All Forum Posts by: Patrick M.

Greetings all- I'm looking seriously into the area around Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, and Banner Elk as a place to pick up a 2 br or 3 br Short Term Rental. It seems like Sugar has a longer ski season, but there may be more to do year round on Beech (Mountain biking, Land of Oz, etc).

Is this accurate? Does this matter? Or do people just pop in their car and drive from one of these places to another in a heartbeat?

I'm starting to buy some data and look into the numbers, but beyond that - can anyone speak to the differences in STR viability among these places, if there are differences? Thanks for any insights!

@Jerry Calhoun you're the first person I've heard discuss positive condo performance as opposed to cabins. Down payment-wise, condos have a much lower point of entry cost. Could you share some ideas about what you think makes a promising condo STR in this market?

This may be for @Collin Hays, but anyone else feel free to jump in...when a long distance investor is paying a local PM to manage a STR in the Smokies, are the costs of listing/booking fees on AirBNB/VRBO/etc included in the percent the PM is charging? Or are those separate from the PM fees? Can someone run down a list of "what's included" and "what's not" when you're hiring a local PM? I'm trying to build a ROI spreadsheet and this would be very helpful.

Thanks!

Another question for this group - how is high-speed internet availability in the Smokies? Is it consistent 100 MBps all around, or does one need to be careful in making sure you purchase a cabin that has high-speed internet access? What's the best way to ensure your property has high-speed internet ahead of buying? Just check the Comcast/Xfinity website, etc? Do you see people/families coming for "work-cations" where someone maybe works 2-3 days of a week and hangs out with family for the rest? 

Looking at some Smokies listings again today. Clearly in the current market getting in at a condo/townhome/attached unit is much more affordable on purchase price on a standalone cabin most of the time. Of course there are more likely to be higher HOA fees on the attached units. Can anyone speak to how much going with a condo/townhome impacts the profitability of STRs? Do they do better than cabins because of their lower debt carrying costs? Do they do worse due to higher fees and lower per-night rental rates? Does their vacancy perform similar to standalone cabins?

Glad to see this thread. I've just started researching the Smokies for STR. I'm trying to understand the geography and the attractiveness of particular locales. Is it better to be near the GSM National Park? To Dollywood? Is elevation and view more important than how close you are to key attractions? In cities people want to be downtown where all the action is, at the coast people want to be beachfront. It seems more complicated here. If anybody has insights on these questions or submarkets in the Sevierville/Pigeo Forge/Gatlinburg area, I'd welcome your perspective!

Thank you for this update. Does this functionally mean that STRs remain legal in all of Vermont, but subject to local restrictions where they exist? I am interested in looking into Stowe/Smugglers Notch, Mt Snow area, Killington/Pico, and perhaps others.

 Karen - I tried reaching out via DM but I think I messed it up somehow. I would love to hear more about your numbers on Mt Snow.

Greetings all - after years of success with Cozy, Apartments.com has completely failed with one of my two tenants, and is not helping after numerous emails to customer support. I need a new electronic rent collection system.

With only managing 2 rentals myself, I'm looking for:

-ACH transactions that are free to both tenant and landlord

-ideally zero monthly fee, but if not, something under $10

-Easy to use

-nice to have: Allows for one-time charges

What is your NON-Cozy / NON-Apartments.com recommendation, and why? Tell me!  Thanks.

Wow! Great responses all around.

@Arn Cenedella Thank you for making the point about where to transition from going it alone. I think in an ideal world, that would be my preference, so I've looked more at 4-8 units than 12-16. I got to visit #yeahthatGreenville one year ago today for business, and it seems like a great place to invest. Is there a significant small MF component to the housing stock there?

@Jonathan R McLaughlin I did not know they would consider the building being purchased in the Net Worth calcs. Interesting! My current lender of choice is a portfolio credit union. I've built a relationship with a senior lending officer at the nearby branch and she knows and understands what we're trying to accomplish. I recently brought a balance sheet to them to get a HELOC on one of our rentals. While their terms are not super-creative, they are low-fee and low-rate. So I think if I found a four-unit I would simply work with them doing a 20% down 80% LTV loan. Those 1.2 and 1.4 DSCR numbers are super helpful, and I appreciate you listing what to include, which all makes sense. Love the risk assessment idea, too. Thank you! My family grew up along the red line (Dorchester,Quincy,etc) in Boston. Would love to hear where you invest in greater Boston if you're willing to share.

@Danny Randazzo excellent suggestion. I joined the local REIA to do this kind of networking a few weeks before COVID hit, which has definitely slowed networking progress. Hoping to get more connected with others locally in the coming year. I've been messaging some locals on BP in the meantime. My lawyer, who has 13 units, may be a resource in this regard, too.

@Evan Polaski My first year of landlording taught me that I don't like and should not do repairs. I enjoy deal analysis, building financial models, and structuring how to deploy money and debt for improving ROI. I'll have to think more about what you said in regards to working with investors. Not sure if I'd be more excited to have a partner or more worried that I might lose their money. Hopefully most of the former with a healthy respect for the latter.

@Justin Goodin thanks for the encouragement and would love to hear more about your deal structure (who does what, how much capital each partner puts in, who gets returns in which order, etc) if you reach a point where sharing feels appropriate to you.

Again- great information here and thanks to you all!