All Forum Posts by: Tawny Bloom

One other thing to think about when renting is that renters don't necessarily take as good care of a property as you might so although it may look amazing now you might get a little extra wear and tear than you were expecting if you rent.  If you are only able to earn $100-200 per month is it worth the extra hassle and any other possible repairs down the road?  And do those numbers take into consideration management fees or will you be managing from VT?

When you are checking out listings make sure you are asking about all of the fees, etc.  We looked at some condos at Smuggler's Notch and even for a 1 bed condo the annual fees plus taxes totaled around $8,000-$10,000 per year.  I am not sure if all ski resorts have high fees but it is certainly something to take into consideration

I just found out the rental fee is charged to us and not them so that is no longer a question.  So I guess it is a question of what is generally easier in the long run for us.

Our tenants just signed a new 12 month lease starting June 1st.  Yesterday we noticed that the hot water heater for that unit needs to be replaced.  We have two options for replacement: 1)buy a new one (we own the current one) or 2) rent one from the gas company and we pay rental fee. I like the idea of the rental because if anything goes wrong they just call the gas company instead of us.  Thoughts?

Is this event still on?  I think my husband and I are going to try to make it.

Bigger population which would be good. I think I have seen 2 people post on Front Porch Forum over the past year looking for ideas of where to park. One thing just to consider if how much someone might be willing to pay since many tiny home dwellers are trying to reduce costs.  Good luck!

I live in Burlington and periodically someone will post about looking for a place to park their tiny house.  Not sure what the need is in Rutland but I would certainly consider having at least a few spots for rent that do have hook ups.  I would love a tiny house and although I would go the composting toilet route there is still the grey water issue. If I was paying to park my home somewhere, I know I would want hook ups.

We live in Burlington and have 3 rental units so this will directly affect us.  I do agree with the overall plan as I think the change will bring some good things like new jobs and also a better storefront design as the current mall does not provide a great shopping experience.  As far as the housing side of things, I think some new units right in town could be good but I of course do hesitate and wonder if it would affect our rentals and increase the vacancy rate, especially since the number is units is so high  My thought though is that these units will likely be more expensive and I am hoping are going after a different clientele.  At least that is my hope.  I know as a small landlord we can offer a different experience such as having a more home-like feel with a smaller duplex with a yard and a more hands on approach and just hope that these will help to make a difference for us.  Also it is going to take them quite a while to build so I hope it isn't going to be an issue at least for a few years.

Winters can be tough!  Yes, you would need to have a second boiler so there was one for each unit and then you don't have to include the heat in the the rent.  There just has to be a way to meter them separately so they would be in the name of each tenant instead of yours. You would have some up front costs but at least you wouldnt have the unknown cost for the heat. 

Any utilities that are not metered individually per unit have to be included in the rent so you can't charge a separate fee for the heat.  Just make sure the rent is high enough to cover the average annual costs (obviously higher this time of year).  You should be able to get a full year of costs from the gas/oil company so you can make a reasonable estimate.  If the boiler ever needs to be replaced I would consider looking at separating out the systems.