Investing in Cambridge, MA as a grad student?
Hello everyone, I am new to this forum. I became interested in REI about a year ago and started listening to the BP podcast. I hesitated before posting to this forum because I still do not know enough (no practical experience). However, I really want to get some advice on how to learn more this summer since I will be pretty much free.
I am moving to Cambridge, MA this fall to start graduate school in the area. My plan is to buy a multifamily, live in one unit, and rent out the rest and hope for a neutral or positive cash flow by end of 2018.
Ideally, I would love to buy near Cambridge because of the high demand and the proximity to the universities. However, my goal is to be able to buy several multi-family in 5 years and create passive income from it. So here is my question: Assuming I have $200k cash. Should I buy somewhere further away from Cambridge with a $100k down and save the other half for a second multi-family or should I just go all-in on my first multi-family in a more desirable location?
I am currently looking for anything with 4bd+, 2bath+ in an area within 20min commute to Harvard/MIT (Somerville, Cambridge). Also open to Revere, Everett, Watertown, maybe even Dorchester.
To gain some practical experience, I thought about moving to Cambridge a month prior to the start of the school year and work with someone who knows about the market in those areas. Not sure if it is a good idea.
Any suggestions would help.
Thanks,
Elena