All Forum Posts by: Leslie Anne Morris
Leslie Anne Morris has started 3 posts and replied 1252 times.
Post: Financing Tiny homes/cabins

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
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- Votes 983
It isn’t difficult if you qualify and have the down payment to get a construction loan and build. Is now the best time? It’s better than when lumber was a lot higher. If it makes sense in your market then go for it. But I’ve held a piece of land for over 2 years. Started building over a year ago and we’ve just barely got the house seat cut.
Post: Buying Turnkey/furnished STR vs creating one from the ground up

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
- Posts 1,261
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I prefer turnkey. You’re right. It cuts down on the time to get to cash flow.
Post: Smoky Mountain Slow Down?

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
- Posts 1,261
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Quote from @John Carbone:
Quote from @Nathan W.:
The May data just posted and the GSMNP is currently on trend to have the second highest annual visitor count ever.
https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSR...
That doesn't mean those visitors are staying in cabins though. It could just mean that more people are taking day trips or staying 2 nights vs 4. The vacation rental market is being affected, I'm just pointing out the data.
Thanks for the data. I do look and track this. I have a hard time believing that there were 50 percent more visitors in may than in March. Hotels in may were empty, with offerings below $50 a night and March was the total opposite except for the first week. I also go to the park 3-4 times a week for a few hours, and in March it was unbearable with crowds. In may, it was a virtual ghost town.
we need to get dollywood visits where we can see a much better representation of visitors (paid visitors) @Leslie Anne Morris any luck on that?
Post: Scammer on AirBNB

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
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We see scammers way more often on VRBO. On Airbnb we mostly just get ‘travel bloggers.’ Report them! Don’t have the address to your property anywhere public. That’s about all you can do. Of course if someone knows your property is sitting empty and they are smart enough to figure out public records then that is a whole other issue. More reason to use professional management I guess - so that your name isn’t readily available.
Post: Scammer on AirBNB

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
- Posts 1,261
- Votes 983
We see scammers way more often on VRBO. On Airbnb we mostly just get ‘travel bloggers.’ Report them! Don’t have the address to your property anywhere public. That’s about all you can do. Of course if someone knows your property is sitting empty and they are smart enough to figure out public records then that is a whole other issue. More reason to use professional management I guess - so that your name isn’t readily available.
Post: Forum or FB Group for Property Managers

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
- Posts 1,261
- Votes 983
There’s a Facebook group called Property Management Discussion.
Post: Some less spoke about STR markets

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
- Posts 1,261
- Votes 983
I met the CEO at a conference in London. This is all surmised based on their data and analytics tools. Some markers I’ve never heard of, but others near that area may say it’s a no brainer. It all depends on your perspective and honestly where you’re located in the United States. Well known vacation markets tend to be the safest bet.
Post: HELOC and Private Money to Finance Deal?

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
- Posts 1,261
- Votes 983
Quote from @Kyler J Sloan:
@Leslie Anne Morris I did factor it in, but am going to get more exact numbers from my lender soon.
Another thought: many of the improvements I make will likewise improve my other property. For instance, they share the same driveway up to a point, and I would be using a HomeStyle loan to pave the driveway, add square footage, among other things. Also, they would share the same internet bill (not much, but 100 a month saved); driveway maintenance would be almost the same for both properties, etc. I also have subdivided a parcel on the very top of the mountain to build on as soon as I pay off the private money. So, I will have 3 inter-connected cabins. Each will have different primer amenities: one a home theater; one a pool; one a gym. All will have hot tubs of course, and each will have different games in their game rooms, and so on.
There is a lot of potential long-term, although I am not certain that it exceeds the opportunity cost of investing in 2-3 smaller properties within the same span of time.
Post: HELOC and Private Money to Finance Deal?

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
- Posts 1,261
- Votes 983
Is the ROI of 20% including the debt service on the down payment sources? That has the likelihood to kill your deal. I like your reasoning about owning the hill side. Sometimes it isn't just about underwriting.
Post: Ok first post str rental agreement for my own website

- Real Estate Agent
- Smoky Mountains, TN
- Posts 1,261
- Votes 983
William Kittrell
865-546-0500