All Forum Posts by: Julie Williams

@Jill F. that is the saddest thing I have ever read on Bigger Pockets. 

@Ronald Allen Barney Thanks for the point about the drug remediation industry. Very unlikely to be a shooting, not that kind of area, but plenty of addicts. The house went under contract in two days (not with me). It has gotten to the point in Vermont that as long as there aren't dead bodies lying around, everything sells very fast and well over asking. 

@Mark S. Oh, I believe in "good and bad auras or vibes" too, but I also know how to clear them. I am more concerned about actual chemical contamination or criminals who lived in the house that a parent owned showing up after they get out of jail.  

@Anthony King when you say the house could relapse, what do you mean? That drugs in porous materials could outgas or powder could be missed? I was watching videos about fentanyl made my a company that cleans up drug labs. Terrifying and dangerous stuff. 

@Malcomb Stapel Springfield is not a blighted town, but a town that is struggling to overcome problems. The foreclosure is on a beautiful country road. The home selling on the MLS is in an attractive but modest middle class neighborhood with vintage homes on city lots, some in OK shape, some really well kept. Like many New England towns, you can have a couple of beautiful homes next to a couple of OK homes next to a dump! Some parts are beautiful but there is very little expensive real estate. It's a cool town. It used to be an industrial town and when the industries died, it left a lot of empty commercial space. Entrepreneurs brought in world class internet and are trying to attract businesses who need lots of cheap space, with some success. The arts are strong there and it has a great food co-op and a brewery. I had heard a lot of bad stuff about it, and was shocked how cute the downtown was when I first drove through it. I read four months of the police report and most of the crime is small potatoes, but there are definitely drug issues and the accompanying tragedies that brings. The armed robberies were shocking, unusual events. I think with how unaffordable most of New England is becoming, Springfield will come way up over time. Honestly, working poor and what is left of the middle class are running out of places to go. I am most concerned about Fentanyl contamination. Even a minuscule amount is highly toxic.

@Joshua Janus Thank you for the response. I am trying to move there from out of state and I have no team as of yet. I also am having a knee replacement later this year, so I am being careful not to take on anything difficult until I have recovered fully! Sounds like I made the right call. 

@darrell lee thanks for the response. I will continue to read your posts with great interest. 

@Keith Richardson Did you buy anything? Love the Upper valley. Trying to move there from coastal Massachusetts. Very difficult market right now. 

A town I like in Vermont, Springfield, has good prices in the otherwise insane Vermont real estate market, in part because it has a fair amount of crime, although the amount of crime is still well under than the U.S. average. I was interested in a vacant foreclosure (the owner is deceased) but found out his son has major drug history, including selling heroin, and was arrested at the house last year, well after his father's death. (Gotta love Google.) I was going to run up there tomorrow to go see a different house that was just listed. Well, the owner is in custody without bail as an alleged armed robber. He also served time for dealing cocaine. A small amount of heroin and empty fentanyl wrappers and live ammo were found in the house after his arrest. Would you let history like this deter you from purchasing a house a. for tenants b. to fix and flip c. for yourself? Would you write a contingency that the house be tested for drugs? Any thoughts on what tests to order and the cost of that testing? What about a foreclosure that you can't enter before buying? I'm new and think it is wise to skip these places but maybe instead I am missing some opportunities. 

@Bud Gaffney I have no intention of breaking the law. I have read extensively on this topic since may last post and it is not illegal, as long as you break out the owner occupied unit and do not deduct expenses for that unit. I have run numbers on the scenario and it does not look like it it worth doing, however, since to stay on the right aide of the law the owner, as an owner occupant, has to pay market rent.