Just got an offer accepted on a 3 family home In Chicopee

[Raphael Juliao]

Looking to get some general information.

Im doing Owner Occ FHA and am living in NYC currently but live some times of the year in MA in the lowell/lawrence area. The reason I picked the area is because I travel for work between NYC and up in Lawrence so the springfield area is dead in the middle of both NYC and northeastern MA. I didnt want to buy in springfield because I know the area is quite ridden with crime which I'm no stranger to being born and raised in the Bronx. After driving thru Chicopee I noticed that its quite cleaner and quiet compared to springfield. I wanted some opinions on people who know the areas and what their outlook is on this area. Seems like some folks like it and others say the areas are complete trash mostly speaking of Springfield.

[Jonathan Bombaci]

Let me start by saying I’m not actively investing in western MA so take my opinions with a grain of salt. We’ve looked at this market more than a few times but never pulled the trigger. All of our properties are in Worcester county and east of Worcester county up into southern NH. That being said we’ve always looked at Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee as generally the “same market”. Similar price points, similar resident demographics, and similar crime ratings. If you look a little further north close to Northampton you’ll likely find a much quieter market given the pull from umass Amherst. I’d also recommend looking East along rt 90 (mass pike) since there are often good deals on MF in those small towns and I think you’ll find a very stable tenant base, which is what we find in the suburbs surrounding major cities. 

Best,

Jon

[Devin Ryan]

Hi Raphael,

I've spent most of my life in this area, being just south of it in CT, and I lean more towards Jonathan on this one. While I would agree with you that Chicopee is not quite as risky as the Springfield area, but it may not be the most idea. That being said, if asked to pick one vs another, Chicopee would be my choice 10/10 times, but I believe there may be more quality areas as Jonathan mentioned, or even just over the CT boarder as you can be just a few minutes from Springfield still. 

[Ryan Breen]

Any update on your purchase? I am from the area and am very familiar with Chicopee if you need any insight in the future, happy investing