All Forum Posts by: Anthony Micklus

Hello Shane,

Welcome to the Bigger pockets site. I am a Realtor(R) in the Northwestern Vermont Area. There are many lenders out there but it is not always as easy as looking at just closing costs. You also want to make sure you look at other terms of the loans. Many banks will offer "no closing cost" mortgages (Community Bank here has a product like that.) but you might be paying for it in higher interest rates. In any case my advice would be to contact 3 local lenders. I recommend local because we have some really funky laws in Vermont (such as Act 60) that many of the national companies are not aware of. Ask them about their fees and do some comparisons. I have also found that credit unions tend to have better rates. Hope this Helps

Hi All,

I don't know if this is the right place to post this but I wanted to let you all know we are doing a meet up in South Burlington VT on Thursday May 11th at 6:15. The location will be at 1161 Williston Road. That is the Century 21 Building after the Double Tree hotel. If you want more info please feel free to message me. 

This is where having a Real Estate Agent on your team is really valuable. They have access to the MLS which provides very detailed data on every property sold. Depending on where you live you might be able to get a lot of the data from the public records. (In my state that data is sorely lacking.) better yet find an agent that works with REO properties. As an agent myself that works with REO properties I can tell you first hand the banks are constantly asking for a BPO (Broker's Price Opinion) on their properties which is the closest you can get to an appraisal without actualyl paying for it.

If the unit is cash flowing I would do it. What do you have to lose? Also as @Patti Robertson was saying you have some value in the land. The biggest problem with mobile homes is that banks don't like to lend on them. It helps that it is on its own land but still can be more difficult than a stick home. You have a lot of possibilities. You could get rid of the mobile home and build a stick home. You could also partner with a Manufactured home dealer they are always looking for land to put their product on. 

If you are looking to purchase property for investment you want to make sure that your Agent is investor "friendly" remember that when you are investor you don't care what color the bathroom is painted or if the flooring is pretty. Your concern is all about numbers. Make sure your agent knows the lingo. Does she understand investment property. Some of the questions you might want to ask are.

What kind of clients do you primarily work with (home buyers or investors)

When you do your comps for investment properties how do you arrive at your number? (they should be basing it more on cap rate than home characteristics.)

Does she have any investments? 

What is the Vacany rate in this area? 

What are fair market rents? 

If the agent works in investment property they should know these answers.

I think @Art Herbert makes a good point. Some families just don't work well together in business relationships. If you do decide to keep it make sure you and your brother draw up a clear contract that spells out very specifically what everyone gets and what everyone is responsible for. If you don't think your brother is amiable to this definately sell it split the money and use the proceeds to invest in something else. 

I am a Realtor and I have an absentee owner that wants to sell and has asked me to deal with some of the repairs in his Condo. Basically it needs the Ceiling painted and the place needs a good thorough cleaning. My question is two fold. First what how should I go about interviewing these contractors. I am thinking interview 3 contractors, make sure they are insured and make sure they have references. Is there anything else I should ask? Second I figure I will vet, pay and check on the contractors (after he provides me with the funds to pay them.) and add some sort of management fee. What is a good rate to charge? Any help or guidance anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

I am a Realtor in Vermont. I will be listing a home for a client but they have a person that is currently renting the property. The owner is lives several hours away and has asked me to take care of the exit process. The tenant is a good tenant who has paid their rent on time and has been informed that the property is going up for sale. I have never done something like this before so I was hoping one of you experienced land lords could guide me on a procedure. Here is what I have so far

Meet with Tenant and walk through property

Get  the keys from the Tenant after we discuss what we found in the walkthrough.

Give the tenant their damage deposit minus anything that we should charge them for (as discussed in step 2.)

Is there anything I am missing?

Hi Sebastian, I too am an Investor/Agent but have a lot of debt (paid out to Gurus) I need to pay off before I can invest. As agents we get some nice tax write offs that nobody else gets. The federal government limits the amount of passive losses you can take on rental properties but not so for "Professionals" you might want to talk with a tax advisor and see if this is something you can take advantage of.

It does depend on your personal preferences and what you want to deal with. The lower income areas are going to require more time on your part. You will likely have more evictions, more turnover, and more damage to the property but as @Michele Fischer says you can make good money if you know what you are doing.