Two Family Home HELP-which town? (Boston, Somerville: renter, mortgage, houses)

[chris1214]

Hello all, we are looking to purchase a two family home (one unit to live in and the other for rent), ideal location is in the greater Boston/middlesex county area but open to north shore as well (as long as distance to city is not horrendous). Commute to Somerville for work but on off peak hours. Lower RE tax rate would be ideal. Not overly concerned with schools because we do not have children but hoping for a decent system to attract renters w/family. Looking for a place that will demand strong rent to help us with mortgage through our retirement and hopefully somewhere with decent appreciation prospects. Our budget is $650k. We like Arlington but are priced out it seems. Any suggestions on towns we can concentrate our efforts on? Thank you!

[timberline742]

Malden

[495neighbor]

I'm seeing several in Melrose below your budget, but they look like they will need a lot of work.

[Shizim]

Malden schools are blah at best. But given its proximity to Boston and the Orange line, it will always have a steady renter flow. Public transit access should be a key consideration for you.

Some parts of the city are significantly better than others so be aware of that.

West Medford? Tufts and bus to Davis.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by chris1214

Hello all, we are looking to purchase a two family home (one unit to live in and the other for rent), ideal location is in the greater Boston/middlesex county area but open to north shore as well (as long as distance to city is not horrendous). Commute to Somerville for work but on off peak hours. Lower RE tax rate would be ideal. Not overly concerned with schools because we do not have children but hoping for a decent system to attract renters w/family. Looking for a place that will demand strong rent to help us with mortgage through our retirement and hopefully somewhere with decent appreciation prospects. Our budget is $650k. We like Arlington but are priced out it seems. Any suggestions on towns we can concentrate our efforts on? Thank you!

Have you ever been a landlord before? Honestly $650k won't get you a 2 family in a town with a good school system and even if it did you will have to go through the expense of deleading if you want families.

I think at today's prices, this isn't the best idea. There are numerous expenses involved and you may find the aggravation isn't worth it.

[robr2]

There are 2 family houses in Medford listed on realtor.com for $500K+. The lowest would require a ton of updating.

The good thing is that in Medford there is an abundance of students looking for housing. My son is at Tufts and is looking to move off-campus in 2017. The going rate is about $800 per student in a private house with a max of 3 in Medford.

[chris1214]

Originally Posted by Shizim

Malden schools are blah at best. But given its proximity to Boston and the Orange line, it will always have a steady renter flow. Public transit access should be a key consideration for you.

Some parts of the city are significantly better than others so be aware of that.

West Medford? Tufts and bus to Davis.

Thank you, West Medford is very appealing to us but might be above our price point. Excellent suggestion

[chris1214]

Originally Posted by Dm84

Have you ever been a landlord before? Honestly $650k won't get you a 2 family in a town with a good school system and even if it did you will have to go through the expense of deleading if you want families.

I think at today's prices, this isn't the best idea. There are numerous expenses involved and you may find the aggravation isn't worth it.

Not too excited about the headaches involved with being landlord but the help with the mortgage hopefully will compensate for that. Our hope was to find a home that didnt not need too much work as we do not have the time and resources to devote to it and as you mentioned for that reason we are probably priced out of 'better school system' communities such as Arlington, Watertown etc

[chris1214]

Malden has been suggested a few times and looks like there are a few places in our price point. Can anyone suggest areas or neighborhoods to avoid. Thanks a lot!

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by chris1214

Not too excited about the headaches involved with being landlord but the help with the mortgage hopefully will compensate for that. Our hope was to find a home that didnt not need too much work as we do not have the time and resources to devote to it and as you mentioned for that reason we are probably priced out of 'better school system' communities such as Arlington, Watertown etc

If I were you I'd seriously question whether this is something you want to go through with. There's more to owning a house and being a landlord than collecting rent checks every month. Even the smallest mistakes can be quite costly.