Blue Ridge experience?

[Jon R.]

Hi all,

Hoping to connect with those of you who have STR cabins in Blue Ridge, GA. New investors or long-timers. I have an agent and a lender so I'm good there. I'm just hoping to connect with investors who have taken the leap of faith in BR. (Long time home owner but this would be my first rental so I'm on the edge of the diving board, looking down into that deep dark pool.)

Some examples of what I'm looking to connect on in no particular order.

•  -Your experience with 2bdr vs 3 vs 4 from a revenue perspective. I have airdna data but just from 2020/21. I thought this catered to smaller groups/cabins but the data doesn't seem to mesh with that storyline. 
• - Your experience in Elijay vs Cherry Log vs. BR vs. Morganton, and pockets within.
• - Your experience with your properties which do or don't have acreage / views / streams / ponds
• - Your experience with access to good labor (cleaning & handyfolks)
• - Your experience with the renters. I assume there are always the crazies, but hoping this area is at least a little more low-key
• - And I'm sure there are a ton I simply don't yet know to ask!

Ultimately would like to make connections so thank you SO much for your time and willingness to lend a hand to a new investor who is staring down into that water, wondering if this is the right leap...

Much appreciated,

Jon

[Michael Craven]

Hey Jon,

Congrats on even getting to the edge of the diving board! I own two cabins (one in Blue Ridge and one in Morganton) and I'd be happy to share my experience. 

My BR cabin is a 4 bed, which I would recommend if possible. 4 bedrooms seem to do quite well as they tend to be more spacious and can accommodate more people (so nightly rates go up quite a bit). To your point about experience with renters, it has been pretty low key (children's birthday parties, women's retreats, families getting away for a weekend, etc). We haven't had big parties or anything like that or destructive guests (knock on wood). This cabin has mountain views which I would recommend pursuing if you can. A lot of people come to this area for the mountains. Lake views can do even better but the price points for these cabins is very high. Forest/Wood/Creek views still do okay. I would just recommend having something else standout and attract guests to your cabin if that's the case (e.g., theatre room, great game room, murals etc)

My Morganton property went live in December as a 3 bed so that we could get some holiday bookings and we had no issues getting it booked. We then de-listed it to convert it to a 5 bedroom (still under renovation).

I haven't noticed much of a difference between BR/Mineral Bluff/Morganton. They are all so close together, close to downtown BR, and close to hiking and the lake. Plus, most of the time if someone searches Blue Ridge on AirBnB, Mineral Bluff and Morganton are included in that search. I haven't looked deeply in Elijay or Cherry log, but I know these are strong rental markets as well. I believe (on average) they gross a little less than BR but typically purchase prices are also a little lower. 

Finding cleaners has been so-so. Unlike the Smoky's, there isn't an abundance of cleaners. We have had some complaints from our guests about our cleaners so that is an ongoing struggle. One thing we are doing now is we hired someone to do monthly walk throughs of our properties to make sure everything is in order (not just with the cleaners, but also the TV remotes having batteries, the pool table having chalk etc). I'd highly recommend this! 

Finding handymen is somewhat of a struggle. And from the other cabin owners we've talked to, it is a common problem down there to find a good contractor/handyman. That said, I'm happy to share some people I've used!

I do recommend jumping into the Short-Term Rental market! It can be a great way to generate cash flow and Blue Ridge is a strong market to do this!