New to the REIT World in Worcester, MA

New to the REIT World in Worcester, MA

Matthew RyanPro Member
Realtor · Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 2 votes

Hello All,

My name is Matt, and I am a 27 year old financial analyst in Massachusetts.  I have always dreamed of being my own boss and creating a lifestyle of my choosing, and doing something I think I can be passionate about.  This does not involve sitting in front of Excel spreadsheets for 50 hours per week and making a decent, yet modest income until I am old enough to be a grandfather and can retire.  Being relatively early in my career, and carrying some awesome student loans, I, like many other I am assuming, started thinking of any way I could change the path of my life. 

After finally saving enough, and working through a couple promotions at work, I could afford to move out with an old college buddy.  We got a small, but nice, 2 bedroom condo in downtown Worcester.  one day, playing around on the real estate sites I found our condo on, I found our condo and when it was sold and how much it went for.  Being somewhat of a numbers guy, I did simple math so see that my landlord was making somewhere in the $300-400 per month range off of us after paying the mortgage.  After seeing that and realizing that we have not called him once for an issue (knock on wood), I just couldn't let go of the fact that he just stops by and grabs a total of about $2250 every month off of the couple units he has and then its radio silence until the first of the next month.

Given the total "Newb" state I am in, I did my research and stumbled across a ton of info online.  In that I found the BP podcasts on YouTube.  They now run constantly in the background while I work. (Which leads to more stopping and taking notes than it does working... oops).

All that being said, It looks like I am trying to be a "house hacker".  I'm currently looking at duplexes in the Worcester area and along the 290/495 belt.  Money is tight with the student loans, but this is the way to freedom and I can see it.  I'm still drinking out of the fire hose of info on this site and in the forums, but just wanted to say "Hey" and any info for this newb is more than welcomed!

Thanks Guys!

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  • Malden, MA · Member since 2016 · 112 posts · 63 votes
    10y
    Matthew Ryan haha, just wanted to say you sound exactly like me and my current situation... (Especially the listening to books/podcast that distract me from my assignment). Good luck, I wish us both plenty of success
  • Boston, MA · Member since 2015 · 47 posts · 4 votes
    10y

    Welcome @Matthew Ryan and best of luck.

  • Professional · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2014 · 876 posts · 301 votes
    10y

    Welcome @Matthew Ryan! Best of luck on your journey.

  • Matthew RyanPro Member
    OP
    Realtor · Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    Thanks everyone! @Leslie Pappas @Rob McCarthy, and @Andrew Beaver, best of luck and wishes of success to you as well.

  • Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    10y
    Welcome! I too took the same route, listened to the podcasts and did my research on the commute into work dreaming of getting out from under these student loans. I purchased my first multi family in Worcester in March and now have two tenants while I am remodeling the third (and final) unit to live in. I have used up most of my weekends and PTO remodeling and working to make the property attractive again but wouldn't have changed a thing. My now tenants pay for the property and Sally Mae allowing me to keep my full paycheck every week! My initial plan was to break even and live for free, but with the immediate financial relief I have been able to start to save and hopefully will be able to buy again in the next year.
  • Matthew RyanPro Member
    OP
    Realtor · Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    That is phenomenal @Patrick Reynolds! Sounds like you are about a year (hopefully much less) ahead of me on the same path!  Any tips for the Worcester market/ tenants/ rent rates/ areas you looked in most heavily?  Trying to stay close to the highways, which isn't too hard in this city, and close to Shrewsbury Street/ Rt 9 area was my thoughts, both for personal preference and for the appeal to potential tenants.

    Any tips you encountered on this path would be awesome as I will probably encounter many of your experiences.

    Thanks, and best of luck!

  • Marblehead, MA · Member since 2015 · 21 posts · 8 votes
    10y

    Hey @Matthew Ryan , and welcome! I am also a newbie right out of college coming out of the north shore area. I like your vision about what real estate can bring to your life and I agree, definatly don't want to be looking at spreadsheets for the next 50 years. Good luck on your REI journey!

  • Matthew RyanPro Member
    OP
    Realtor · Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    Hey @Aron Roytenberg, thanks for the welcome!  Likewise my friend.  I wish I got turned onto this when I first graduated to get the wheels turning earlier (not that at 27 I have missed the boat).  Best of luck to you and your journey on setting up a lifestyle of your choosing!

  • Specialist · Rockland, MA · Member since 2010 · 7k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10y

    @Matthew Ryan

    Welcome. Take a good look at student housing see below.

    Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers). Find them through Google and meetup.com There is the Black Diamond meeting in Worcester.

    Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses, The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

    You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.

    Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

    http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

    Good Luck

    Paul

  • Real Estate Agent · Westboro, MA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 471 votes
    10y

    Hi @Matthew Ryan

    Welcome! This site has tons of good information and I believe the best way to get started is to become educated, and take action daily towards your goals. This means analyze deals daily so you can know the market and once your ready, put offers in! 

  • Matthew RyanPro Member
    OP
    Realtor · Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    @Paul Timmins

    Thank you for you advice and your opinions.  I will definitely look into some of these niche markets you are referring to as well as the literature. Also, thank you for the point in the right direction for the networking groups.

    A couple of questions in response to your post:

    Do you currently, or have you in the past, done student rentals?  If so, undergrad? graduate?

    I had thought about that in the past, especially given that Worcester is a college city, but then I thought about my undergrad experience and some of the friends I had in college, and I wouldn't rent to some of my old friends or teammates... that is for sure!

    Also, does this create too frequent of turnover on the unit?

    Given that I want to house hack, I'm not sure I am up to sharing walls with the 19 year old version of me and my buddies.

    As always, thanks for the info. Trying to satisfy this hunger for knowledge in REI!

    Matt

  • Matthew RyanPro Member
    OP
    Realtor · Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    @Steve Bracero

    Thanks for the welcome! That is currently what I am doing, just reading, listening, and then repeating.  I definitely need to educate myself even further on the analytical portion of these deals, but it looks like BP and its members have that all covered, so with some time and patience, we'll get there!

    Good Luck!

  • Rental Property Investor · Haverhill, MA · Member since 2014 · 79 posts · 39 votes
    10y

    @Matthew Ryan - Welcome to the site!  I bought my first 3-fam in December 2015 and it's been a relatively easy ride so far.  I tell all of my friends that they should at least buy a duplex as their first home.

    My simple advice to you is to try for a 3-4 family as your first home.  Since you're living there you get all the benefits of being an on-site landlord, and with all of the benefits of more than one extra unit.

    the costs aren't much higher from a 2 to a 3, and the benefits are substantially more.

    Just my .02 but welcome and feel free to connect with me to discuss further, I'm in Haverhill, MA:)

  • Matthew RyanPro Member
    OP
    Realtor · Worcester, MA · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    @Dan Smith  Thanks for the welcome!

    I absolutely value your .02.  I will be reaching out!  I am glad your first property went over so well.  I can only hope mine, when I get there, goes smoothly as well.  I could definitely see how having that "extra" tenant could help to leverage some of the risk that comes with this journey. 

  • Specialist · Rockland, MA · Member since 2010 · 7k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10y

    @Matthew Ryan

    Did years ago. Have a buddy who does it has 130 beds under her control. She brings in 71K 50K after expenses. She has parents guarantee, keeps them out of the basement and uses auto deduct.

    I did an article on student housing shoot me an email for a copy.

    Paul

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