Start with your situation
- Selling a triple-decker or two-family you own: Sell a triple-decker in Massachusetts.
- Inherited one: Inherited a two- or three-family: probate and selling.
- Tenants live there: Selling with tenants in place.
- Built before 1978: Lead paint when you sell.
- What would I keep? Net proceeds calculator for a two- or three-family.
- Tired of being a landlord: Tired landlord: your options.
What is different about an older two- or three-family
- Two kinds of buyer. Owner-occupants who will live in one unit and investors who price off the rent. Each reads the same building differently (who buys and what they check).
- Tenants do not leave when the building sells. Leases and tenancies carry over, and each security deposit moves to the buyer by law (MGL c.186 s.15B).
- Lead paint. Many of these buildings pre-date 1978, so the lead notice and, for the buyer, the 90-day rule when a child under 6 will live there are a normal part of the sale.
- Rent, not only condition, sets the price. Rent roll, leases, a year of expenses and tax bills matter as much as paint and roof.
- Taxes can be larger than on a home you lived in. A rental can carry depreciation and a larger gain; a 1031 exchange has fixed deadlines (45 days to identify, 180 to close). Talk to a CPA before you sign.
Where they are: the 20 places with the most
| City or town | Units in 2-4 unit buildings | Share of all units | Built 1939 or earlier | Households that rent | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 109,248 | 35.2% | 46.7% | 64.3% | $731,700 |
| Worcester | 28,779 | 33.5% | 40.8% | 57.2% | $374,400 |
| Somerville | 20,843 | 55.2% | 59.0% | 65.8% | $911,300 |
| New Bedford | 20,699 | 46.7% | 52.1% | 59.7% | $357,300 |
| Fall River | 20,045 | 45.0% | 46.1% | 64.7% | $395,500 |
| Springfield | 17,260 | 27.7% | 36.7% | 50.4% | $245,000 |
| Cambridge | 15,937 | 29.1% | 47.0% | 66.5% | $1,092,100 |
| Lawrence | 14,035 | 44.1% | 44.4% | 71.9% | $415,200 |
| Lynn | 12,326 | 32.5% | 45.7% | 51.9% | $510,100 |
| Lowell | 11,937 | 26.6% | 43.9% | 56.8% | $429,200 |
| Brockton | 10,356 | 27.4% | 31.6% | 42.6% | $437,500 |
| Quincy | 10,220 | 21.3% | 37.1% | 54.8% | $618,500 |
| Everett | 9,888 | 52.5% | 53.3% | 62.8% | $610,000 |
| Malden | 9,367 | 33.6% | 45.1% | 58.7% | $633,500 |
| Medford | 8,761 | 34.2% | 48.8% | 45.9% | $755,500 |
| Revere | 8,493 | 35.2% | 25.8% | 54.4% | $597,400 |
| Salem | 8,160 | 38.0% | 51.0% | 50.3% | $542,800 |
| Brookline | 7,418 | 25.7% | 51.7% | 53.1% | $1,246,800 |
| Watertown | 7,335 | 42.6% | 44.4% | 52.3% | $784,600 |
| Taunton | 7,299 | 29.0% | 34.8% | 37.9% | $422,800 |
Counts are housing units in buildings with 2, 3 or 4 units (Census table B25024), not buildings and not parcels; a three-family counts as three units. They are survey estimates with a margin of error (for large cities about 1 to 8 percent of the 2-4 unit count). Median value is for owner-occupied homes of all types, not a price for a two- or three-family. Full list of all 351 cities and towns: Census Reporter.
City pages
City pages: Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Brockton, New Bedford, Fall River, Lawrence, Somerville and Cambridge. Earlier town pages cover Lynn, Malden, Medford, Everett and Revere.
Quincy has 10,220 units in 2-4 unit buildings (12th in the state), which is 21.3% of its housing.
How Home Options MA works
We are a free guide and an advertising service, not a broker. You can ask for a direct offer or an option on your building, or a match with an investor or agent, and you choose. You enter your town and building. Where we have public price data we show a ballpark; elsewhere you enter your own price estimate and we show roughly what you would keep. If you ask us to, we try to connect you with independent investors and agents who work with two- and three-families. We cannot promise an offer, a price or a timeline, and you can say no to everything.
We may be paid flat advertising fees by the companies we connect you with; we never take a share of a commission. JUNKRUN is owned by the same people as Home Options MA. If you choose a cleanout, we may earn money from it. No obligation to use it. See JUNKRUN estate cleanouts.