All Forum Posts by: Collin Hays

This all depends on the property. Is it an open field?  Forested?  Running water through it?  You can throw some tents up about anywhere and rent them for something. If you can give a bit more info about the property, you can get more focused recommendations.

There are surely STR Facebook groups for this location. You will find that to be a valuable resource.

I'll second this. Tax code should never be the sole driver, or even a primary driver, in investing. Cart before the horse. I can't count the number of times I have seen investors stumbling over dollars so that they can save pennies in taxes, and in a variety of ways.

Aside from the increased rental value, properties that are on water, or have a view of the water, are going to appreciate in value at a higher rate than the others. That's because they aren't building any more oceans and rivers. When I began investing in cabins in the Smokies, I made rule that I would only buy cabins on creeks or rivers where you can catch your dinner.  They are exceedingly rare, thus very expensive, but I believe they represent an excellent long term steady income and store of value.  

I did eventually break my rule to buy a beautiful small cabin on top of a mountain.

We do comparison shopping with similar properties several days per week. It doesn't take that long.  We do tend to know what appropriate rents are for the different times of year, although you can't hold to those permanently.  For example, the market in Pigeon Forge is overrun with large cabins. If you want to rent the place, it might be for a lot less than a year or two ago, simply because the number of folks looking for a large cabin hasn't kept up with the increasing supply. This is a natural part of the boom/bust cycle of vacation rentals.

Your HOA has yearly elections for board members. Become active.

It's called "provenance", and yes, it adds value. Sometimes, A LOT.  

That is true with almost any material item. If it was owned by someone famous, and its provenance can be demonstrated, then yes, it is worth more.  

I once had a cabin in downtown Gatlinburg that had a small sleeping loft that was built out by Dolly Parton's brother back in the 1970s.  That didn't make the cabin worth more, but an interesting nugget nonetheless. Sadly, the place burned to the ground back in 2016.

 Probably this.

VRBO has a nifty AI function that supposedly repositions your photos to feature the ones getting the most hits.  I like it!

I'm not big on automating guest communication. Nothing worse than needing something and communicating with a bot.