Chelsea

The Silver Line SL3 has four stations in Chelsea: Chelsea, Bellingham Square, Box District and Eastern Avenue. It runs through the Airport and World Trade Center to South Station. Chelsea station is also on the Newburyport/Rockport Commuter Rail line to North Station. Route 111 runs from Woodlawn through Chelsea to Haymarket; route 116 runs between Wonderland and Maverick on the Blue Line; route 104 runs between Malden Center and the Airport; route 112 runs between Wellington and Wood Island; and route 114 runs between the Market Basket area and Maverick.

Start with the station or route you would actually use, and test the full trip from each candidate address at the hour you would travel, including the wait. Check how often your route runs at that hour and how you would get home on a weekend or late in the evening.

For a multi-family house, review the leases, rents and security deposits and each unit's systems, and ask for permits for past conversions and renovations. Under the Massachusetts Lead Law (G.L. c.111, §197), when a child under six lives in a home built before 1978 that contains dangerous levels of lead, the owner must have it deleaded or brought into interim control; a new owner in that situation generally has 90 days after taking title. Ask the seller for any lead inspection records and letters of compliance.

For a condominium, review the 6(d) certificate, budget and reserves, what the fee covers, parking and storage, and the rules on leasing and pets. Ask how the building is heated and cooled and what the association has planned for the roof and common systems. Under the state's MBTA Communities law, which requires zoning for multifamily housing as of right in at least one district, Chelsea is designated a rapid transit community, and the state's compliance status sheet lists the city as compliant. Ask the city where that district is and what is now permitted near the address.

The state's climate-resilience snapshot for Chelsea lists coastal flooding and inland flooding among the city's hazards. Look up the exact address on FEMA's flood maps. If a home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area and you finance it with a federally regulated or federally backed loan, the lender will generally require flood insurance, so get a quote before you settle the budget. For a condominium, also ask whether the association carries flood insurance on the building.

Public school assignment depends on the exact address. Confirm the assigned schools for any home you are considering directly with Chelsea Public Schools, and use the state education department's (DESE) district profile for official enrollment and program information.

Chelsea's FY2026 residential rate is $11.48 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $1,148 a year for each $100,000 of assessment before exemptions. Chelsea offers a residential exemption to owner-occupants; for FY2026 the City lists it as $3,203.68 in tax, equal to $279,066 of assessed value. The amount is set each year, so ask the assessor for the current figure and how to apply, and keep in mind that the seller's bill may not reflect your own situation.

For a condominium, add the monthly fee and any planned assessments to the tax. For a multi-family house, set the rents against the tax, insurance, repairs and vacancies before you count on the income. FY2027 rates had not been certified at the time of writing.