Cash flow vs appreciation

[Anthony Marie]

Moved out of our first condo in SF (rented out) and are now thinking about buying a second 1 bedroom condo on the east coast to rent out. Targeting Boston's cambridge or north end area to keep utilization high. Thoughts?

I know the whole area is over-priced, but seems like rent would cover the mortgage and I'd have to pay out of pocket for property-tax/hoa possibly. I'm ok doing that for 5 years until rents catch up or I pay down the mortgage further. I know this goes against the cash-flow thesis, but any insight on this appreciation-based strategy?

Has anybody tried anything similar in the past? I feel more comfortable owning properties (even if cash-flow negative temporarily) in the major urban markets.