Hyde Park VS weymouth

[NY'er lost in MA]

I suggest sticking with a SF home. Since your husband will be commuting into South Station, that opens up many other communities besides Canton and Weymouth- really you can consider any town on the South Station commuter rail lines...

I guess it depends where is he going to school?

There are so many great properties available right now- SF homes that have been renovated and just didn't sell- owners have lowered their prices to as low as they can go. With the price range you have, you can probably get an updated 1960's-80's house depending on the community. I would expand your search to other areas to see how far your dollar will stretch.

There is maintenance on a townhome too- you just pay for it each month and pretty much have no say. As mentioned before- with a SF home, your money goes just to YOUR home. Being settled in a community and caring for your own home is a better strategy than buying a townhome and hoping it increases in value. New constructions generally won't jump up in value- and in this market......have you even considered that it may lose equity? Then what would you do in 5 years?

You need to consider some of these scenarios- my wife and I never did- we just assumed we would make money on our condo. We didn't even think that it wouldn't sell!

[tamilgirl07]

Thanks for all the opinions. I am really scared that older homes will have lot of problems and fixing things. How much does it cost to do lawn mowing and snow removal for SF?? How old is consiodered good in terms of resale value??

Thanks

[Parsec]

Honestly, based on your situation and the types of questions you're asking, many of us are probably wondering if buying is even right for you. My family is in a similar scenario as you are -- we have a 15 month old and we don't know how long we're going to stay in the Boston area. We've decided the best thing to do is to keep renting. Why pay $2500-3000 per month on a starter house for a mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance when you can rent the same thing for $1800-2000/mo. If and when you decide you will be staying in the area for the long-term, then you should buy. Until then, it would be financially risky to buy and then possibly sell at a loss 5 years later (remember any small profits you make could be wiped out by the $25k you'll spend on a realtor to market it for you).

[crazyworld]

Weymouth is very nice. You may get more for your money there. You are talking about South Weymouth which is where I grew up.

As far as the homes being old/new...it is my opinion that an older home is built more solidly. I don't live in Weymouth but near there...my house was built in 1900 and other than the usual wear and tear we have a really solid home with all the nooks and crannies.

Good luck with your decision.

Just my 2 cents worth......................