All Forum Posts by: Samantha Hiscock

$300 for utilities all year? No. In that market you'll likely be paying the heat. Where are you getting the $800 per unit number from? The gross rent is 22800, or 1900 monthly, so you are off a bit on that one too. 

In Franklin County, HUD FMR (all utilities included) is as follows:

studio- $927

1bed- $1101

2bed-$1416

3bed-$1777

4bed- $1918

That is 100% correct. Vermont is one of the most tenant friendly states and the real estate laws and common practices differ from the rest of the country. If you want to invest in VT you really need boots on the ground. 

Yes, we finished the rehab and were able to do a cash out refi. This was about 18 months ago, but we secured a rate of 4.25% on a 15 yr fixed. The bank did the DTI calculations to assume that the sofi loan and things like the lowes credit card would be paid off and we had no issue. I would do it again in an instant.

I've got multiple properties insured with Vermont Mutual. They always seem to come do an inspection and jack up the rate another $200 even though I fix the minor repairs they seem necessary. Flood insurance is another killer that is often twice what the previous owner paid.

Not necessarily an unexpected cost, but highly variable is plowing. I have had years where its $400 for the season and others where its $1800 because of heavy repeated snowfall. 

We got hit with a $1700 bill to heat treat bedbugs after purchasing a new property. Never had done that before, but I am now considering adding a pest control line item as quarterly- or semi-annual inspections.  

Well.. hes not the Mayor anymore, but he does own quite a bit. I know him well.  I've got a handful of properties in Barre also. 

Your projected rents are higher than stated, why? I definitely think your repair numbers seem a little low, that place is ROUGH! You also have nothing allocated for heat or electric, which is completely unrealistic to expect that the tenants are responsible for utilities just because they are separated. This local market pretty much has heat included in a multi of that size. What is the snow removal plan?  What is your managnent plan? You're 6 hours away, have you lined anything up yet? It may be harder than you expect, as that's a dinky little town and there isnt really a property management company that primarily serves that area. Do you have ANY knowledge of Vermont landlord tenant laws? I just purchased a property with an active eviction- 11 months through the court and 5 prior to that. 16 months with zero rental income and now about $8k in repairs to re-rent. That's pretty typical if you need to evict. 

I am not saying it's not a worthy investment, I just think that if you dont have serious knowledge of the area and typical rental practices it isnt a fair assessment to just put some numbers into an online calculator and expect that you're going to be getting the cashflow you anticipated. 

Property taxes are high and it's very tenant friendly. 

https://www.bz-attorneys.com/angela_zaikowski.php

She is an attorney and runs the state landlord association. Her specialty is evictions and landlord/tenant law in Vermont. 

I'm in Barre. I owner occupied my first, a 4 unit bought with an FHA. Wholesaling is tricky. For a multi in the Barre or Rutland area you should only need about 6k maximum, for downpayment and closing costs. I don't know much about Rutland, but in Barre we have a very active group of landlords and if you have a question there is always someone willing to help.