All Forum Posts by: Erica Anne Langston

Hey there, just curious if you ended up in the Rutland area. We’re in Middlebury and considering expanding south but have heard mixed reviews of Rutland for both short and long term rentals. 

We are closing on a neighboring foreclosed property tomorrow that's occupied by the (former) owner, and part of our contract with the bank stipulated that we couldn't talk to the current owners about the foreclosure or let them know we were under contract to purchase the property. I know this may end up in court, but we're planning to approach them tomorrow and let them know that we now have the deed to the house and would like to make a cash-for-keys offer if they can agree to be out in 30 days. We don't know these people well, but we've had a few conversations with them since we moved to the neighborhood two years ago and they seem okay, but it really feels like their reaction to the news that the property has officially sold and we want to take possession ASAP could go any way. We thought they had moved out, but another neighbor told us today that they didn't think that was the case. I'm looking for advice on what all I should emphasize/avoid saying. What would be a good cash-for-keys offer to get this conversation started? 

Thanks for this input, @Tim Delaney! It's a screaming deal because the rent from the two residential units is enough to carry the property and turn a profit, even if the retail spaces sit vacant. The state is quite literally trying to offload this. We'll definitely reach out to a commercial realtor and see if they can help us suss this out more. I appreciate your feedback!

My partner and I have been looking at multi-family house for the past two years or so and have even gone under contract on two properties before pulling out because of inspection discoveries. We hadn't considered commercial until a very unique building came across our path this month. It was purchased by the state to run headquarters out of for a major infrastructure project in our town. The project is done and the state is looking to offload the property asap. We have the potential to get this property at what seems to be a screaming deal (possibly half of what it's appraised for), but it is a huge property--two residential units (1br/1ba each that could rent for $1100) and 2 retail units, totaling about 4k sqft. The retail units need a lot of work before they are leasable, and the building is circa 1900, so lots of delayed maintenance and likely unforeseen expenses. The exterior was also stuccoed over by the previous owners, which slightly terrifies me. We were still getting our legs under us and building confidence to pull the trigger on multi-family, and we would likely have to tap into our home equity to pay cash for this deal. The whole thing seems like a big endeavor, but also like it could be a really good opportunity that isn't likely to come around again. What should I do differently when running the numbers here compared to a multi-family? Has anyone taken on a property like this? How did it go? What do you wish you knew/did beforehand? 

My partner and I recently got under contract on our first potential investment property. It's a 4/2 duplex in an amazing location  that grosses about $1600 in rent and we're looking at paying $160.5 for it with possibly as much as 25% down. The property appears to be well maintained, if somewhat cosmetically outdated, and I initially felt like we were getting it at a steal compared to what single-family homes go for in the neighborhood. Well, three days in and I'm not sure. One of the two units is a converted garage with super low ceilings (6'5). The tenant in the other unit has lived there for 7 years and said the low-ceiling unit has almost always been occupied, but we're buying the property $4k less than what the owner paid for it in 2007, and I can't help but feel like the low ceilings have crippled the property value (hence why it feels like a steal). This is in a tourist town, so we've considered using the lower unit as an AirBnB instead, as sometimes travelers are little more amenable to these sorts of flaws, but I really don't know. We haven't had it appraised or inspected yet (only been under contract for 3 days), but I already feel overwhelmed with uncertainty. Is this just first-timers nerves, or does this sound like something we should run away from?