All Forum Posts by: Brian J Allen

Congrats Kyle on beginning your journey. There is a lot out here in Worcester that fits the bill for you. The key is to educate yourself to the neighborhoods and the market. I figure that takes about 3 months until you have a good feel for the quality you will see and what that commands in terms of pricing. I go out on Saturdays with a socially distanced group to get folks educated. Shoot me a PM if you are interested. Most of the good stuff trades off the MLS, so once you know what you are looking for, and have an understanding on price you are ready to jump when something comes up.

I am also a fan of the older houses.  the locations are typically better since they got to choose the locations first.  It is important in Worcester, and in the surrounding towns to really know your location.  Remember. YOU CANT MOVE THE HOUSE, YOU CANT MAKE IT BIGGER, BUT YOU CAN MAKE IT BETTER.  Make sure the lot and the location justify your purchase.  I would be glad to help you on specifics if you like.

As a buyers agent in Worcester, i feel for the other agent. However, there is only so much the market will bear in terms of investment. As you rightly state, rents is $1200 in some place and $900 in another. And it can swing even more than that around WPI where the rents might be $1800 and around the corner $1200 for the same 3 BR unit. Keep in mind a couple of things. Who is managing the place? You can write off the expense of visiting your rental property, so maybe a trip to TN might be fun a couple times a year. Also, you have appreciation. Worcester multi family appreciation has been crazy over the last 3 years for a number of reasons and the major one is rental appreciation. Will you get rental appreciation in TN? Worcester rents still have a ways to go before they catch up to where they should be, especially if you only have to drive to Boston 2X a week off hours. Why would you live in Framingham if that is the case and pay 75% more than Worcester. Also, keep in mind that a lot of deals in Worcester are done before they hit the MLS. If your agent is tied in to the Worcester Wholesalers, and the agents that do the bulk of the transactions then you are good. If your agent doesn't work at an office that does at least 20 Multis a year, you will have difficulty finding anything. There are under 5 offices that do more than 50% of the multifamily volume, and that is what you can see on MLS. I bet if you counted what they did off MLS, they would be closer to 60% of the total volume of sales. Best of Luck. Worcester has great opportunities if you know where to look for them!

keep in mind, there are various investment profiles depending on the house. if you purchase something that is in need of repair, in the short run you may show better cash flow, but in the long run, perhaps not so much. you can get a 3 plex in Worcester with a vacant first floor for yourself for $375k and market rents of $1200 for each of the other floors. and you can buy one for $450k which has market rents of $1500 per floor, in order to really see where you are at, you need to be out in the market actively working to see what is there. There are gems that come up, you just need to be educated and ready to pounce when it hits your investment objectives. Also keep in mind that in a multiple offer situation the seller may choose to take a 25% down offer over yours. For that reason it is best to try to get something prior to it going on MLS.

@Jacob Pereira there are very few 4s In Worcester. But there are some. Many 3s The key is location. You need to know exactly what you are buying as the next street over may not even be close to thr same neighborhood. It is well worth it Long term to buy for location/neighborhood as that is where the best rents are and where the appreciation occurs. Also keep in mind you can rent parking and garages You can also subdivide lots to increase value. If you buy wrong or without knowledge of where you are buying it can be a big problem if there is a downturn

i echo Phil on the strength of the Worcester market, but rents are also strong.  There are some deals out there if you know where to look.  The stronger the offer, the more likely they will counter and let you actually have a conversation related to the property and price.

There is a lot more to Worcester than the west side! Lots of cool neighborhoods and plenty of places you can make money on with the right focus. Side by side units garner better rents, but location is the key. I suggest seeing about 10 buildings before you make a decision. I go out with groups on Saturdays to get people educated, let me know if you want to join. Keep in mind that most of the good properties in Worcester trade off market, prior to MLS, and if something nice gets to MLS you need to be ready to jump. That is why you need to know the market and the neighborhoods. PM if you want to join on a Saturday Worcester Tour.

With an experienced local buyers agent you have a much higher chance of getting your offer accepted.  The agents in Worcester who do a lot of Multis all know each other and will have conversations on top of the offer.  It is huge!!!  They trust each other and will pick your offer over others just because they trust the buyers agent.  Typically on Saturdays I go out with a bunch of buyers to educate them and see 5 or 6 places in a couple hours.  The group setting helps everyone with questions.  It is like a small buyers seminar.  All are welcome

work with a realtor that can identify and cross off a lot of your issues, then if there is something worth inspecting you do "contractor walk through" or you put in a caveat in the offer that says you will stay at the same price unless there is more than $10k of work, then do an inspection.  people hate it if you complain about a leaking toilet or an old roof you should have been able to see.   the key is to have your agent educate you to the level that you can price things out.  if the roof is old, tell the seller you know the roof is old and you wont complain about that at inspection and reduce your price $10-15k, etc.  The key is to work with a buyers agent who knows what to look for!!!

Worcester is changing a lot. Many more places over $500k, and the CAP rates are shrinking. WE are seeing more buyers every day, but you need to pick and choose the properties very carefully. The seller are looking for NO INSPECTION offers to move the process, or inspections within 5 days to get right to P&S and get the banks moving. There are deals out there on commercial/mixed use properties which tend to have higher CAP, but you need commercial financing.