All Forum Posts by: Justin Beasley

Most of the time you have two choices. Sleep as many as possible or pack the place full of amenities. A 2 bedroom cabin with a theater & game room can rent with similar and sometimes better numbers than a 3 bedroom without amenities.

We have always gone with higher end furniture. No matter what furniture you purchase there will always be times it needs replaced or repaired. Well built furniture generally last longer, will provide a better experience, and is better for marketing.

East TN in general is a good investment area. Knox County, Jefferson, and Blount County are all strong long term rental markets. There is major demand for affordable housing, a low barrier of entry compared to other metro markets, and the property taxes are low. Don't love the long term market in East TN? Go buy a STR in the Smokies. There is something for just about every investor in our area.

Most people on BP are big fans of self managing so we can maximize profits. Tons of good information on the forum about how to do it. If there is something about your life that makes self managing not realistic for you then start searching on google, read reviews, call and review their management agreements, and choose the one that is best for your specific situation.

If possible, self managing is the way to go.

Knoxville can be wonderful. Can be difficult to find reliable contractors at the beginning but there are a lot of opportunities in Knox and surrounding counties. We have been most successful with smaller single family homes, and small multi-family properties(2-4 units). Have been getting between $1.25-$1.35 a square foot for LTR's.

You absolutely can refinance it. If you want to use the income produced by the property then you will need to have 1 or 2 tax returns(depending on the lender) showing the income. Find a different lender.

Self managing maximizes profitability but it isn't for everyone. It you are lazy, have horrible people skills, and couldn't care less about the experience you provide for your guest...you will probably struggle ;)  

Probably worth an inspection. Wells can have parts that break and they can even start to produce at very low levels and in some cases go dry. There are a couple of places in the Smokies where pretty much everyone in certain geographic locations have started to have issues.(certain hills/mountain sides)

If your well is struggling you can potentially drill another one. This can get expensive though. Know a guy that has drilled 4 on his property through the years. He has 100K in just his wells! 

There is a website you can use to see every well that has been dug in the area. I use it before I purchase any land to look at how wells around the property have performed and what depths they had to drill to. The performance of a well and depth needed to drill can changed drastically in a very small footprint but it helps to identify any consistent issues an area seems to be having.

LINK TO THE WEBSITE HERE

Tell your "friend" he is not as smart as he thinks he is and he will be much better off in the long run learning to play by the rules. If he has to break rules to make a profit then he needs to take the time to learn the in and outs of investing before actually investing.

We have and use a HELOC. Personally, I never plan to wait more than one year to get out of the HELOC. Typically it is a quick flip deal, refinance within 1 year, etc. The adjustable rates deter us from doing anything more than quick transactions with it.

Used our HELOC to make cash offers in the past year, but thankfully we have not had to do that with the shifting market.

What I am trying to say is that HELOCs can be a good tool but should only be used when you have a lot of exit options and plan to move that property through selling it or refinancing it in the immediate future. You do not want to be stuck with a high adjustable interest rate.