Like he** I'm going to pay these prices! (Boston, Brookline: new house, taxes)

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by bigfatdude

That's why you buy in an up and coming area so you can benefit from gentrification and are able to rent the unit out and have rent cover the mortgage and you don't have to sell right away in case you need to move if you're shopping as a single person just starting out. Renting is more convenient but you're just throwing that money out, you're not getting any of it back and it'll keep going up every year.

Uh, he's looked in places like Lawrence, Lynn and now Chelsea.



That's basically the situation I wound up in. Renting it has been "OK" and I guess worked out decently overall, but it can be a burden at times as well. You can say I've been "lucky" (knock on wood) for the most part, I wouldn't do it again by choice (can't always count on that "luck"). Not saying it's the wrong decision, but it's not necessarily the right one either.

[BOS2IAD]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

Check out this one in Chelsea: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...56671647_zpid/

$270k for 400 square feet. 1900 construction. No in-unit laundry (as far as I can tell) or central air. No parking. Sold for $11k in 1992, which looks like it'd be $21k today when adjusted for inflation. It's a brownstone, though, so that's neat.

Admittedly, '92 was a particularly bad year for the city iirc. Looking at the 2001 sale price of $100k is more fair, but still: $270k for that?

I remember seeing a "what will $300,000 get you in your metro area" thread on this site somewhere. I should share this there.

Edit to add: I don't think there's any laundry on site, shared or otherwise?

Many, many moons ago (late 70s/early 80s) we lived not far from that building. I remember waiting for the 111 bus right outside there. Chelsea was never...well...an upper class type place but we got a better apartment in a newer building than the prewar one in the Fenway that we lived in. For one thing, no one ever broke into our apt. in Chelsea, while it did happen in the Fenway. And, in Chelsea, we actually had a/c and a dishwasher---no in unit w/d, however. That apt. building is now condos.

[sawyer2]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

Surprisingly low, isn't it? I'm comparing this place to other $270k units around the country. Square footage is always bigger, but the HOA is usually higher. Why is that?

Compare (for example) this listing in Atlanta: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9...65468867_zpid/

$275k for 770 square feet. 2002 construction. Central air, laundry, parking, fitness center, and pool. Sold for $200k in 2017. $358/mo HOA. Right in Midtown with lots of stuff nearby.

Depends on what is included in the HoA. Typical bare minimum, which is probably the case for the Chelsea apt., is master insurance for building, water/sewer/trash, some exterior maintenance, minimum amount added to reserves to meet condo policy.

Also, many buildings in Boston will have a central boiler heating system so heat/hot water is included, with an increased condo fee. (not the case for this apt. as it has electric baseboard)

The big ticket items are elevator, doorman, etc.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

Also, many buildings in Boston will have a central boiler heating system so heat/hot water is included, with an increased condo fee. (not the case for this apt. as it has electric baseboard)

Some are simply connected to the steam networks so the only HVAC mechanicals would be for cooling. Attempting to meter usage would be particularly pointless.

[sawyer2]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Some are simply connected to the steam networks so the only HVAC mechanicals would be for cooling. Attempting to meter usage would be particularly pointless.

Indeed. I like a central boiler, steam or HW, for a rental unit as it gets fixed immediately and at shared cost.

[TechieTechie]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

In 1990.. South End, Fenway, Charlestown, Seaport, Southie, West End and Eastie were not places Bostonians went to that people go to now that live in city or have the opportunity to visit/explore. Also Cambridge had Harvard Square .. Central and Kendall were not anywhere near as vibrant/cool/job centric.

Boston is significantly better than it was in 1990 and there's no question regarding why it was also significantly cheaper.

Agree 300%. When I moved to dead center JP in '94, 1 block south(? towards the Orange line) at Seaverns/Centre Street, I was advised not to walk home alone (from the Orange line to my apt) after dark. The only 'nice' JP neighborhood was Pondside. JP rapidly (and I mean rapidly) gentrified over the next 10 years. The number of really good places to eat in JP when I moved in? 1. Centre Street Cafe. Same for Boston, the food scene sucked. South of the Pike in the South End? You took your chances. Seaport was sea of parking lots, Southie was very much locals only, and Eastie, well no one even thought of Eastie.

But gentrification went insane over the next 10 years. I purchased a triple decker condo in 2004 on Forest Hills for $190k....it sold last year for well north of $500k. From 2010 to 2020, my Arlington house doubled in price (and it was a fixer upper). And maybe the neighborhoods look the same (and who doesn't love the older housing stock) but I can't tell you a single week in the 30ish years I lived in JP and Arlington where someone wasn't doing construction. A LOT of internal investment/improvements when into these properties (I know I did).

So, I took the $$ and ran. I was grateful for the time I spent there. But now, being closer family and taking advantage of a LCOL location is not a bad substitute.

A well funded, mostly well run state with beautiful parks, functioning governments, gorgeous scenery, great nightlife, beautiful housing stock, literally the epicenter of the best health care and educational systems in the country, great jobs, and well kept infrastructure? That costs money and attracts a certain type of buyer. And trust me, Bostonian...besides high housing prices and a potentially long commute, you have VERY LITTLE complain about

[gf2020]

Looked at these two condos in Salem today with my son:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3...13975846_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...77969891_zpid/

They were both very nice and I am sure they will be under agreement at over asking later this week. Not sure that Salem is the right location for my son but he could see himself living in either of these units.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by TechieTechie

Agree 300%. When I moved to dead center JP in '94, 1 block south(? towards the Orange line) at Seaverns/Centre Street, I was advised not to walk home alone (from the Orange line to my apt) after dark. The only 'nice' JP neighborhood was Pondside. JP rapidly (and I mean rapidly) gentrified over the next 10 years. The number of really good places to eat in JP when I moved in? 1. Centre Street Cafe. Same for Boston, the food scene sucked. South of the Pike in the South End? You took your chances. Seaport was sea of parking lots, Southie was very much locals only, and Eastie, well no one even thought of Eastie.

But gentrification went insane over the next 10 years. I purchased a triple decker condo in 2004 on Forest Hills for $190k....it sold last year for well north of $500k. From 2010 to 2020, my Arlington house doubled in price (and it was a fixer upper). And maybe the neighborhoods look the same (and who doesn't love the older housing stock) but I can't tell you a single week in the 30ish years I lived in JP and Arlington where someone wasn't doing construction. A LOT of internal investment/improvements when into these properties (I know I did).

So, I took the $$ and ran. I was grateful for the time I spent there. But now, being closer family and taking advantage of a LCOL location is not a bad substitute.

A well funded, mostly well run state with beautiful parks, functioning governments, gorgeous scenery, great nightlife, beautiful housing stock, literally the epicenter of the best health care and educational systems in the country, great jobs, and well kept infrastructure? That costs money and attracts a certain type of buyer. And trust me, Bostonian...besides high housing prices and a potentially long commute, you have VERY LITTLE complain about

JP was not THAT BAD back then, come on now. Much of it was already yuppified. Just Pondside was nice? That's it? Really???


And was your "well kept infrastructure" thing supposed to be a joke or something? You would have to come from Illinois or New Jersey to think Mass. had good government.

[KemBro71]

The globe had a link today to an article showing the change in median rents in the neighborhood of evert T station. Some interesting numbers!

[TechieTechie]

Originally Posted by massnative71

JP was not THAT BAD back then, come on now. Much of it was already yuppified. Just Pondside was nice? That's it? Really???

And was your "well kept infrastructure" thing supposed to be a joke or something? You would have to come from Illinois or New Jersey to think Mass. had good government.

Yep, that's what I was told, don't walk home at night. I think the area around central JP was definitely nicer, but Hyde Square, the far reaches of South Street, and Forest Hills definitely felt sketchier.

I'm not just thinking of the big metro driven states. You should see how bad the roads are in

places like OH, MI, TN, KY, AL and, to a lesser extent FL. I just did a huge driving tour over the winter....awful infrastructure.



That's my 2 cents.