Is Springfield, MA good for Buy & Hold?

Question

Hello BP Community.

Anyone have good working knowledge of the Springfield, MA area?  I'm looking to pickup more buy & hold properties and seems like I have to go west of Worcester, MA to get respectable cash flow (near the 2% rule) or (12+% cash on cash w/ some leverage). My questions are many but can be summed up as follows.

1. Are there solid B neighborhoods in Springfield, MA? ... meaning several blocks not just block by block.

2. If you were to generalize the Springfield population, would it be fairly negative from a landlord's perspective? I've read MANY posts on other sites about how Springfield renters are mainly pot smoking lazy bums that don't care about their living conditions and will likely not pay rent and often damage your property.

I invest in multifamily part time and looking for good cash flow to support retirement in 15 years.  I would hire a property manager for any Springfield properties.  However, even with a PM, a crappy neighborhood and tenants would be too much hassle for me to do part time.

Thoughts?

Tristan Chicklowski · Answer

This is an old city that is in a bit of a rut, I would say we need good long term investors (less slum lords). We also have many areas in the greater spfld area that are rip for the picking!

Thomas Guertin · Answer

Glad to hear no one wants to come to Springfield, more for me.  Grew up one town over and now live in Springfield.  There are some horrible areas and some decent areas.  Most Multifamily sections of the city are less desirable.

Ann Bellamy · Answer

Well, you're not getting much of an answer at all.

You'll find

1.  A long drive

2.  Difficult to find REPUTABLE investors, agents, mortgage people, etc.  The area seems to attract scams

3.  Small deals

4.  Little to no appreciation over time.  The area is in a perpetual state of recession, it seems, and even the last bubble hardly had an impact on the area.

I used to lend there and stopped.  If you want to consider an area outside your immediate neighborhood I'd consider Worcester.

Shaun Reilly · Answer

Great insights!

Thanks for sharing all of that.

Erie Springer · Answer

Hi All

I believe Ann Summed it up pretty much. I have a 2 family very close to downtown Springfield for  7 yrs or so , a good friend has  2 duplexes and triple decker. so I know the area and if you want an uphill battle  Springfield is the place to go

When looking at any area the local economy and infrastructure should be considered (especially for a buy and hold) , and I quote Ann  "perpetual state of recession" no one seems to ever have consistent cash flow .

There are areas but you want to be very familiar with these areas and even there  can be rough one way or the other

just my two cents

I have some interest in the area because I know it somewhat but  Worcester is definite step up  and has my eye

Shaun Reilly · Answer

Can't really disagree with anything Ann said.

The price points are cheaper out there though so if you want to explore the market you might be able to find the better areas and get better cash flow then other parts of the state.

I have heard some fairly negative things about the actual City of Springfield and how they are messing things up.  The areas around there might be better targets if you want to look more.

I have met a few good agents out there and talked briefly with a Credit Union in Chicopee that will do construction loans to people investing locally.  I also believe @Erie Springer has some rentals in the area and maybe can chime in with his experiences out that way.

Steeve Breton · Answer

Ann,

Thanks for the comment.  Top notch as usual.

I figured if I got nothing but crickets it could mean Springfield is such a great market that nobody wanted to share it with me.  But I know everyone on BP is happy to share so it must full under the "if you don't have anything good to say..." category.

Jennifer Connolly · Answer

I'd love to see what kind of answer you get on this too. My kneejerk reaction is that Springfield, MA isn't good for anything!

Is Springfield, MA good for Buy & Hold?

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