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Bryan Rocker
04-11-2008, 11:30 PM
Good evening fellow creekers,

I am looking for some information from creekers who live in or near the Boston/Lynn Mass area. I may be moving up that way for a job. I hear its expensive but how difficult will it be to find a house which can accept a shop????

John Newell
04-13-2008, 1:20 PM
I see you haven't gotten any replies. It's not that we're not friendly, it's just that this is a really hard question to answer.

The short answer is that it shouldn't be too hard. But the real answer is much more complicated. Everything that follows is one person's opinion and is subject to the limitations that broad generalizations are almost never true in any specific case!

First, because compared to the rest of the country, the whole structure of New England is different: town government, rather than county. Even by that standard, though, eastern MA is at the far end of the spectrum. There is a very large number of towns, most of which are very compact, and many of which are not terribly socio-economically diverse. The biggest factor is schools, which are funded almost exclusively from property taxes. I could go on, but that's the broad strokes of that part of the background. Short version is that property values correlate to resident income correlates to schools.

Property values? Higher than other parts of the country...not sure how they correlate to salaries right now. The market has softened considerably and inventory is way up, which is bad for sellers but good for buyers - if you can get financing.

Compared to the rest of the country, I think you'll feel like most of the housing is incredibly old. There are lots of 18th and even some 17th century houses still occupied. Our first house was built before WW1. Friends came up from TX and were flat-out astonished that anyone would live in such a house! Downsides: may need electrical upgrade (that house started with 40A service!!!)...basement space may be less than ideal (fieldstone foundation? dirt floor? no basement at all?)...in most communities, lot sizes are probably smaller than you'd expect, compared to the rest of the nation...

However, there is a lot of variety in the housing stock, and you only need to find ONE house that works for you. And, if you get yourself pre-qualified for mortgage financing, I think you will have realtors literally falling all over you to find a house for you in this market/economy.

Bryan Rocker
04-13-2008, 3:33 PM
Thanks for the inputs John. I have been looking on various realtor sites house and find them almost double what my house here in Ohio costs. I currently don't have a shop but if I stay here I have one already planned for the near future. I have seen quite a number of those older homes. I didn't expect to see as many in-ground pools as I am finding up there.....

John Newell
04-14-2008, 7:44 AM
I'll elaborate more later, but one thing to be cautious about is "raised ranch" homes, if you want to have a shop in the house. Not sure whether this type of house is common elsewhere, so if you're not familiar with them, make very sure you've got the room you'll need.

Augusto Orosco
04-14-2008, 8:49 AM
Hi Bryan,

I am relatively new to the area (about 18 months) and am still figuring out how things work around Boston. You already have some good pointers from John. I may add that prices vary widely from town to town; and probably the closer to Boston, the more expensive they are. Also, in my experience, the quality of the school district weighs heavily on house prices.

Boston and its surroundings are expensive, but comparable salaries tend to be higher as well. Like everywhere, you will find some things to cost much more than you are used to, and viceversa. For instance, I was shocked to see how much you pay for water and sewer; but again, this is a town by town issue. Heating costs have certainly piled up this winter; and with old homes with poor insulation, is something to think about. On the other hand, air conditioning is nice to have for the summer months, but it's not a must as it could be further south.

Right now is certainly a buyers market, so you can find some pretty good deals. If you buy, I would recommend not to pass on owner's title insurance: Since the area is so old, encrouchments and thinks like that are more likely to happen, and title's insurance can spare you a lot of trouble in the future.

Hope it helps!

Bryan Rocker
04-14-2008, 10:05 AM
Thanks for your thoughts. I don't have kids to worry about, all mine are gown and out of the house, well sorta, my daughter is back and expecting June ish. I ran CNN's cost of living comparison a significant jump in salary is needed to maintain my standard of living. Time will tell if the salary offered is commencerate with the area.....

As to the raised ranch, yes I am very familiar with it. I had one in Oklahoma and it had tons of room EXCEPT low ceilings. I would rather have a smaller shop with good ceiling height. Having said that my dads shop was in the basement of a rock house built in 1920.

I appreciate your inputs here. I am no stranger to moving, the military has moved me plenty of times. This time will be different since I am now almost retired......