Multifamily House Hack in Greater Boston Area

Boston, Massachusetts
Buying & Selling Real Estate
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Multifamily House Hack in Greater Boston Area

Rachael Chen
Member since 2021 · 2 posts · 0 votes

Hi everyone,

I’m new to the BP community, but have been following along for quite some time. I’m looking to buy a multi-family in the Greater Boston area with the goal of living in one unit and renting out the rest. 

Newton would be my ideal location, but all the multi-families I’ve seen in Newton don’t make sense deal-wise. I’m not necessarily looking to cash flow, but I would like the mortgage/taxes/expenses to be covered by the rent payments if all the units were rented out. 

Does anyone have suggestions of locations to look at that are decent to live in, have a good rental market, and have available properties that are reasonably priced? I’d also appreciate any general advice or tips anyone has to offer. 

Thanks! 

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  • Denis VaughanPro Member
    Boston · Member since 2023 · 14 posts · 13 votes
    2y

    Hi Rachael, they will all cash flow if you put enough down! 

    However, I put 10% down on my three family in Somerville last year and did some value add and this year its breaking even. I love the area but as others have mentioned its really hard to get cash flow unless you are putting 25-30% down which is a large undertaking in Boston. You can get better cash flow if you move out further but its a trade off.

    I was happy with my initial investment. Pretty much played out as I expected it to and I would do it again. However as I am looking for my next property, if I buy to live in, I know I will take a hit and be negative cash flow for a few years but if I buy an investment property I would go a little outside the city/in commuter towns most likely. 

    Newton is tough!

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  • Aaron Chen
    Member since 2024 · 1 post · 0 votes
    2y

    Hi I am no expert but I have been looking at Boston area for ~9 months now. I think it will be hard to have positive cash flow for properties within I-95. Newton is one of the hottest area with top schools and strict zoning laws so it's rather worse...I would say Waltham and Burlington are the only areas that are less negative cash flow

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  • Mike BourgeoisPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · MA & NH · Member since 2018 · 25 posts · 17 votes
    2y

    Hey @Rachael Chen - welcome to the community! How far away from Boston would you be willing to look? My criteria was similar to yours when I bought a few years ago. I ended up buying a duplex in North Andover, only 30 min drive from the city. Great place to live and would certainly recommend, but the inventory here is tough as most investors are holding. There are lots of multi-fam investment pockets in the greater Boston area, some really great to live in, but really depends on your financial situation / down payment.

    General advice

    - The vast majority of multi-fams in the Boston area are very old builds. Take your CAPEX reserve fund contributions seriously and be conservative with the amount you'll be setting aside for reserves in general. Repair & installation costs in the Boston area are some of the highest in the country.

    - Watch out for residential tax exemptions, and be aware of which towns / cities have them. They're great when you live at the property, but can then destroy your anticipated cashflow if / when you decide to move out and rent all units.

    - When house hacking, be sure to establish a good relationship with your tenants, but avoid "being friends". Of course you can, just be aware of the potential consequences from a business perspective.

    Lots more to share but I'll spare you from reading a novel :) Feel free to reach out if you'd like to chat! 

    Mike

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  • Daniel McDonald
    Real Estate Agent · Beverly, MA · Member since 2019 · 358 posts · 308 votes
    2y

    Hey @Rachael Chen I’m located north of Boston in Beverly. I’m currently house hacking my second duplex with my wife. We were in a similar situation to you in 2020 when we were looking more for what we wanted vs. necessarily a knockout deal. However when we really got into it we decided to go north of the city for more affordable options. I do think this will be a better option but sometimes you want what you want and that okay too. You just have to know that Newton will be pretty challenging to ever zero out on. But if you were planning to house hack for a long time there then I’d think it would be a better option then renting.

    Things id be aware of house hacking anywhere near Boston:

    -Make sure you pick a town with a decent renting pool

    -Appreciation will be your best friend, not cash flow

    -Be prepared to spend on renovations 


    always happy to share my experiences or resources if you want to connect! 



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  • Bianca BarcelosBusiness Member
    NH · Member since 2026 · 88 posts · 48 votes
    2mo

    Are you interested at all in the NH multi-family market? If not for somewhere to live, as an investment.  We can take a look Concord, NH and south for some good cash-flow potential? I think, compared to MA, these might make more sense and there's some great property management companies out there that can manage your asset for you or at least support in it.

    [email protected]
    Bianca Barcelos, Real Estate55 Reviews
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