All Forum Posts by: Wilson Hunter

"The Carolinas" are awesome, however, the STR markets in the Carolinas are wildly different from each other. OBX shares almost nothing in common with the Charleston beaches. The NC side of the Smokies also has nothing in common with the Gatlinburg market on the Tennessee side. Start by researching the specific areas.

It‘s not possible to get into any Carolina vacation market with $25k. You should have at least $25k after closing on the property in order to run an effective STR. Be wary of anyone trying to convince you to pull the trigger with $25k, especially if they're trying to sell you a house or give you a loan.

5 Votes

Cool to see all the Greenville folks in the STR forum, nice listing!

1 Vote

Quote from @Nathan W.:

@John Carbone I was there a couple of weeks ago and I thought it felt pretty dead too. It will be interesting to see April and May's numbers. I expect to see a decline.
I keep hearing about more and more layoffs. I think we are likely to hit a recession which is why it's so important to stress test your numbers when you make an investment. Unfortunately most people don't. I'm a long term buy and hold investor though and I think even if we do have a slow year or two it will bounce back.

I also think inflation is real and just getting started. I keep seeing stories like Raising Cane's raises average wages to $19.50 an hour. People got used to those government checks during the pandemic and they aren't willing to live with less. That's going to force companies to pay more and keep inflation going for a while.

As far as the slow season, I always heard that January, February, May and September are the slow months.

Raising Canes was my first job 14 years ago at $7.25 per hour

0 Votes

Quote from @Leslie Anne Morris:

Quote from @Chris Noles:

@Leslie Anne Morris what do you consider best amenities?

Hot tub, pool table and Mountain View.

Wow, pool table? In my opinion a pool table is a waste of space. I assume you want a rec room with something like a pool table in 4+ BR cabins, but I cringe at the lost ROI when I see a pool table dominating the loft of a 1-2 BA cabin.

3 Votes

Thanks guys

0 Votes

Now that I have Airbnb and VRBO traction on multiple vacation properties I would like to explore creating a direct booking website for family, friends, and repeat guests to book without all the platform fees.

What are recommendations on website service that allows for (1) multiple properties (2) running transactions (3) synced calendars?

Thank you!

2 Votes

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Hey @Wilson Hunter, what are they planning on doing with it in the long run?

He's going to live there in retirement. I think it should gross $10k a month or so as a STR. Might not be worth it for a short time period but thought I'd put it out there.

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Wilson Hunter

Wilson Hunter has started 19 posts and replied 209 times.

Post: Big Budget - Top Destinations

Post: Is it insane to manage your own STR?

Post: Mike's Deal of the Day - May 5th 2023

Post: STR Location in "The Carolinas"...

Post: My STR in Greenville SC

Post: Smoky Mountain Slow Down?

Post: Smoky Mountain Slow Down?

Post: Direct booking website

Post: Direct booking website

Post: Arbitrage opportunity - Lake Hartwell