New Blood from Burlington, Vermont

[Lindsay Damici]

Hi, my name is Lindsay. I am currently living in Burlington, Vermont (as a renter) and I am in the process of looking for/buying my first duplex/multi-family home. I plan on this being a owner occupied residence and renting out or airbnb(ing) the other unit. Looking for solid resources to help me along in this process. I have hopes to grow in the property investment industry and use my love for interior design (and attempts at being handy) to help me invest in (as well as quickly flip) additional homes in the future. I am trying not to get ahead of myself and just want to make the right choices when purchasing my first home/property.

I am a little nervous about finding a contractor, plumber, electrician, ect.  that I can trust and will give me good rates since I didn't grow up in the area and my network is small in the home improvement area. Being a younger female in this industry I want to get to know my stuff so I don't get taken advantage of. 

[Tawny Bloom]

Welcome Lindsay!

We also live in Burlington and it is a great town because of the low vacancy rate but with that it is also competitive so here are my two cents.  We bought our owner occupied duplex 4 1/2 years ago and it took us a full year and a half to find something. There are a lot of places, especially in the ONE, that are older and often run down so unless you are going to spend money improving the property before you move in you are going to have to be patient.  Many places we looked at we couldn't imagine living in and we didn't want to dump tons of time and money into renovations.  And then once you do find the property that fits your needs you have to jump as anything that is reasonably priced and in decent shape tends to go fast.  Make sure you know how to run the numbers beforehand and get pre-approved when you do start looking so you are ready to go.  But always remember this is a business decision not an emotional one so make sure it makes sense business-wise.  We just closed on our second property in January which we also very patiently waited for.  Take your time as this is not something you want to rush and good luck!