Archive for the 'Buying an Inn or B&B' Category

As a former innkeeper and a persistent lover of beautiful things, my heart belongs to the inns and bed and breakfasts across Vermont. This is where the body takes ease and the heart takes flight. You might imagine that the universal symbol for such a bastion of bliss, especially here in Vermont, would be the apple, or perhaps the maple leaf. But you’d be wrong. It’s the pineapple.

Even here in Vermont, the pineapple is the symbol of good hospitality. In the New World, this symbol dates back to Christopher Columbus. “The first encounter between a European and a pineapple occurred in November, 1493, when Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage to the Caribbean region, lowered anchor in a cove off the lush, volcanic island of Guadaloupe and went ashore to inspect a deserted Carib village.” (from the Social History of the Pineapple – levins.com)

Renaissance Europe, upon Columbus’s return, was thrilled with the sweet fruit. Later, in the 1600s, King Charles II coveted the pineapple and it became a symbol of royal privilege.

Meanwhile, back in the States, the pineapple took on a life of its own. Because socializing in one another’s homes was the primary form of entertainment in the Colonial era, the concept of hospitality was at the forefront of civil intercourse. This hospitality was centered on food (much as it still is in many of my favorite Vermont bed and breakfasts and country inns).

In this setting, it was only a matter of time before culinary rivalries developed. The victors (those most hospitable) graced their elaborate tables with the Queen Pine, the pineapple. Recipients of such grand hospitality were honored and the pineapple became a lasting symbol of friendship and hospitality incorporated into architecture, furnishing, even china patterns.

The Shoreham Inn is a pineapple’s dream. It is the perfect example of the friendship and hospitality pineapples have come to symbolize. The Gastropub is without rival. Beloved by guests and locals alike, the Shoreham Inn has become an Addison County institution. This dear gathering place is on the market.

Though the Gastropub usually serves only fresh, local food, I’m sure pineapples will be a welcome addition to the menu.

For sweethearts across the country, cozy Vermont Inns are the stuff of dreams. Especially in the Fall. Open your mind’s eye for a minute. Imagine crisp evening air, a crackling fire in the hearth and an exquisite meal of local food. Now lean back with a snifter of cognac, make it Calvados in honor of the apple season, and a slice of Banoffi pie and you are as near to heaven as you can get here in Central Vermont.

“Smoke wafted from the chimney, and two benches in front sat empty. I opened the red front door and to my surprise, about a dozen people were inside, waiting for dinner and sipping wine. The warm smell of comfort food wafted from the restaurant. The inn was exactly what I had imagined: creaky wooden floors, wood-beamed ceilings and a living room with cozy couches and a piano.” New York Times October 18, 2009

This dreamy Vermont vacation is yours at the Shoreham Inn – you can win this weekend in an online contest or earn it the old fashioned way (make a reservation). Here are some great realities that support this dream weekend vacation:

• The New York Times loves the Shoreham Inn
• The Wall Street Journal loves the Shoreham Inn
• The comfort food at the Gastropub is to die for – the menu changes daily according to what is fresh and local
• Banoffi Pie
• The Inn is quaint as hell – this Historic Vermont Inn was built in 1790; some rooms are in a modernized historic timber frame barn
• There are no televisions at the Inn
• This Inn is a blissful escape from the hustle and bustle, but is still spitting distance to one of Vermont’s cultural meccas: Middlebury College
• Je suis triste, mais Paris in the Springtime cannot hold a candle to Autumn in Vermont

Now here’s the dreamy vocation part of this missive: You can own this fabulous Vermont B&B and make dreams come true for hundreds of visitors every year. The Shoreham Inn is for sale! And not for the reasons you might expect to see an historic inn hit the real estate market. The Inn is a hugely successful B&B with a devoted following of return guests (in fact, business here grew during the recession) and the Gastropub is beloved by the local community (read: steady, reliable income). But the fact is that Molly and Dominic are ready for the next big thing. And now, the Shoreham Inn could be your next big thing!

Have you ever dreamed of owning a Vermont Bed and Breakfast? It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee…at the Inn…in the middle of the Champlain Valley…in Vermont.

So many of us in Vermont travel during the holiday season, but the lucky ones stay in. The very lucky ones stay Inn. There is nothing quite as spectacular as spending the holidays holed up in front of a fire in a Vermont B&B. The Fox Creek Inn in Chittenden has a fireplace in almost every room – and one in each common room. They could be yours…

If you have ever considered owning a B&B, the holidays this year might just push you over the edge. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the forecast for late December through January calls for lots of snow. Fox Creek Inn must be seen under a blanket of white. Chittenden is less than 15 minutes away from downhill skiing at Killington. The Fox Creek Inn is less than two miles  away from world class cross country skiing and snowshoeing in Central Vermont.

The MLS description for this property is also pretty persuasive: “The Fox Creek Inn is tucked away in a quiet, tree-filled valley complete with it’s own trout-stocked creek. A member of Select Registry, it is one of Vermont’s most enchanting hospitality destinations, offering quintessential country ambiance, amenities, and service.” Take the Christmas carol “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” and substitute the little town of Chittenden and you’ll start to get into the spirit of this wonderful place.

And then let’s think about the Yuletide. “Yule” has its pagan roots in the Norse mid-winter festival, “jol.” Some relate yule to an Indo-Europoean root word meaning “to go around.” And the “tide” in Yuletide is from Old English, meaning “division of time.” Some break down Yuletide to mean simply “time” or “season.” Using holiday algebra – we can interpret “Yuletide greetings” as “Happy go-around Time” or maybe even “it’s a great time for a happy change.” 2012 could be the year you become an innkeeper.

Here are a few of the amenities at Fox Creek Inn:

• 8 bedrooms – all with private baths, most with fireplaces
• Full furnishings
• Greeting room
• Den
• Equipment shed
• Workshop
• The Pub and wine cellar
• Exposed wood interiors
• The dining room seats 25
• Commercial kitchen
• Butler’s pantry
• Office with reservation system
• Stocked trout stream
• 7-bedroom Guest House

Contact me for more information about this amazing Vermont Inn. Yuletide Greetings!

The is the National Bank of Middlebury. We've worked with them for years.

The short answer? Much more than it used to. There was a day when banks approached us. Once you could get a loan for a hospitality property based solely on a great business plan. Today it is a bit more complicated. Now banks want to see more money, more business experience and another source of income.

To get your foot in the door many banks require 20% Down. To make it work with your bank, you’ve got to approach them with better business plans and greater flexibility.

These days when you buy and inn or B&B, the bank often wants to see another source of income. In the hospitality industry, this can be a nice possibility. You can telecommute from a beautiful inn. The right inn or B&B will provide you with a great place to live (rent-free) and room to keep your office.

Here are some other ways to improve your chances of getting that commercial loan:

• Work with an experienced Realtor who knows lodging properties.
• Research your options. Look at commercial loan terms from different banks and other commercial lenders. Try several banks. Don’t give up.
• Get a great lawyer.  Find a commercial real estate attorney who specializes in hospitality properties.
• Have a great business plan. Make sure your business plan is water tight. Show your business strengths; Plan for contingencies, Back it up with good data. Here are some tips from the SBA.
• Have some cash to put down
• Look into SBA Loan programs

Take courage. Small banks are ready to talk to you. From a recent story on Marketplace (an American Public Media radio program): “A small bank that is strong, they want to do business with you right now. So you should go talk to them.” We had great luck with the National Bank of Middlebury and will be happy to introduce you.

$ image credit: SBA

Stick season in Vermont is a good time to take stock and determine if you have what it takes to be an innkeeper or run a B&B in the Green Mountain state. Traditionally this time of year marked a time of ending and rebirth (Samhain for the Celts, All Saints Day in the Roman Catholic Church, Day of the Dead in Mexico). For the B&B owner, it’s a short breather between leaf peepers and Christmas revelers.

There are many great innkeeper examples in our culture from the innkeepers who kicked out Mary and Joesph to national and regional innkeepers associations in the US and abroad.

In the 1570′s the rowdy crowds drawn by theatrical performances were frowned upon by the London establishment, so innkeepers stepped in to host Shakespeare’s plays. Sure it was a great business strategy to provide bed and breakfast to a captive audience of mead-happy thespians, but innkeepers became the benefactors of great art. (more…)

My favorite Brit tells me that the UK has the best B&Bs in the world. I don’t doubt it, but as a New Englander, and former inn-keeper, I have to defend my own. While the Bed and Breakfast industry in Vermont is not the £2 billion ‘cottage industry’ it is in the UK, Vermont B&Bs are nothing to sneeze at.

For several years I was co-proprietor with my husband John K. Nelson of the Swift House, a Middlebury landmark. Of course it still ranks high on my list of fabulous Vermont B&Bs. There are hundreds of notable B&Bs in Vermont. Vermont Bed & Breakfast Inns provides links to most of them.

Ye Olde English Inne on the Mountain Road in Stowe comes to mind. An English couple on vacation in Stowe, Chris and Lyn Francis fell in love with Vermont and decided over lunch in 1983 to become innkeepers. To this day, Ye Olde English Inne brings Old and New England together in a wonderful inn and pub.

If you are a B&B connoisseur, you probably already know Pamela Lanier’s Bed and Breakfast Inns website. She lists B&Bs all over the world, including those in Old and New England. Compare her list of Vermont B&Bs to those in the UK, and it is easy to see that the Brits win on numbers of B&Bs (and yes the Beatles are probably better than the Monkees).

But B&Bs are one of the glories of the British tourist industry, precisely because real people run them; Vermont is also famous for real people (think Patrick Leahy, Ethan Allen, Rudy Vallee, Robert Frost, John Irving), so we can compete when it comes to character.

And it certainly takes character to run a Bed and Breakfast; I met many in Middlebury at the Swift House.

While I don’t currently have any B&Bs for sale in Middlebury, I do have a spectacular lodging property in Shelburne: It is a handsome Queen Anne Victorian and listed on the National Register of Historic Places…The Heart of the Village Inn is a centerpiece in the Village of Shelburne.

Kiplinger’s focused on “out-of-the-box thinking” in their latest search for the best 10 cities for growth and growth potential in the next decade. The three factors deemed to spark innovation, jobs and a wonderful place to live and work are smart people, great ideas and collaboration. Here’s what they say about Burlington, VT:

Burlington’s local-food movement perhaps best tells the story of how environmentalism drives much of the city’s economic growth. Many shops and restaurants along Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace, the famous pedestrian mall, serve up local goodies. A couple blocks over, the City Market/Onion River Co-Op, a community-owned grocery store, offers more than 1,000 Vermont products. (And atop the supermarket, generating 3% of the Co-Op’s energy needs — enough electricity to power six Burlington homes — are 136 solar panels from groSolar, another Vermont-based company.) And the crown jewel for locavores: The Intervale Center is a nonprofit organization that has managed 350 acres of family-owned farmland in Burlington since 1988 and provides 10% of the town’s food. “We’re 30 years ahead of the country with the local-food movement. . .”

When you first lay your eyes on Deerwood Estate, you realize why so many have fallen in love with Vermont.  With 34 acres, 750 feet of lake frontage, magnificent scenic views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains, large open meadows and well-landscaped lawns, rich history and well appointed amenities.

Deerwood Estate is centrally located in the beautiful Champlain Valley of Vermont – 20 minutes from Middlebury and the prestigious Middlebury College, 20 minutes to Vergennes, one hour to Burlington International Airport and a short drive to many of the state’s and the lake region’s great attractions and destinations.

Deerwood Estate is a newly opened Bed and Breakfast in a perfectly restored 1832 Greek Revival home. It boasts three guest rooms with wonderful public spaces; a  living room, a formal dining room, a TV room, and a gorgeous sunroom. The owners quarters have a private bath, dressing room and office. There are beautiful views of the mountains and Lake Champlain as well as 100 feet of lake front for boating and swimming. Adjoining land is available if you are interested as well as  plans and a building under construction. Some furniture will be included in the sale price and other pieces will be negotiable.

Contact Christine and John if you have any questions or would like more information about this beautiful property.

As part of the expansion of the homebuyer tax credit, existing homeowners are eligible for a $6500 tax credit (versus the $8000 credit for new homeowners). Here, Jeff Teplitz, a mortgage consultant with PrimeLending in South Burlington, answers some common questions and helps clarify this new feature of the bill. To see the full listing of changes, click here.

Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?

Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.

Question: I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20. If President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for the new $6500 tax credit?

Answer: Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment (when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.

Question: I am a first time home buyer but was not within the prior income limits at the time I entered into my contract to purchase on October 30, 2009. I will be covered,however, by the new income limits. If the new rules have been signed into law by the time I go to settlement, will I be eligible for a credit?

Answer: Yes. The new income limitations go into effect as soon as the President has signed the bill. The income limit and other eligibility rules will look to your status as of the date of purchase, which is the settlement date. So if the new rules have been signed when you go to settlement, you should be eligible for the credit (or a portion of the credit if you’re within the phaseout range).

Question: I am an eligible existing homeowner. I have a fair amount of equity in my home. I have found a home with a nonnegotiable price of $825,000. Will I be able to use any of the $6500 tax credit?

Answer: No. The $800,000 cap on the cost of the purchased home is firm at $800,000. Any amount above $800,000 makes the home ineligible for any portion of the credit. The $800,000 is an absolute ceiling.

Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the other eligibility tests?

Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000 and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The keyword here is “consecutive.” As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he did since 3 years doesn’t impact eligibility.

Question: I am an eligible first time home buyer. I entered into a contract to purchase on November 1, 2009. Do I have to go to closing before December 1? How does the extension date affect me?

Answer: You do not have to close before December 1. Once the legislation has been signed, it will be as if the Nov 30 date had never existed. Therefore, so long as the contract settles before April 30
(or July 1, worst case), the purchaser will be eligible for the credit.

According to statistics from Smith Travel Research, Yen Lee for Travel Industry Blog believes the leisure travel industry may have bottomed out. Although the numbers are the lowest they’ve been since 2002, 2009 seems to have stabilized somewhat, with projections for continued stability in the US (numbers are on the rise in Europe).

What this means is that travelers are taking the time to research great travel deals – and are expecting great deals. This may be the perfect time to promote local travel – travel close to one’s home for the experience and luxury of travel without high costs of plane tickets and rental cars. People want to travel but don’t want to break the bank or put themselves in a precarious financial position just to do so.

Running a bed and breakfast or inn in Vermont is a perfect way to encourage local travel at a reasonable price. Travelers from Quebec, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Maine, Connecticut and of course, Vermont have easy access to the treasures the Green Mountain State has to offer with just a short drive. The luxury and peacefulness of staying in a Vermont inn, having a delicious, hearty breakfast, and gorgeous surroundings at a reasonable price is enough to get people out for  a few days, or perhaps if the price is right, a week or longer.

Check out some of our past blogs about starting, owning or improving your Vermont Inn or Bed and Breakfast. Or get in touch with us with any questions – we would love to hear from you!