Attempting to Purchase FSBO Duplex in Burlington VT

Multi-Family and Apartment Investing
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Attempting to Purchase FSBO Duplex in Burlington VT

Jay Wargo
Investor · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote

Hey everyone! First meaningful post here so I figure I'll make it a good one. My better half and I are potentially moving to Burlington VT sometime before June when she starts classes and I'm leaning heavily on doing an owner occupied duplex. I found a FSBO, put an offer on it and had it accepted, but now we are facing some hurdles and I'm trying to get some clarification on whether or not a specific fire inspection is required by the state of Vermont for any change of ownership on a multi family property.

I think what happened is that the codes have changed since the seller has owned the property and now there are multiple changes that neither of us where aware of that need to happen in order for the property to get a C.O. with a new owner. It might even be the case that he has to make these changes regardless due to insurance and/or legal reasons. Don't know for sure.

If anyone has any general or specific advice, I'd love to hear it! I figure an owner occupied duplex (or even triplex if I can swing the price tag) is going to be the ticket as we can live in it for the next 3 years and rent the whole thing when she finishes up the grad program.

Thanks!

J

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Jake Marin
Rental Property Investor · Burlington, VT · Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 7 votes
7y

Hi Jay. The City of Burlington requires an annual inspection for all rentals. This inspection includes a wide variety of health and safety checks. There should be a list of requirements on the Code Enforcement site. If you can’t find it, you could contact them and ask to have the list sent to you. As part of that inspection, they do look at fire safety including such items as hard wired smokes/CO and a heating equipment inspection. 

A cool new program that that just instituted rewards getting everything done before that come to inspect. If you have 0 infractions, they will grant 5 years of inspection-free bliss. 

I’m pretty sure they will only need to inpect the unit you are renting out but I would recommend updating the whole building as you will need to get it inspected once you move out if you continue to hold and rent your unit. 

Good luck!

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  • Peter Amour
    Investor · Burlington, VT · Member since 2016 · 110 posts · 59 votes
    7y

    i have not dealt with this in a bit , but i know there are issues on windows ( egress ) they seem to change almost monthly . i do believe the fire marshall will do an inspection if the bank is involved . you will also have to deal with historic issues if its in a historic area :( what area did you buy ? chase street by any chance ?

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  • Jake Marin
    Rental Property Investor · Burlington, VT · Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 7 votes
    7y

    Hi Jay. The City of Burlington requires an annual inspection for all rentals. This inspection includes a wide variety of health and safety checks. There should be a list of requirements on the Code Enforcement site. If you can’t find it, you could contact them and ask to have the list sent to you. As part of that inspection, they do look at fire safety including such items as hard wired smokes/CO and a heating equipment inspection. 

    A cool new program that that just instituted rewards getting everything done before that come to inspect. If you have 0 infractions, they will grant 5 years of inspection-free bliss. 

    I’m pretty sure they will only need to inpect the unit you are renting out but I would recommend updating the whole building as you will need to get it inspected once you move out if you continue to hold and rent your unit. 

    Good luck!

    2Reply
  • Peter Amour
    Investor · Burlington, VT · Member since 2016 · 110 posts · 59 votes
    7y

    yes, every landlord is required to do minimum housing inspections , i have never had them tell me i need bigger window/ windows , those issues always seem to come up at time of sale :( to be honest the law seems to change so often , i am not sure they always know . i would think they may even have a copy of last min. housing inspection , i like having them done yearly , as its a good insurance policy for them to come take a look. there is always a few minor things to fix . i once had a friend who had just had an inspection , and like 2 months later had a fire , it was great to have that inspection along with his records ( unfortunately someone died )  he knew he had done what he could , ended up in the clear .

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  • John Mocker
    Insurance Agent · Norwalk, CT · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    Jay,

    Here is some info from a post I made in the past.  It may give you some idea of what the Insurance Companies are looking for in their inspections:

    "The big issue is the Knob & Tube. We represent 30 Insurance carriers and none will stay on a property once they find out about Knob & Tube.

    Check with your agent on how the companies will deal with the Galvanized pipes and the cracked supports.

    Here is list I posted about what things I have observed on inspections of properties:

    Most companies inspectors are looking for:

    1. broken/cracked driveways or walkways

    2. Stairs without railings or that need to be repaired

    3. Abandoned cars or Debris on the property

    4. blocked exits or lack of two means of egress from all floors

    5. Damaged or missing smoke detectors, CO detectors, or extinguishers

    6. Debris near electrical panel, furnace, or other combustible areas

    7. Old Electical (knob & Tube or Aluminum wiring) or fuses

    8. Unfenced pools, trampolines, ponds etch

    9. Aggressive dogs

    10. Overhanging tree branches

    Hope this all helps. You're definitely on the right track. Fix it before it becomes a issue with the company. "

    Good luck on the project

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  • Jay Wargo
    OP
    Investor · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    Peter - The house is in fact on Chase St. I've been asking around and near as I can tell, it's a circumstantial case whether or not it needs to be code compliant prior to change of ownership. I've tried reaching out to the fire marshal's office but got nothing but crickets. It's certainly not something I will let slip, I'm just trying to make sure I can get my hands on it first and then deal with what I need to.

    Jake - Appreciate the insight. If I do manage to get my hands on the property, you better believe it's going to be sorted out so I can get on that exempt list. I was definitely intending on getting the whole building up to snuff because I was intending on renting out the lower portion after 3 years anyway. Better now than later.

    John - Thanks for the extra items to keep an eye out for. I'm fairly certain all of the electrical was re-done at some point in the past to get rid of the old knob and tube style. It will need updating for smoke/CO detection. This is my first time getting into a house this old, so I'm sure I'm in for plenty more surprises as time goes on.

    Appreciate the responses from everyone! I will keep things updated as we move forward.

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  • Tom S.
    Real Estate Investor · Burlington, VT · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    @Jay Wargo   Just adding to the great advice above, closings in VT are handled by attorney, so most Burlington based attorneys should know what's required in order to legally close.

    I'm surprised the fire marshal hasn't returned your calls.  Usually you can just request an inspection and they can set it up within a week or two.

    Good luck and welcome to VT.  Burlington is a beautiful city!

     - Tom

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  • Jay Wargo
    OP
    Investor · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    @Tom S. That's interesting because the seller's attorney is the one asking whether or not my bank will require a fire inspection in order to close...? I'll pitch it back to the seller that he ought to know.

    At this point, I think that the bank financing the loan only really cares about the appraisal, so everything may work out.

    I'll keep trying with the fire marshal's office. I assume they are pretty busy.

    Looking forward to moving back east for a while!

    J

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  • Martha Nowlan
    Real Estate Agent · Waterbury, VT · Member since 2018 · 151 posts · 65 votes
    7y

    @Jay Wargo you need a real estate attorney to do a transaction in Vermont, so they should be giving you these answers personalized. Let me know if you need a recommendation but you need an attorney asap for title search and closing docs and they should be able to answer all of this.

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  • Megan Phillips
    Rental Property Investor · VT · Member since 2017 · 233 posts · 147 votes
    7y

    I had a Fire Marshal inspection prior to purchasing a duplex, my understanding is that any infractions must be fixed by the seller, at their cost, prior to close. I'd do one and let someone else pay for the fixes before they are potentially your problem. If there aren't fixes needed, even better, but at least you'll have peace of mind.

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  • Jay Wargo
    OP
    Investor · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    @Martha Nowlan The seller has been using his attorney to put the sale package together. Are you saying I should hire my own additionally? My intention was to have a legal friend here in Colorado look things over as a favor but if you are saying I need to also have an attorney for the transaction, please let me know and perhaps put me in contact with someone you might recommend.

    @Megan Phillips If that's the case, I might lose out on the deal. It's a good enough cashflowing property that I'm willing to eat some of the cost as long as the quote doesn't come back at some absurd amount to replace the windows. The big question is whether or not it needs to be fixed prior to closing, regardless of who it sells to. I'm getting a LOT of conflicting information there.

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  • Bill S.Pro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    @Jay Wargo one way to get to the bottom if issues with public officials (bureaucrats) is to have them site the code that requires the action. If someone says it must pass fire inspection, then have them point to the chapter and verse with the requirement. Many times things get made up by inspectors because they feel the duty to protect the public so they go above and beyond. It's a balancing act because sometimes it makes them mad to be called out.

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  • Martha Nowlan
    Real Estate Agent · Waterbury, VT · Member since 2018 · 151 posts · 65 votes
    7y

    @Jay Wargo In about 30 transactions in the past year, I haven't had a single party use the same attorney for the transaction. I'm not sure how you can do it otherwise, I don't think the seller's attorney is even allowed to do the title search for the buyer, that's a conflict of interest. We don't have title companies here. So yes, you need your own attorney. Different in every state but that's the case here.

    I will send you a PM with a couple of names.

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