All Forum Posts by: Jacob Gelinas

@Ken Latchers @Paul Sandhu Thank you both for your input, this is why I love BP! It's easy to see all the good but sometimes it's nice to be brought back to reality. 

@Kyle Kershner Thank you for the information! I'll definitely have to look into Killington and other resort towns. As you said, much more convenient! Also, thanks for the honesty that it's likely not going to be the best cash flowing idea!

@Huong Luu You're absolutely right. I think I should just continue seeking the cash flow for now and use that extra income for vacations.

@Mark Miles Thanks for clearing that up!

@Brent Miller Thank you for the honesty! haha

@Billy Thurston I will message you, thanks for the reply!

@Ken Latchers The nearest skiing is about 45 min away and another about an hour and fifteen minutes away but the area is beautiful and scenic with a lot of reservation land nearby for hiking, etc. There are also a few lakes which is nice. However, like you said there isn't a lot of other bnb's, etc. And if I did need to fall back on long term renting, is that really feasible up there? Likely not. 

@Paul Sandhu I like that analogy, and being the long john silvers, it probably won't work unfortunately. 

@Michael Baum It does sound like your situation is much better. As you mentioned, not sure if snowmobiling would keep the place full. Didn't realize the 14 day cutoff either though, good to know! Thank you!

@Jon Crosby Thanks for sharing those articles, those are great! I appreciate the references!

@Daniel Bradley Talking to other hosts in the area is a great idea, thank you for that! Also, you're right about not letting emotions drive the decision. I hope you can get back in the game this year! Best of luck!

@Julie McCoy That's my main concern, I just don't know if there are enough people up in the area that I would be able to hire and rely on. My draw to the area is not only the skiing but Vermont in general is a beautiful place. Mainly just having a getaway there along with the options to ski and snowmobile are the draws for me. 

@John Underwood Great ideas, thank you very much!

@Mark Miles All valid points. My home city is sort of cracking down on STRs like you said. You have to be registered with the city now. It's not restricted in the area I'm looking at yet but who knows. As you mentioned, for some reason people are resistant to that sort of change up here.  

@Jason Lee, @Anthony Thompson always has great resources. I could also give you a name for a great roofing contractor that I just had at my house on Monday. 

Hi all,

I found a property in rural Vermont that is very reasonably priced and I'm thinking about buying it as a vacation property. My goal however would be to essentially own the vacation property at no cost by using it as an airbnb when I'm not around. I've never had an airbnb though and I'd like to get some advice on this idea. Although it would be awesome to have a vacation home to go to a few times a year and not have to pay for it, I'm not sure it would actually rent because of the area it's in. When I say it is rural, the population of this town is less than 200...

It is located in northern VT near Canada. There are snowmobile trails right near the house which would cater to the snowmobiling community and it even has a garage they could stash their sleds in when rented. There are a few ski resorts within about an hour's drive of the property as well. It may also act as a place to stay on long drives for people traveling to or from Canada as it's right on the border. The only issue is, there isn't really any infrastructure in the town such as grocery stores, liquor stores, etc. These are all about a 30 minute drive. There is a small country store but that's about it. There is a border patrol office and the road goes right into Canada but I'm not sure if that makes much of a difference? 

The other question is operating the airbnb. I live in RI and it's about a 5 hour drive from my house. I would have to find cleaning services, handymen, plumber, electrician, etc and it may be difficult being so rural. Other things like landscaping and trash removal would also have to be done (no municipal trash removal in this area). Whoever was servicing it would probably have to drive an hour just to get there. While it would be so awesome to have a free place to stay when I go skiing in the winter, is it actually feasible? 

Please let me know your thoughts!

Thank you very much!

@Brett Bessette Not sure if anyone has mentioned this already yet but you can call and ask the utility companies for that information specific to the property. Not sure if North Providence uses Providence Water for their supplier but you can look it up. Then sewer is likely handled by Narraganset Bay Commission. Call them and ask for the average bills. They should be able to supply you with the numbers.

@Michael Craig @Max T. @Nathan G. The technician quoted me at $5300 to replace the boiler and water heater. Does that seem like a reasonable price or is that high? I’m sure pricing is a bit different in your respective areas but anything helps

@Max T. Water heaters are around the same price where I am. I’m was in a pinch and didn’t have the time to research what one to get (came home to water on the basement floor after work). I ended up buying a “middle of the road” water heater. Not the cheapest but not the most expensive either

@Bernardino Graziano Wow, that’s insane!! I’ve never heard of a water heater lasting that long! Haha. I agree though, I’d like to swap this one out before it’s too late. The one I replaced myself was the water heater for my unit luckily. Plus that was back in July. Needless to say I was happy it happened when it did. I also found it in time before it flooded my basement and ran up my water bill!

@Jerry Lucker Thanks for your reply. Are your thoughts to replace with traditional style or with the new style?