What to check before purchasing new construction cabins in gatlinburg?

Question

I am looking to purchase a cabin for STR in Gatlinburg, before making offer what can I check construction wise for newly built cabins quality and structural wise?

And how is the market in Gatlinburg is it still considered seller market?

Please help with the suggestions a

Collin Hays · Answer

No. The inspectors are in tight with the builders and realtors. Everything will "work" in these cabins, but everything is cheap, cheap, cheap. Horrific designs, cheap windows, cheap insulation fixtures, roof, etc. They're junk. I wouldn't buy any new construction in Gatlinburg, except for some that were rebuilt right after the fire. I rebuilt mine and spared no expense. Yellow pine longs, Pella wood windows, custom cabinets, granite, top appliances, furnishings, etc.

Cassidy Burns · Answer

Concentrate on building a team of individuals who are referrals from individuals you trust. This goes for any market, not just Gatlinburg, TN

Matt Mertz · Answer

Get customer references for the builder.

Call Gatlinburg Building and Planning Department to make sure it's zoned for STRs.

Is it in Gatlinburg city limits?  This matters for snow plowing (which was an issue just this week).  Gatlinburg plows the streets.

Collin Hays · Answer

I would say about 90 percent of the new construction cabins in Gatlinburg are complete junk. You will NEVER come out on it.  (Well, never is a long time, but...)

Most of these "cabins" are just a few notches above what you see in the parking lot at Lowe's.

Just don't.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

Keep in mind there is minimum building codes in every jurisdiction in the country. Does not mean they are junk as alluded to. It just means they were build to the minimum state requirements.

So they pass inspection and are legal.. but we have all seen homes where you have starter homes and you have upgraded them you have custom homes.. custom as described above.

Pretty easy to walk through and see what materials have been used.  I deal with this in my product in Oregon I go head to head with Linnar which is production, and I am semi to full custom on my product so for same sq ft I am 100k higher per house. they sell 5 to 1 of what I do but I get the buyer that wants nicer finish's real hardi plank not knock off etc etc. So you get what you pay for and a home inspector unless specifically tasked with commenting on their opinion of what is JUNK is just making sure the house is built to code and or their basic standards IE to the local building codes..  I have built in FLA and in those build to rent or starter homes we do build them to the absolute minimum standard .. tiny kitchens Chinese granite cheap builder grade appliance minimum windows per code etc etc.. its the only way you can get to the price point that will make sense for a buy and hold investor.. When I build right up the coast in Charleston SC.. are high end homes will run 500.00 a foot just to build where in Oregon our very nice semi customs to customs we build for about 185 or so.. The Charleston house had as mentioned above custom windows and all sorts of stuff required by the city to meet the historic district codes.  So take this all with a grain of salt on build quality.  But builder rep is very important.

Raj Sat · Answer

Please check your DM.

John Underwood · Answer

To Collins point maybe get an inspector from Knoxville that isn't in bed with the local builders to do an intense inspection?

Make sure it is built to the current STR permit standards for sure. If it a bigger cabin it has to have a sprinkler system.

Madeline Blom · Answer

Hi Raj! I’m an agent/investor in the Smokies. I own 2 older properties in Gatlinburg. I will tell you that many new cabins are ok. I have seen a handful of really good builds. I have aligned myself with trn v best team here to help my clients when buying. I’ve sold many older and new construction homes and I always rely on my inspector that is super honest and transparent. I’ve had clients walk away and it’s never an easy decision to make. Knowing the builder and researching their quality of work is super important. Heavily rely on your agent here to be your eyes and ears. With a new construction home, you get a one year warranty. I encourage my clients to get the home checked quarterly in that year to make sure everything still looks good.

Here to help you if you don’t have an agent.  😊

Raj Sat · Answer

Thanks Matt, will find out who the builder is and will post here. Thanks for all your help in replying.

Matt Mertz · Answer

Seems to me that the simplest thing to do is ask the builder for a few references and ask them.

Secondly you can hire an inspector.

Lastly, you can tell us the builder and there may be people on this forum that can give you some private feedback.

What to check before purchasing new construction cabins in gatlinburg?

Most Popular Reply