STR Location in "The Carolinas"...

[Joe Garretson]

Hey everyone. Long story short, I'm looking to purchase my first investment property. I live south of Denver and have about $25k ready to use. I've been looking for a long term rental in my area but investing in a STR might solve three items at once. My wife doesn't love the area I'm looking at locally, she wants to leave her job this summer and she is in love with "The Carolinas" as she always says. So it may be easier to get her on board with the purchase if she's handling guest interaction (job), the location (Carolinas) and buying our first property.

So my question is, using the funds I've got available for a 10% down vacation home loan, where between basically Charleston, Myrtle Beach and up into the Smoky Mtns would you look? I've put the Carolinas in quotes a few times because I don't think she quite knows what that means other than big front porches, rocking chairs etc. I'd be looking for anything in my budget with 2bd and a solid STR market.

Thanks for any guidance! 

[Mack Lengel]

Coming from someone born and raised in the Carolinas and who works full-time in the Smokie Mountain market as an agent/investor you won't really be able to find anything worth owning in those primary markets. 

My advice is to look at secondary markets and find a unique property that can become the destination rather than buying in a hot destination and hoping to get a slice of the pie that everyone else is competing for with higher budgets. Smaller coastal or mountain towns for STRs or the Greenville/Spartanburg area for LTRs/MTRs.

Happy to dive deeper into this conversation with you and share any connections I have.