All Forum Posts by: Denise Hoitt

Hello Hoang, 
I do not know much about rentals in the Manchester area. (I am in Northern NH Coos County above the Notch) However, I do not an excellent Property property management company in the Manchester area that will be able to help you find your way through the Landlord process. I know a few people who use them and are very satisfied. Also, I do know them as well and they are an outstanding company.  Message me and I can give you the details 

Best of Luck   

Denise

airbnb's in Berlin are big right now. 

No I do not. I will ask around for you. 

Hello Imran,

We looked into that property as well. We only looked around it not in it. The  outside of the building looked to be in decent, cared for shape. You may want to hire a home inspector to look at it for you. I highly recommend Rich from HIP in Jefferson. hiphomeinspectionservice.com  He is very detailed and works for you. Matter of fact, I happen to know he made a few realtors angry because after he inspected a few buildings the buyers backed out!  He will be able to give you a more detailed report on the condition of the building.  We could not swing the financing for a commercial property. If we could have, Rich would of been our next step.

You are right in your interests. However, I do not know much more than you. There is a 2 bedroom unit over the commercial store front and the rest are all 1 bedrooms in the building next to it with a washer and dryer in the basement. (if you can add a few more coin-ops it would be a good cash generator. The local laundry mat just closed.) The property also has off street parking. That is a plus in the winter. I do know that a quality 1 bedroom apartment is in big demand. It is also practically down town and on a main through way for Berlin. If you offer the right rent for the commercial space you may get lucky in renting it. Unfortunately, that is one of the big things with Berlin... business's staying here.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Hi Imran, 

We are doing great! Just purchased a second property (duplex) right behind the middle school. We have just moved into the 2nd floor unit. We are so in love with this building. The first floor is currently occupied but will be moving to Fla before the snow flies. So it will be up for rent with some minor cosmetic updates.

We have the apartment we were occupying from our first building rented for September 1st before we even closed on the new place. We have done some renovations to that building. We replaced the furnace and remolded the 2nd apartment bathroom. The 4th unit we did cosmetic work to it. We are currently replacing the carpeting and putting down some nice flooring to replace it and painting.
We would like to do more, but cash is needed and after this purchase and we need to replenish that. But we do what we can. We have been fortunate to make careful choices when purchasing so far and both buildings are in decent shape.
We have not had a problem with filling vacancies with quality tenants and have been lucky enough that has only occurred 3 times since we owned the building. The third being because we vacated the apartment. We charge on the high end for rent in this area and we use Rentpro for tenant screening and charge the applicant for that cost. The alone screens out a lot of people you would not want to rent to.
I think one of the main reasons why we have been so fortunate is that a good quality apartment in a decent building, with a involved landlord who cares about his property is hard to come by. At least that is what we are being told with the applicants we have talked to.
I think Berlin is going to be fine. Just the 2 years we have been here we have seen improvements. I think it will be a slow walk towards progress, but it is happening. If you invest up here it's for the long term and not a quick turn around. I think the rebranding will help and the tourism of course! Berlin does not want to be a N. Conway. It's a struggle with the old timers that we need to do something to bring new life and blood into this city while maintaining it's small town feel and charm.

Hello Bethany,

From what I understand there used to be a bakery in Berlin. They are no longer in business and it was at least over 2 years ago. (That is how long I have been up here.) I do not know the reason why they went out of business but having a local bakery in my opinion would be great!

To get a feel for what the locals would think you could try joining "what goes on in Berlin/Gorham" and "what really goes on in Berlin/Gorham" on Facebook and inquire there.  I know that a couple just bought a local business on Main St called Ron's Variety and started offering  thai food and the demand is high. They actually closed for a bit to renovate and make the kitchen bigger. The former owners had it as a convenient store and small sandwich shop.

Do you plan on owning or renting where you will have the bakery?

Denise 

Hello Aaron, Sorry for the late response. 

We love it here in Berlin. We are in the process of looking for a second unit. They are being scooped up fast and good inventory is low. We found out from our home inspector that he has been working hard for out of state investors. One of his clients purchased 6 units. 

I have noticed as well that prices have risen but only slightly. We just did a dance with a seller on a property. We knew going in that it needed some work and budgeted for what we could see but after the home inspection (I use HIP. Rich is awesome!) it needed more work than we could access funding for. So we went back to them and asked for a reduced price. They refused the offer so we walked away. I am hoping they rethink our offer. The unit has been on the market for a year and a half. Due to the extensive work I don't think anyone will bite on this property unless they have ready capitol to fix it up. 

That has been the most frustrating of the real estate experience. A lot of great units but are in such disrepair that it is hard for us. We have no idea (and the local banks have been no help) how to access financing to buy a unit and to renovate it as well. I have no idea how others do that. Its been hard for me to find that information out in this area. 

Berlin has great potential and needs new blood desperately. Yes, downtown has great pride despite it's sad state at this moment. It  needs new leadership in the local government to move it forward. I do know they have hired a company to do studies and come up with a plan to rebrand Berlin and hopefully turn it around. 

How are you doing with the AirBnB? 

Denise

I guess it is all perspective. We have had no issues with contrators or the community. We are loving it up here

Hi Alice, 

 I think the Berlin market is moving. Houses are selling. A lot of the buyers are vacationers wanting a second home. ATVing here is huge! We are thinking of purchasing another unit this summer.

Thank you everyone for the advice. We are still working on a solution. It looks like we will push the closing to the 28th. It's just an inconvenience, but a lesson learned for the next purchase. Positive thinking! Worse things could have happened :) I will update and again thanks!