cdogstu99

TheAnk, I have to agree with the points you've made about Houses in Providence. I live in Quincy, MA and have been looking to buy a multi family. With the prices in the Boston area far from affordable, I had been looking in Providence as an alternative. With your prior suggestions, I have been looking in the Fed Hill area and a bit on The East Side. On the East Side, the average 2 - Family is in the 400K range, and that isn't even getting you something completely desirable. I really don't think these prices can hold up. There are a number of reasons why they should fall, with the two major factors being Rising Interest Rates and Continued Condo , Housing Developments. And as these new developments are built and renters can soon afford a place to buy on their own, then it get's even harder to rent out your units. The fact that a few brokers you talked to had mentioned out-of towners not doing their homework, it makes perfect sense. If you can think back to the Stock Market Tech bubble in the late 90's, as tech stocks kept going up, and people were making money hand over fist, then everyone and their brother decided to move their money into the stock market. I'm getting the same feeling in the Real Estate market, as when you look at these multi-families, you look at the rents and they don't even come close to covering the mortgages. I'm guessing that people are just blindly investing in real estate without truly doing their due dilligence. AS interest rates move higher, I'm guessing the housing prices will decline. How much, I don't know, but I can't believe they'll go any higher than they are now for a while.

Cotuit, i'm a new guy at this, and don't own any property YET, but I can tell you that one of my brother's houses (forget location, think it was west side); a 3 family, was raided by the police. Reason was that one of the tenants was a member of a local notorious gang and he was dealing some white powder, if you know what i mean. The cops destroyed the place, and from what he's told me, it's been a headache. Even still, I want to buy an investment property, but it does tell you that you definitely should be running some credit/background checks on your tenants.

thanks guys..yeah i have a brother who owns a few houses over in the armory district; I definitely think it's at a point now where you have to be selective. I work in Milford, so I'll have a bit of a commute from Providence, but I think it's worth it, considering what your money will get you versus Boston prices where you cannot find ANY properties that would come close to pay off your mortgage. And when it gets to that point, it's time to go elsewhere; hence now I'm looking in Prov. Thanks again for the advice guys, think I found my new favorite board...

thanks Cotuit...I wish I found you guys a long time ago, this is a fantastic site and there are some very knowledgeable Providence folks in here...

Thanks Ank, You have given me a ton of info to start with. I'm going to map out the area and start checking out some places to give me an idea of what's what. I appreciate you taking the time to assist. Wish me luck.. Chris

Thanks Garris! Yeah i agree with a possible Condo glut; I'm more interested in buying a multi-family...somewhere I can owner occupy, rather than a condo. That way I can build some equity, and have my tenants pay a good bulk of my mortgage. I did look at few houses over near Camp street about a year and a half ago, and didn't even get out of my car, so I'm guessing the area is still undergoing some transformations...

Thanks guys! I bounced over here from the other Providence thread. Lower Doyle, I'm not familiar with that area. Is that on the East Side over near Camp Street? Also, if TheAnk is out there listening, maybe he could give me some feedback on the best areas to buy property now. And, where do you find most of your homes; through the paper, a realtor. etc. I'm a bit new to this..I did have a condo in North Providence that I sold last year because I moved, but have never purchased investment prop. Thanks !