Updated 4 months ago on . Most recent reply
Give Me Your 2025 Success Stories
With all the concern over the last couple of years over rising costs and interest rates, oversaturated markets, and investors under water on their properties, I wanted to spread some positivity. For those who are looking to get into STR investing, the sky is not falling, you just need to be patient, research your market, and differentiate yourself for success.
My wife and I are real estate investors, co-hosts, and real estate agents in the Blue Ridge, GA market. We manage 18 properties, four of which are our personal properties. The Blue Ridge market has been getting a bad reputation over the last 2+ years of being too saturated, and popular influencers and social media personalities have cautioned investors to stay away. There are horror stories of properties sitting empty for weeks, cutting prices way below the market, and folks being underwater on their investments because they bought too high and can't cover their debt service. While this is certainly happening--and I'm sure it is in alot of markets--I'm here to show you that if you do it right, your property can outperform your expectations, even in what some consider a down market and economy.
In our portfolio (turnkeyhospitalityllc.com), we had 8 properties that had rental data for more than one year. Out of those 8, 6 performed better in 2025 vs 2024.
- Big TImber Cabin - 5br/5ba, pool, mountain views - 2024 gross rent $285k, 2025 gross rent $317k
- Play All Day Retreat - 7br/4ba, pool, theater - this one has three full years of data - 2023 gross rent $237k, 2024 gross rent $247k, 2025 gross rent $251k
- Relax and Enjoy the view - 4br/3.5ba, AMAZING view - 2024 gross rent $97k, 2025 gross rent $108k - this property almost beat i's all time high of $113k which was 2022 post-covid craziness
- White Horse Bungalow - 3br/2.5ba - Mountain Views - 2024 gross rent $60k, 2025 gross rent $73k
- White Horse Lodge - 4br/3ba, Pool, Mountain views - 2024 gross rent $146k. 2025 gross rent $161k
One of our new properties that launched late in 2024, By My Side, hit our pro forma projections of $110k and is a top 5 two bedroom property in the market.
Even the property that had significantly lower rent in 2025, The Boujee Buffalo, had a cool success story. We purchased this property in 2022. It was a home run for us--it was very unique for the market--1100 sq. ft. garage arcade/game room, sleeps 16. As the market got more competitive, rents started to drop (although it was still making us great money). So, in an effort to level up, we decided to sell it. It took some time, but we received an offer near our list price. The sale netted us roughly $450,000! With a portion of the funds, we purchased an awesome 2br/2ba , Restoration Ridge, with great views that we did some upgrades on--sauna, hot tub, cold plunge, outdoor gym--and it is on pace to be the highest grossing 2br in the market. While we are going to take a tax hit on the remaining funds, it positioned us with cash to be ready to pounce on the next great property. As for the Boujee Buffalo....the new owners wanted us to continue managing. They made some nice upgrades, furniture and an awesome 24x24 covered porch with fireplace, and it is now booking at rates higher than our best years in 2022 and 2023!
My hope with sharing all of this is to show that you can still be very successful in STR investing, even as margins have shrunk and the competition is as fierce as ever! We aggressively advertise on social media, market to our former guests, are constantly engaged with revenue management, and stay ahead of trends in our market to keep our properties as the top performers in their categories. It's definitely not passive, but the work is worth the rewards! We are an open book and always happy to have a conversation with any investors! I wish everyone the best of luck in 2026! Let's hear your wins for 2025!
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