The B and B Lady: bandbmarketplace website

Part of the research you conduct is how much experience the B&B Broker you are using has working with the buying and selling of bed and breakfasts. Be careful of companies that present themselves one way and work another.

I bought my B&B through www.bandbmarketplace.com. In 2004, this site allowed a prospective buyer to view properties through brokers in each state. The realtor who sold me this property has since been excluded from this site. According to her, the B&B marketplace is moving towards doing exclusive business with a national realty company as opposed to working with independent brokers who actually specialize in B&B's.

Despite this information, you may still find this site of interest.

One thing I liked about it is that I was able to define my search parameters. I wanted a B&B that was old. I wanted a rural location. I also wanted someplace up north where the weather is generally cooler ... and most importantly, I needed the inn to fall within a certain price range.

The on-line search engine was very useful. Given the amount of money I had available, a rather short list popped up and after touring all the facilities and meeting with their respective owners and realtors, I eventually made an offer on the Inn at Elizabethville and purchased it in April 2004.

I have no regrets about the purchase of this facility although I have a thing or two to say about the way the former owner chose to handle the transaction. But that is a story for another post.
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Inn at Elizabethville

Comments

Thanks for the information. I will check it out. It just doesn't seem to be fair to use a broker's time right now when I'm not close to being able to purchase. Really just looking for a way to investigate on my own to help me narrow down locations.

Thanks again.
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-Rhonda, Aspiring Innkeeper

Posted by: Rhonda | April 27, 2007 5:27 AM

Rhonda,

If you decide to purchase a B&B, don't make the same mistakes I did. I am very lucky that I didn't go bankrupt.

I wrote about my experiences on the "Getting a Good Deal" board of this blog.

I would also read Kit's advice about low ball offers (on the same board) and everything listed on the "Making an Offer" board.

Posted by: Anonymous | April 27, 2007 5:28 AM