Lean Real Estate

Lean Real Estate 📍Serving all Vermont
🏘️ Real estate investing & renting tips
🏔️ Hosts of the Vermont Real Estate Meetup

Not going to pretend we've got this all figured out. Advances in AI are still moving fast, and we're still learning what...
09/03/2026

Not going to pretend we've got this all figured out. Advances in AI are still moving fast, and we're still learning what's actually useful versus what just feels productive without doing much.

But we've noticed most landlords stop at level one: using AI to draft a message. There's a lot more people are experimenting with, sanity-checking deal numbers before an offer, getting a first pass on lease documents before a purchase, turning raw expense data into a readable monthly summary. Some of it's genuinely useful. Some of it needs a lot more human oversight than people give it credit for.

We broke down where we've seen this actually add value, and where we're still keeping a human firmly in the loop.

Comment "GUIDE" and we'll send it your way. 🤖

Know a great speaker for the Vermont Real Estate Meetup? 🗣️ We’re lining up our 2027 lineup and looking for folks to pr...
09/02/2026

Know a great speaker for the Vermont Real Estate Meetup? 🗣️

We’re lining up our 2027 lineup and looking for folks to present!!

We typically schedule something the first Mon, Tue, or Wed of each month at 6:30pm at Burlington Beer Co., but dates are flexible and we’ll work with you.

It’s completely free, and a great way to share your story and get in front of future clients. 🙌

We’re open to having just about anyone present, but especially looking for commercial investors, attorneys, CPAs/tax pros, and lenders.

If someone comes to mind, tag them below or send us a DM. 👇

Huge thank you to Mike Preshman for making the trip up from MA to speak at last night’s Vermont Real Estate Meetup. He w...
09/02/2026

Huge thank you to Mike Preshman for making the trip up from MA to speak at last night’s Vermont Real Estate Meetup. He walked us through how he scaled to 240 units without any outside equity partners, and where he’s headed next as he transitions into commercial.

A few lessons that stuck with the room:

1. All he knows is that he knows nothing. True humility isn’t performative, it’s staying curious and asking questions even after you’ve seen success, instead of talking like you’ve got it all figured out.

2. Skate to where the puck is going. Staying ahead of the curve means reading the writing on the wall early and positioning yourself before the trend is obvious to everyone else, not scrambling to catch up once it is.

3. Every business is a dumpster fire. Some are just more profitable than others. 😊

4. Attribute your wins to luck before skill. It’s easy to underestimate how much comes down to being in the right place at the right time (Mike referenced Annie Duke’s Thinking in Bets, drawing on her pro poker career, for anyone who wants to go deeper on misattribution error and thinking in odds. Her book How to Decide is also worth a read for the same lens applied to everyday choices).

5. His back of the napkin approach to commercial deals: price per sqft / replacement cost, and price per sqft / rent per sqft. Simple math that allows you to see if the deal is worth digging into.

We’ve already gotten so much great feedback from folks who were there. Grateful for speakers like Mike who show up and give it to us straight. 💯

See you at the next one!

Most paths to homeownership start with a bank saying yes. Rent-to-own flips that order.You don’t need to be mortgage-rea...
08/26/2026

Most paths to homeownership start with a bank saying yes. Rent-to-own flips that order.

You don’t need to be mortgage-ready to start. You move in, lock in your price, and build credit toward the purchase while you work on getting bank-qualified, on your timeline, not the bank’s.

Comment “GUIDE” for the full post on how we structure these deals. 🏡

This month, Mike Preshman breaks down the back-of-napkin math and buy-box criteria he uses to evaluate multifamily and c...
08/20/2026

This month, Mike Preshman breaks down the back-of-napkin math and buy-box criteria he uses to evaluate multifamily and commercial real estate deals. 📈 Come with plenty of questions!

We just closed on 5 new rentals across 2 new properties in Burlington!✨ We did it through something called a 1031 exchan...
08/14/2026

We just closed on 5 new rentals across 2 new properties in Burlington!✨

We did it through something called a 1031 exchange. Here’s the simple version: instead of selling a property and pocketing the cash, the proceeds get rolled directly into new properties, as long as it all happens within specific timelines set by the IRS. Once the original property sells, there’s a 45-day window to identify the replacement properties, and 180 days total to close on them. No extensions, no exceptions, so the whole process moves fast once the clock starts.

Think of it less like “selling” and more like “trading up.” The equity we built with our Manchester property didn’t disappear into a bank account, it moved forward with us into these two properties instead.

There’s a golden rule a lot of experienced investors live by: never sell. And if you do have to sell, make sure you 1031 the proceeds. Real estate is one of the few assets where you can keep trading up indefinitely without your capital ever sitting still.

Luckily with this deal, we’re walking into nearly another $150k in equity based on the purchase price compared to the appraised values. Excited for the potential with these two new properties! 🏘️

NOW LEASING: 104 N Champlain St, Unit 3📍 Burlington, VT🛏️ 1 Bed | 🛁 1 Bath💰 $1,250/mo | Available 8/17 Will be freshly p...
08/04/2026

NOW LEASING: 104 N Champlain St, Unit 3
📍 Burlington, VT
🛏️ 1 Bed | 🛁 1 Bath
💰 $1,250/mo | Available 8/17

Will be freshly painted before move-in! 2nd-floor unit, and landlord covers water/sewer, trash, snow removal & landscaping.

Steps from downtown Burlington’s best coffee, food, and the waterfront. Perfect for city living without the extra chores!

DM or contact us to schedule a showing. 📲

Short-term rentals get blamed a lot for Vermont's housing crisis. So we went and looked at the actual published data fro...
08/04/2026

Short-term rentals get blamed a lot for Vermont's housing crisis. So we went and looked at the actual published data from VTSTRA, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, and regional housing studies.

What we found: STRs make up a small share of Vermont's housing stock, most of the state's vacant homes were never headed to the long-term market anyway, and a 2023 New Hampshire study found no link between STR growth and rising rents. The real drivers look more like constrained construction, land-use rules, and a genuine shortage of homes being built.

Meanwhile, STR income is what funds a lot of our long-term rental improvements, new systems, safety upgrades, and the deferred maintenance many of these buildings needed for years. Long-term rentals run on thin margins on their own, so this reinvestment model is what actually makes it possible.

Want the full breakdown with sources? Comment "GUIDE" and we'll send it your way. 🏠

Hey VT investor community! As we tighten our buy box and are coming across more deals than we can take down ourselves, w...
08/03/2026

Hey VT investor community! As we tighten our buy box and are coming across more deals than we can take down ourselves, we're leaning harder into wholesaling this year.

If you or someone you know is actively buying flips/rehabs in Vermont and we haven't connected with you directly yet, drop a comment or shoot me a message. Would love to know:

+ What counties/towns are you targeting?
+ Price point / ARV range you like to work in
+ Property type (SFH, multi, etc.) and rehab scope you're comfortable with
+ Cash or hard money / timeline to close

We're not trying to build a massive list, just want to make sure the good leads land with the right people fast. If you've already reached out to Mike, Megan, or Mady before, no need to resubmit, you're on our radar.

Comment or DM anytime!

Vermont's housing shortage isn't about picking a side. It's a shared problem, and we think there's a real path where hou...
07/28/2026

Vermont's housing shortage isn't about picking a side. It's a shared problem, and we think there's a real path where housing and conservation both win.

In our latest post, we break down what's actually slowing construction down, why Act 250 had pushed growth outward instead of upward, and why building up instead of out might be the answer both sides can get behind.

Want the full article? Comment "GUIDE" and we'll send it your way. 🏗️

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