Seeking Advice: Treehouse-Style Log Cabin Project in Monticello, NY

[Sebastian Bruszewski]

Hello everyone,

I'm Sebastian, and my fiancé and I are facing a challenging situation with a project on our 8-acre property in Monticello, NY. We bought this land for $40k with the dream of building a treehouse-style log cabin, intended as a nature retreat for vacation renters.

Originally, we planned a small treehouse, but NY state building codes required us to go bigger, resulting in a 1200 sq-ft design 2-bed 1.5 bath. We estimated the total cost (including the land) to be around $300,000. I took on the role of the general contractor, working with other contractors.

However, we've hit a snag. Our costs have now soared by almost $100k, mainly due to design choices and the cabin's remote location. To finance the project, we intended to use a $270k HELOC on my family's house, but now this won't cover even 75% of the construction costs.

Based on AirDNA data, we expect about $50k annual revenue from short-term rentals. But with these escalating costs, we're reassessing the project's viability.

We're at a crossroads and considering selling the land to cut our losses. But before making this decision, we'd like to hear from real estate investors or anyone with relevant experience. We're exploring the possibility of a construction loa. and hiring a professional GC for more efficient completion.

Our design is unique for the area, and we believe it has potential. We'd greatly appreciate any advice on whether it's financially sensible to continue under these new conditions. 

Thank you in advance for your insights and suggestions!

[Sarah Kensinger]

This is a hard question to answer! For you to up the STR revenue, it sounds like you'll need to build a serious brand and get your name and property out there. Then people know you're a nature retreat and would specifically come to area just to stay at your property. Given the remote location it'll probably be hard to try a different strategy like LTR or MTR, so in some ways I wonder if selling the property would be a better route.