Work in downtown Boston, where to rent for a small family? (apartments, rentals)

[sparty8888]

Thanks so much, Bohemka! That's exactly what I want to do, finding a town/area that we could potentially buy after 1 year. I already feel guilty of having to uproot my little one, and would hate to move him again after a year. However, it is really hard to look for info from a distance (I'm currently in CA). I find all the above replies extremely helpful.

Originally Posted by bohemka

If you're planning on making Boston metro your home and are able to afford Brookline, great. Otherwise, it might make sense to identify the towns/areas that are within your purchasing range and offer what you want as far as schools, etc., and rent there.

[sparty8888]

Thanks so much, everyone! These are extremely helpful. I've got a rough idea about the rental market here and will have more realistic expectations.

Originally Posted by kingeorge

We do not have as many complexes around, and more often rentals are in two-three families you can see practically everywhere in this area.

Originally Posted by charolastra00

In my experience, many multifamily buildings are income properties kept in the family.
It keeps rent low, but often upkeep is lower. It also proves to be an issue when emergencies arise.

[kingeorge]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

In my experience, many multifamily buildings are income properties kept in the family. For instance, my landlord inherited the house I live in from his aunt. He doesn't own any other properties and landlording is not his full time gig. All of my landlords in this area have had full time jobs. Luckily, he lives locally and is very involved, but I've also had some absentee landlords who lived far away but tried to manage their property without a property manager.

It keeps rent low, but often upkeep is lower. It also proves to be an issue when emergencies arise. Toward the end of the last big blizzard, our snow crew didn't show up. Our landlord was on day 2 of a 2 weeks vacation out of the country and his emergency contact told us that he couldn't help unless a pipe burst or something. Meanwhile, the snow piles were higher than my head and I struggle with some disabilities where I couldn't move the snow myself, much less drive out of my driveway! Luckily, neighbors came to the rescue but that was something the landlord should have dealt with. If there was a property management company like in an a complex, the chances of that happening are less.

Because demand is so high, there's no real drive to update units. In the 4 years that I have lived in my apartment, I have had 3 downstairs neighbors. In the two moves that I've watched, one person was out just a few days before the next tenant moved in. Barely time to paint (maybe) and have a professional cleaner come in to scrub the floors, but no more serious repairs. They have the same kitchen set-up as we do - all with 20-30 year old appliances on their last legs.

As another person said, apartment complexes are rarer here than in most other areas. Quite a few have gone up in the past 5 years or so, but almost all are "luxury" apartments with price tags to match. Because these generally ARE updated, they can charge a whole lot more.

With all due respect finding available crew during this last most horrible, snowiest winter on record was almost impossible. You could have found someone to help you out, and bill your landlord later if it was such a big issue. No one could foresee that snow will just fall on and on and on, for weeks and months. Heck, my big name local grocer had issues with snow removal as well. Everybody did.

So let's put it in perspective here.
Living in a big complex doesn't mean everything is always peachy, just ask around. If you do not pay big rent money, there is a zero tax and income incentive for LL to upgrade on something that still works. I am pretty sure that when it doesn't anymore, it will be replaced. If you want control, you do need to own.
Cheers.

[mmyk72]

Originally Posted by kingeorge

With all due respect finding available crew during this last most horrible, snowiest winter on record was almost impossible. You could have found someone to help you out, and bill your landlord later if it was such a big issue. No one could foresee that snow will just fall on and on and on, for weeks and months. Heck, my big name local grocer had issues with snow removal as well. Everybody did.

So let's put it in perspective here.
Living in a big complex doesn't mean everything is always peachy, just ask around. If you do not pay big rent money, there is a zero tax and income incentive for LL to upgrade on something that still works. I am pretty sure that when it doesn't anymore, it will be replaced. If you want control, you do need to own.
Cheers.

Yes to this. Simple supply and demand. LL's know that their apt's rent out easily with little to no upgrade between renters, so why bother and burn money where it's not called for. Aside from those 'luxury apartments' where rent is $3K and up, the condition of the 'average' apartment in this area is less than stellar compared to what someone can get in other states for the same or even less rent $.

I realized that the only way to live truly comfortably is to buy a place so I have more control over the condition. It costs more. But I no longer have all those issues that I had to deal with when living in an apt and under the mercy of the LLs and their superiority syndrome.

[kingeorge]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

Yes to this. Simple supply and demand. LL's know that their apt's rent out easily with little to no upgrade between renters, so why bother and burn money where it's not called for. Aside from those 'luxury apartments' where rent is $3K and up, the condition of the 'average' apartment in this area is less than stellar compared to what someone can get in other states for the same or even less rent $.

I realized that the only way to live truly comfortably is to buy a place so I have more control over the condition. It costs more. But I no longer have all those issues that I had to deal with when living in an apt and under the mercy of the LLs and their superiority syndrome.

It should be pointed out that LL are not obliged to dig out renter's car during the snow storms. That is highly unusual. LL is obliged to keep all entrances and stairs unobstructed, and clear to come and go, including sidewalks if applicable.

Some LL give small discount to renters willing to do it for them. Most people just clean snow where they live, regardless. It is decent thing to do. Let's not make OP think that his car and driveway will be serviced by LL during the winter.

Cheers.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by kingeorge

With all due respect finding available crew during this last most horrible, snowiest winter on record was almost impossible. You could have found someone to help you out, and bill your landlord later if it was such a big issue. No one could foresee that snow will just fall on and on and on, for weeks and months. Heck, my big name local grocer had issues with snow removal as well. Everybody did.

So let's put it in perspective here.
Living in a big complex doesn't mean everything is always peachy, just ask around. If you do not pay big rent money, there is a zero tax and income incentive for LL to upgrade on something that still works. I am pretty sure that when it doesn't anymore, it will be replaced. If you want control, you do need to own.
Cheers.

Originally Posted by kingeorge

It should be pointed out that LL are not obliged to dig out renter's car during the snow storms. That is highly unusual. LL is obliged to keep all entrances and stairs unobstructed, and clear to come and go, including sidewalks if applicable.

Some LL give small discount to renters willing to do it for them. Most people just clean snow where they live, regardless. It is decent thing to do. Let's not make OP think that his car and driveway will be serviced by LL during the winter.

Cheers.

We had a crew contracted to come - and my landlord got hit by a few fines because of the unshoveled sidewalk on our corner lot when the crew didn't show (and it is not our responsibility according to the lease). Unfortunately, they were not responsive to tenants but normally at least gave an ETA when the landlord got involved. Because our city plows do one narrow track and leave a 6 foot wide snowpile behind our driveway even in smaller storms, our landlord has it written into the lease that the driveway is included when the crew comes. We pay a little more in rent for this service. We have to shovel out cars, of course, but the end of the driveway is on the landlord. Always read your lease.

Yes, I understand that finding crews was difficult. We have waited 24 hours for a crew before. But we were also dealing with a downstairs neighbor who was very ill (she passed away in early March), myself with health issues that prevented me from doing more than cleaning around my car, and NO path to and from the house. If it is in the lease, it is the landlord's responsibility. And at the bare minimum, a safe egress is ALWAYS the landlord's responsibility.

I was simply explaining why apartments in multi-family houses are generally less expensive than in complexes, not railing on landlords.

Not everyone can afford to own - even more distinctly apparent here in New England. There simply are no $150,000 starter homes/apartments that exist in many other metro areas (including my hometown of Atlanta). I'm not saying that it's wrong that apartments aren't updated - simply that it's something that is not common in other regions where there is not so much competition for rentals or such old housing stock.

[gf2020]

I think a location like Canton, Milton or Swampscott is more realistic with a $2500 rental budget.

[sparty8888]

Thanks. I actually don't expect LL to help dig out my car. I'm now living in sunny CA, but had lots of experience with snow when I was in Michigan.

Originally Posted by kingeorge

It should be pointed out that LL are not obliged to dig out renter's car during the snow storms. That is highly unusual. LL is obliged to keep all entrances and stairs unobstructed, and clear to come and go, including sidewalks if applicable.

Some LL give small discount to renters willing to do it for them. Most people just clean snow where they live, regardless. It is decent thing to do. Let's not make OP think that his car and driveway will be serviced by LL during the winter.

Cheers.

[sparty8888]

I really appreciate your insight for the apartment vs. multi-family price difference. Very useful for me, and I believe other newcomers will benefit from the discussion too!

Originally Posted by charolastra00

I was simply explaining why apartments in multi-family houses are generally less expensive than in complexes, not railing on landlords.

Not everyone can afford to own - even more distinctly apparent here in New England. There simply are no $150,000 starter homes/apartments that exist in many other metro areas (including my hometown of Atlanta). I'm not saying that it's wrong that apartments aren't updated - simply that it's something that is not common in other regions where there is not so much competition for rentals or such old housing stock.

[sparty8888]

Thanks! I heard about Canton, Milton and Westwood. Will check the map for Swampscott since I've never heard of this place.
We have a 800K budget for single family house and 500-600K for condo. Based on what I've seen Brookline and Newton are both very expensive. However, as a newcomer I would still look at those two places first for the public transportation and convenient commute.
Does anyone here know how long it takes to commute from Canton/Westwood to downtown Boston (south station)? And would 800K get us a decent single family house and 500-600K for condo in these towns (Canton, Milton, Westwood, etc.)? As I said, we will rent for 1 year first, but it will be ideal if we could rent in a town which we could later consider to settle down.

Originally Posted by gf2020

I think a location like Canton, Milton or Swampscott is more realistic with a $2500 rental budget.