Best bang for your buck (175k-230k) (Boston, Lynn: hardwood floors, apartments)

[Bench Warmer]

Hey guys.

I'm thinking about buying a house in the next year. I'm torn on a house or going the condo/townhouse route. Either way, my budget is 230K max... I work in Copley Square.. Being close to the city is important to me. I'd love a 3br/2ba but would settle for a 2br/1ba..

Any suggestions? So far on my list I have stoneham and melrose.. For some reason there seems to be affordable options in those two towns... Thanks in advance!


BW

[Cliff Clavin]

Saugus. Wakefield. Lynn if schools aren't important.

[konfetka]

Peabody, Salem, Danvers, Beverly, Winthrop

Malden, Everett, Revere

[bc02eagle]

what is the reason for buying? why not rent a bit longer and buy something better down the road?

[miu]

Originally Posted by bc02eagle

what is the reason for buying? why not rent a bit longer and buy something better down the road?

I agree. Personally, I would never ever buy a condo. Why be stuck in an apartment with neighbors you may not like. And there is no easy way to move somewhere else. And in addition to paying a mortgage and property taxes, there would also be a monthly condo maintenance fee. And with a condo association, if you start off with having pets allowed, later on, they could vote for a no pet building.

I just have friends that made the mistake of buying a condo in Waltham that took two years to dump. Now they are extremely happy living in a beautiful old farmhouse in Framingham.

[foxboro82]

I was looking in that price range too, and being single there were several reasons the condo route made sense. I looked for three years (SFHs too) and ended up moving further out from Boston than maybe I previously thought I'd like, but man, it's crazy how much more you can get for your money moving out a ways. I'm a nature lover and felt like I hit the jackpot w the place I found.

If a condo association is well managed and taken care of (you can do some background research and talk with residents to get a feel, plus just the overall appearance of the structures, landscaping and layout of the buildings) it's a good deal. If it's a nice location and complex they'll sell fast. The ones in my complex don't stay on the market long and have held their value well.

SFHs don't necessarily mean serenity - in my opinion there are a lot more worries. Personally sending the HOA money each month keeps my life so stress-free so I don't mind. I personally like the community/security of having people close. Bad neighbors can happen anywhere - a good friend finally had to move from her acreage home because the neighbor was doing all he could to to make her her husband's life miserable, doing things that were just under the law so the police really couldn't do anything. They got tired of dealing with it, the police, the courts, so finally sold it quick and moved to a worse home on a small lot with neighbors just a few meters away, but in a better neighborhood and have that stress out of their life although they miss the space and natural environment.

Being part of an association can protect you from these types.

But your original question, I'd say find a place you want to live. I looked at several places in towns that were "all that" but in the end, I wanted a place I really *wanted* to be living in. It's a balance, of course.

[SoFresh99]

I would add that the key to re-selling a condo is desireable location and inherent aesthetic appeal (which can be trumped by location however.) The sideways drywall boxes that are being slapped on too-small lots are hard to get rid of compared to a 2/3 family condo in a converted colonial or victorian with a yard, etc. Townhouse more desireable still.

On the other hand the converted two family is liable to have one of those "no real management or oversight" HOAs that are just you and the other guy splitting fees and shoveling your own snow and the HOA fee covering master insurance only.

So my vote would be for the top floor of a converted and updated older home with a solvent and professionally managed association where you don't have to mow your own lawn, shovel your own snow or prune your own bushes or worry about arguments over the new exterior paint color.

[brightdoglover]

If a condo, get a knowing lawyer to look at the financials of the complex. Trust me on this one.

[foxboro82]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

If a condo, get a knowing lawyer to look at the financials of the complex. Trust me on this one.

This is good advice. Also get minutes of the last year's HOA meetings to see about any upcoming projects and how things have proceeded in the past..

As far as buying into a triple-decker or old-home-converted-to-condo, there is usually a 25% down payment for a mortgage and other restrictions that make financing converted units a bit trickier, even with stellar credit. Also, although monthly fees may look lower for those types of units, a friend of mine has a condo in such a place in Belmont and was hit with $50K+ in the first five years because the group voted to do some major repairs on the aging building. Also, obviously conversions weren't built with condo living in mind so the 15" concrete firewalls aren't in place - they feel more like apartments, ...noisier. Hopefully hard-of-hearing downstairs neighbors don't mind you walking on your hardwood floors with shoes on!

[brightdoglover]

Having a condo in, say, a three-family or a small building is putting your financial life in the hands of unknown strangers. My disaster was in a nine-unit building. I would never buy another condo unless I had a knowing lawyer look at the financials (assessments, reserve funds, etc.) that the building or complex had good professional management for some time (not a fly-by-night).

Again, trust me on this one. (See Under: Lee Street, 1989-1994). I finally bought a beat-up cottage 25 miles away just to have financial control.