Kate O'Connor and Kerry O'Connor Amidon

Investing in a community — a neighborhood — for 48 years

‘Our parents often told us that they never made money from the rental properties. We didn’t know how true that was.’

In a recent commentary, Selectboard member Brandie Starr called into question the commitment that landlords have to providing affordable housing. She asked, “Landlords, what do you want to invest in? Are you investing strictly in the property, with the highest cash value? Or are you invested in the community in Brattleboro?”

We'd like to answer that question by sharing our story.

Our parents were landlords in Brattleboro for 48 years.

They started as renters, living in a second-floor apartment on Brook Street. In 1966, they bought the house that we grew up in and they called home for 54 years. They became landlords in 1971 when they purchased the first of three rental properties they would go on to own.

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