1850's Vermont Farmhouse duplex "Vacation Home Hack"

[Brian Kantor]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Weston.

Purchase price: $415,000
Cash invested: $130,000

An 1850's farmhouse duplex in Ski country as a "Vacation Home Hack", meaning that unit will be our vacation home and the other will be used as an STR.

Also a MASSIVE garage that we hope to turn into a 3rd unit.

Front unit rents for $17k/year GROSS, but is in need of a face lift. We'll put about $200k into the front unit to get that rent up to around $85,000/year GROSS ($21.5k NET). Front unit alone is 6BR/3BA, & the back unit (should we choose to rent it out ) is another 4BR/3BA + loft.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We've been paying to rent here seasonally for the past few years for about $7500/season (split with my sister-in-law's family), so we know the area super-well. My wife and sister-in-law have been visiting for 30+ years. The location is 10 mins from a major ski resort (Okemo) and within 45 mins or less from 5 more (Bromley, Magic, Stratton, Killington and Mt Snow).

We knew we could save $$ by not renting anymore which we saw as an added cash-flow.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

It had been on the MLS for months because it was "a project" and most of the other nearby properties are turnkey. We were able to get it for about 8% below asking where other comps were going 20% above asking.

How did you finance this deal?

Personal investor loan (25% down).

How did you add value to the deal?

Havent yet, but after the front unit renovations are done, we'll either tackle the garage to 3rd unit conversion or renovate the back unit to add another BR and BA and more livable space.

Tons of potential here, and very excited as the process unfolds.

What was the outcome?

Can't say yet, but the potential as noted above looks really strong. Newly renovated comps in the area are going for $900K+

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Radon mitigation is a big issue in many parts of the country and a good mitigation system can cost a lot. Because this property has 3 separate basements, we need 3 separate systems that will cost us about $10k total.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Brandon Reilly of Keller Williams Hammond Team in Burlington (not on BP) was amazing. Highly recommended.