so much time with my child in exchange for a few extra Sq/ft, and if we have to rent for a few years I have found many rental 2BR and some 3BR in the area that are affordable (barely) while still paying my current mortgage, and will allow us to really save fast for a home once our current one is sold.

Now in a perfect world I would find a lease option home I could rent until my NY home sold (we could not qualify for 2 mortgages at the same time) then get a new mortgage for the new house so we would not have to move twice, but I have not seen many in the areas we are looking for. As they say buying and selling a home is all about timing, and getting this job when I did is not the best timing.