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Today, a software developer shares how flexibility and tenacity led him to buy a duplex in Beverly, MA—one of the hottest ZIP codes of 2025—for roughly the same amount as a single family home.
The basics
Age: 37
Pronouns: He/him
Household setup: Single with a dog
Occupation: Software developer
HHI: $140,000
What was your home experience when you were growing up?
My parents bought a house in Somerville, Massachusetts in 1989 when I was 2. They still own it. That inspired me—I always thought I would own a home.
Why did you start thinking about buying?
I was renting for a long time in Sommerville. During COVID, my landlord decided to sell. I realized I wasn’t in control of my habitat and that I wanted to buy a place if I could make it work.
Did you have any non-negotiables?
I was pretty flexible. When you’re entering the market for the first time up here, you have to be. I really wanted a yard and, ideally, a place close to the water. As for the house, I was open to anything. I didn’t care about bedroom counts, washer and dryer, or anything like that.
Where were you looking?
My search started in Somerville, but I figured out quickly that I couldn’t afford anything there. I really wanted Wakefield. My real estate agent asked if we could throw Beverly into the search, and I said sure.
How long did you look before finding your home?
About a year.
How many homes did you see in person?
I looked at hundreds online. In person, about 25 to 40.
Did you make any other offers?
I made three offers in Wakefield: one condo and two houses. I lost out every time to higher offers.
How did you find this house?
I saw a listing for a duplex in Beverly that was at the top end of what I wanted to pay. I drove by it and thought it was nice. I called my real estate agent to get more info. He found out it already had multiple offers, all over asking. Since I was already there, I drove downtown and thought it looked really cool. I had my dog with me and went to get a coffee at Kid Dream Coffee Company, which has since become my spot. I then walked to the beach, and it was awesome.
How did you know this was the one?
I wasn’t planning on buying a duplex, but it was around the same price as a single family home in this area. I had been looking at two- and three-bedroom homes priced between $550,000 and $700,000. When I saw I could get a multifamily home for slightly more, I jumped. Plus, the location was really perfect.
What happened next?
I went to the open house. When I tried to sign in, the pages were so full that I couldn’t add my name. I was going to leave, but I really liked the house and the location, so I asked the real estate agent if I could give her my phone number. She let me know offers were due Tuesday.
What offer did you put in?
I went in at $765,000—which was $6,000 over the asking price. I thought I wasn’t going to get it because there were so many offers. I kept checking online and saw that the house went pending, so I kept looking.
But that wasn’t the end of the story.
I got a call from the real estate agent repping the home. She let me know that the seller was having difficulty with the buyer they were under contract with. They were going to drop out of that contract and relist. I told her that I was definitely going to make another offer. I went back and saw it with my whole family. I found out that most of the other buyers who had made offers the first time were now under contract for other houses. Everyone else had written this house off and moved onto the next.
What was your second offer?
The second time, I offered an additional $15,000, so I was $21,000 over the asking price. I came in at $780,000.
Did you do anything else to strengthen your offer?
I wanted the seller to know I had the money and funding to make the deal happen, so I had my mortgage lender write a letter stating that I was qualified for more than the purchase amount. I sent that, along with a bank statement to show I had the money for the down payment.
Did you waive the inspection?
I wasn’t willing to forgo the inspection entirely, but I only asked for a structural inspection, at my dad’s suggestion. I could tell by looking that I needed a new back porch, driveway, and fence—just cosmetic stuff—but I did want a professional to check the foundation.
Where did the down payment come from?
I had some savings, but when I had to leave my rental in Somerville, I started saving more aggressively.
What loan did you use?
I got a Federal Housing Administration loan and put down 16%. At the time, FHA was lending at a 6.5% interest rate, while a conventional loan was asking for a 7.25% interest rate. The only challenge of an FHA loan is that you have to pay private mortgage insurance for the first 11 years.
Did you make any renovations?
About a year after buying, I took out a HELOC for $25,000 to fix the deck and the driveway. When I got the house appraised, the house had increased its value by $170,000 to $950,000.
How does the duplex setup work?
This duplex has a one-bedroom unit and a three-bedroom unit. I live in the one-bedroom unit and rent out the three-bedroom. The rent of the other unit is $2,900, which means I only pay $2,400 a month. That’s less than half of the mortgage, and about half of what I would have paid if I had bought a single-family home.
What’s it like to live in Beverly?
It’s safe. It’s clean. It has an unbelievable downtown. Outside of the downtown, it has several active streets with tons of great places to eat and drink. There’s a lot going on where you can meet people. I go to Kid Dream Coffee every morning—they know me by name now.
Do you see yourself staying in this city?
When I bought the duplex, I thought I would only live here a couple of years. Now, I feel like I’m not going anywhere. You can’t beat having multiple beaches so close by. I walk them often on Sunday mornings. The beaches don’t have parking lots, so they’re for locals only. This area is also just 30 minutes to the mountains of New Hampshire. All this, and it’s a 40-minute commute to Boston’s North Station, which is unbelievably great.
What’s your favorite thing about your home?
Besides location, I love that it’s mine. I’m really proud that I own this place.
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