Buying multifamily home in Northwest VT (St. Albans or Swanton)

[Adam Lippa]

Hi All,

I'm new to posting on BP but have read a bit. It looks like there is a small crew from in/around VT so I'm curious to get some advice from you guys...

My wife and I own one duplex in Winooski (where I used to live) and now we live in Georgia, VT. We are looking to purchase another rental in St. Albans/Swanton area. Initially we were looking only in St. Albans but it looks like there may be a slightly larger, more reasonably priced selection in Swanton (we foresee rents being lower there, but still may be a worthwhile trade-off). 

I'm wondering if anyone has any information on off market sellers. If not, have you used a realtor or represented yourself when purchasing properties? We feel comfortable representing ourselves (we bought our current house and sold our previous townhouse without a realtor), however are not sure it's worthwhile as we won't get a lower price on the house by representing ourselves since the 3% commission will likely just be 6% for the seller. We have spoke with the folks at one real estate company which give a small rebate to buyer's from from the 3% commission they receive (I believe they keep $3,500 and the rest goes to the buyer). This seems like it might be a good middle ground to save a few bucks, however they have not had great (or good) communication with us but seem to be the only company with the model. 

So with all that said, have you had good luck with certain real estate agents or companies or other methods?

Thanks!

Adam