Looking for real estate

[boscru]

deleted my previous post as i didn't see op's last one talking of north shore, i only discussed south/southwest. i did mention the ferry from hingham, but i think there is also a ferry to boston from lynn. great alternative to commuter rail, driving to an mbta station, or "god forbid" driving your own car through the 5 am to 7 pm rush hour into/out of boston. for those of you who drive, you know that "5am to 7pm" was NOT a typo

 

[Realtor MA]

On a scale of 1 to 100 (100 being the worst) lynn has a crime rate of 76 and I believe a similar number for violent crime. I randomly chose Watertown for comparison. Crime rate there is 43 or so. National average is about 42.

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[boscru]

On a scale of 1 to 100 (100 being the worst) lynn has a crime rate of 76 and I believe a similar number for violent crime. I randomly chose Watertown for comparison. Crime rate there is 43 or so. National average is about 42. Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

and no chance in hell of getting a n/r ltc in watertown

 

[rivet_42]

and no chance in hell of getting a n/r ltc in watertown

Exactly why Watertown is a no-go as far as I'm concerned. Pity, I like it otherwise.

I am likely going to have to give up commuting by bicycle if I want to afford to buy a place but so be it. It's a shame because I really like doing that and it's a nice way of getting some exercise and fresh air every day. Way more pleasant than being crammed into a bus and a subway car. No way in hell would I drive into downtown Boston every day from the 'burbs. Parking gets expensive fast, if nothing else. Also, I can't imagine the wear and tear on my nerves.

Regardless, if I'm out in the 'burbs somewhere, when it's time to move on from my current employment, I can look for employment better-situated to wherever it is I end up. (I'm in tech. There's a lot of churn.)

 

[browncoat]

Exactly why Watertown is a no-go as far as I'm concerned. Pity, I like it otherwise.

I am likely going to have to give up commuting by bicycle if I want to afford to buy a place but so be it. It's a shame because I really like doing that and it's a nice way of getting some exercise and fresh air every day. Way more pleasant than being crammed into a bus and a subway car. No way in hell would I drive into downtown Boston every day from the 'burbs. Parking gets expensive fast, if nothing else. Also, I can't imagine the wear and tear on my nerves.

Regardless, if I'm out in the 'burbs somewhere, when it's time to move on from my current employment, I can look for employment better-situated to wherever it is I end up. (I'm in tech. There's a lot of churn.)

Have you done much driving in Lynn? I hate driving there, and I drive into Boston every day

 

[rivet_42]

Have you done much driving in Lynn? I hate driving there, and I drive into Boston every day

No? Just never had much call to go there. Most of my friends live in Somerville and Medford.

 

[browncoat]

No? Just never had much call to go there. Most of my friends live in Somerville and Medford.

Might want to take some drives on weekends around the towns you are interested in. That's actually how my wife and I found our house, we saw a sign as we were driving around a neighborhood. The house had gone on the market that day, and hadn't hit MLS yet. When we saw it the next day, there was already another offer in on it. I don't know if it the market is still as hot now as it was a year ago, but good deals move fast

 

[Realtor MA]

and no chance in hell of getting a n/r ltc in watertown

I realize that. My point is that Lynn has a crime rate that is nearly twice as bad as the National average and a randomly selected town here in MA.

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[boscru]

I realize that. My point is that Lynn has a crime rate that is nearly twice as bad as the National average and a randomly selected town here in MA. Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

yeh i get that, but op is looking for green. personally speaking, i live in brockton, summer in fall river. death wish X2.

 

[mwalsh9152]

Might want to take some drives on weekends around the towns you are interested in. That's actually how my wife and I found our house, we saw a sign as we were driving around a neighborhood. The house had gone on the market that day, and hadn't hit MLS yet. When we saw it the next day, there was already another offer in on it. I don't know if it the market is still as hot now as it was a year ago, but good deals move fast

its even hotter. I've lost the bid on a house when I was 20k OVER asking price. The inventory levels are even worse now too.

 

[browncoat]

its even hotter. I've lost the bid on a house when I was 20k OVER asking price. The inventory levels are even worse now too.

Wow. I wonder how bad it's going to get around the typical easter rush

 

[mwalsh9152]

Wow. I wonder how bad it's going to get around the typical easter rush

Im afraid to find out. There are so many people outside open houses that it looks like a swarm of bees

I mentioned a few pages back, I put an offer on a house today, and its not something I even like.

 

[Realtor MA]

its even hotter. I've lost the bid on a house when I was 20k OVER asking price. The inventory levels are even worse now too.

Generally true depending upon the town and the property.
There are tons of good towns that are green. The OP mentioned that deals are good in Lynn. That basically means that prices are lower because there is less demand. Why is there less demand? Schools? Crime? You tell me!

ETA Spring is typically the peak of the market. ie april, May, June. For smart sellers the Spring market starts now. Buyers have been waiting through the holidays and are usually willing to throw overbids on anything that looks half decent. However, with inventory levels so low there's no telling when that will let up. Last year we were having ridiculous bidding wars through late summer. Then things cooled a bit. We are currently seeing 4 and 5 offers on properties rather than 10 or 12.

 

[rivet_42]

The problem is that unless you're a lottery winner, or unless between you and a domestic partner you have a quarter-mil coming in over the transom every year, your housing options in MA are going to suck. It's not a question of picking something you like, it's picking the type of suck you feel you can cope with.

 

[mwalsh9152]

Lynn is a cesspool good thing its green, because you need it!

Pull up the sex offender registry and see how many hits Lynn has.

 

[mwalsh9152]

The problem is that unless you're a lottery winner, or unless between you and a domestic partner you have a quarter-mil coming in over the transom every year, your housing options in MA are going to suck. It's not a question of picking something you like, it's picking the type of suck you feel you can cope with.

No better feeling than plunking down hundreds of thousands of dollars thinking, "well, I guess this will do"

 

[rivet_42]

Lynn is a cesspool good thing its green, because you need it!

Pull up the sex offender registry and see how many hits Lynn has.

I'm not all that sure that the sex offender registry is a good metric. People can and do end up on those registries for all kinds of BS. Drunkenly taking a leak behind a dumpster at the wrong moment. Having consensual sex with their 17yo g/f when they were 18 and both of them were high school seniors. Soliciting a prostitute, even if the prostitute is over 18. Not all of it is about predatory behavior. Here are several maps showing where you can be put on the sex offender registry for behavior that's illegal but is more than likely nonpredatory, i.e. it doesn't really have a direct victim.

I'd be more inclined to go by general violent-crime statistics. (By which, I gather that Lynn still doesn't look great. But at least they let you protect yourself, unlike some other places I could list.)

 

[JRT]

Move to Hopkinton. It's green, affordable and easy to get to Boston. I lived there for a short time and enjoyed it. I was practically a lib in that town with my Vermont upbringing. Last I knew it had one sexual offender.


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[rivet_42]

Move to Hopkinton. It's green, affordable and easy to get to Boston. I lived there for a short time and enjoyed it. I was practically a lib in that town with my Vermont upbringing. Last I knew it had one sexual offender.

Hopkinton is green according to the NES thread, but according to Comm2A's data it doesn't look all that green, with 95 NR licenses issued in 2014 and 46 restricted ones: http://www.comm2a.org/index.php/8-home/222-2015-data

There appears to be a serious discrepancy between the aggregate experience of NES posters and Comm2A's data, and I'm not sure how one would account for the discrepancy. Did Hopkinton get a new licensing officer or chief of police in 2014, or something?

 

[bigalf]

I just put an offer on a house in georgetown 10 minutes ago, and I dont even like the damn house.....but there isnt anything else on the market, and I need to make a move sooner rather than later.

I grew up in Georgetown and recently moved back after discharging the Army. It was a green town with the old Chief not sure about the new one. There is a fish and game in town that is decent. Good luck with the search. I'll be in the same boat as you in a few weeks.

 

[Tarsook]

The problem is that unless you're a lottery winner, or unless between you and a domestic partner you have a quarter-mil coming in over the transom every year, your housing options in MA are going to suck. It's not a question of picking something you like, it's picking the type of suck you feel you can cope with.

This isnt true.

 

[browncoat]

This isnt true.

It depends on what his requirements are. Since he currently lives very centrally, I'm assuming that he values a short commute into the city very highly. If that's what you want, you won't find things cheap. He should have said "your housing options in MA close to Boston are going to suck". We like where we are 20 miles away from downtown boston, but even here we paid way more than we would have if we went another 20 miles south.

 

[JRT]

Hopkinton is green according to the NES thread, but according to Comm2A's data it doesn't look all that green, with 95 NR licenses issued in 2014 and 46 restricted ones: http://www.comm2a.org/index.php/8-home/222-2015-data

There appears to be a serious discrepancy between the aggregate experience of NES posters and Comm2A's data, and I'm not sure how one would account for the discrepancy. Did Hopkinton get a new licensing officer or chief of police in 2014, or something?

There is a new chief and the long time licensing officer retires any day. Like maybe today lol. I met the new chief because I don't have a MA drivers license and he wanted to know the story. I was thinking to my self here we go... I almost didn't go because I spend so little time In MA it wasn't worth it to me since I thought I was in for a fight. I showed up and was totally wrong. He just wanted to meet me I guess. He asked how many guns do I own, I said, you don't want to know. We both laughed and he signed off.

EDIT: he also gave my daughter her unrestricted LTC on her 21st birthday without an interview. Just prints and stuff.


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[rivet_42]

There is a new chief and the long time licensing officer retires any day. Like maybe today lol. I met the new chief because I don't have a MA drivers license and he wanted to know the story. I was thinking to my self here we go... I almost didn't go because I spend so little time In MA it wasn't worth it to me since I thought I was in for a fight. I showed up and was totally wrong. He just wanted to meet me I guess. He asked how many guns do I own, I said, you don't want to know. We both laughed and he signed off.

EDIT: he also gave my daughter her unrestricted LTC on her 21st birthday without an interview. Just prints and stuff.

Weird. here's the story from September 2014 when iofneedle and his wife went for licenses and were told they were only going to get restricted. They asked for the restrictions to be lifted 2 years later and were successful. And KnuckleDragger said by way of response that Hopkinton restricts about 13% of their licenses.

 

[JRT]

Weird. here's the story from September 2014 when iofneedle and his wife went for licenses and were told they were only going to get restricted. They asked for the restrictions to be lifted 2 years later and were successful. And KnuckleDragger said by way of response that Hopkinton restricts about 13% of their licenses.

I think that may have been the last chief but I can't say for sure. I don't know exactly when the transition happened. I'm guessing that was around the time of a murder-suicide in town. Good guy (I thought) and fellow MG'er snapped and killed his GF and himself. I do recall that it may have caused some tightening of restrictions. It has not been my experience but the numbers don't lie.


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[JRT]

There are 4 gun clubs in Hopkinton too! Ok, I counted that one in Milford that is about 100 yards from Hopkinton.


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[milktree]

So, what I did, (what my girlfriend did, bless her) is use something like RedFin (the one she likes for its features) and set up alerts for everything that meets your criteria:

You can ask for "only houses less than $400k larger than 1,200 sf with a driveway and in only these towns" more or less.

You might have to set up an alert for each town, but it does work.

- - - Updated - - -

The problem is that unless you're a lottery winner, or unless between you and a domestic partner you have a quarter-mil coming in over the transom every year, your housing options in MA are going to suck. It's not a question of picking something you like, it's picking the type of suck you feel you can cope with.

That's either just wrong, or true no matter how much you make.

 

[NH_Realtor]

So, what I did, (what my girlfriend did, bless her) is use something like RedFin (the one she likes for its features) and set up alerts for everything that meets your criteria:

You can ask for "only houses less than $400k larger than 1,200 sf with a driveway and in only these towns" more or less.

You might have to set up an alert for each town, but it does work.

I may be wrong because redfin isn't in my area, but if they operate like other 3rd party systems like trulia, zillow and realtor.com (NOT owned by realtors) they are always a day behind actual MLS. Your agent, if they know what they are doing, can set you up with the same email alert that will email you immediately when the property comes only MLS.

 

[milktree]

I may be wrong because redfin isn't in my area, but if they operate like other 3rd party systems like trulia, zillow and realtor.com (NOT owned by realtors) they are always a day behind actual MLS. Your agent, if they know what they are doing, can set you up with the same email alert that will email you immediately when the property comes only MLS.

Oh, I'd believe that. I honestly have no idea who owns RedFin, or how they get their money.

On the other hand, I'd argue that if you're not interested in a bidding war, (i.e. you have more time than money) this isn't an important distinction.

 

[Realtor MA]

Lots of people like the redfin website. But as someone noted there can be delays. It's really easy for me or any other realtor to set you up on a search. If anyone here would like that just let me know.

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