All Forum Posts by: Ruth Blue

@Jesse Vasquez My mom @Rhonda Blue did a 1031 exchange when we lived in Orange County, CA in 2018. She transitioned and bought 4 cabins in East TN. It is a great airbnb vacation area. WE now live here and have tons of friends who own here as well from CA! 

This thread has gone in many different angles and touched on tons of awesome Smoky Mtn issues. Sadly builders do seem to look at out of state owners who want to build as a cash cow. I'm local and we have been helping some other buyers of land get quotes and set up info. NOT easy. Such a beautiful place but wow. What @Collin Hays said about shaking hands and face to face especially helpful if your a man are true. Anyway, Wish the prices for new build listings were not going up so so high, Wondering where the cap will be. 

Auto responder to inquiry is absolutely necessary. We use the program YOUR PORTER because (we love the multiple calendar view) and have instant responses set up. Pet fee?, Pool opened dates? It never ends because everyone seems to be in a hurry these days and they do not read the full listing description before shooting off a question. We have pretty good luck with bookings from inquiries. Feels like people sometimes just want to make sure another person is on the other end of the conversation.   

Congrats on your first one! I recommend TurnoverBNB to help with hiring cleaners. We know a few other investors in the area who have had great success using this app. Also there is a facebook group specifically for US called  Smoky Mountains VR Owners Only that you can join. They give recommendations and referrals. It is a closed group only for owners. 

We are closing on my first cabin this month. Super excited, partnered with my mom @Rhonda Blue. This is a unique area where there is an advantage to all size rentals. Recommend you look for a size that your comfortable with managing. Not sure if this is just an advertising thread but thought I'd chime in because it's an exciting area to be in! 

Woot Woot, WE are here. My mom @Rhonda Blue and myself are Investor/RE agents. Knoxville, TN.  We especially invest in the Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg area also!  

@William Nobel Congratulations on your investing portfolio to date. I would stick close to metropolitan areas. For example Knoxville has some major growth going on right now all the way down to Lenoir City area plus there are pockets that would make quality rentals around UT. Can't hurt to keep it on your radar. If your interested in Long term rentals I know that areas like Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are in desperate need of quality residential rentals to support the working population that is growing to support the vacation businesses. 

We use Your Porter and really like all the features! 

We just installed LVT into 3 rentals over the past few months and the guests plus owners love the results. It holds up well so far and the cost was affordable. Check out Floor and Decor for good deals then arrange for install with a referral contractor. It's not hard just takes a little time. Always buy 2 or 3 boxes more then you think you need. Quick tip. When installing check if the walls have already wood trim that can be removed and then lowered and reinstalled over new flooring otherwise you will want to buy and add trim which is expensive. 

My Mom @Rhonda Blue has a good licensed contractor. I will PM you.