We are actively looking for a vacation rental cabin in the Asheville/Brevard, NC area...although we're scouting as far west as Highlands and as far east as Little Switzerland.  Would prefer to be in Brevard area, but sometimes you have to expand your geographic parameters to find the best opportunities...good thing is that unlike most urban areas...just about anywhere from Highlands to Mt. Mitchell is simply stunning and a vacation haven for rentals.

An unrenovated cabin anywhere in this area with a great mountain or water views can easily command $250-$300/night and up. We're mostly interested in a SFH mountain cabin, rather than a condo (although always open to a multi!).

But have a few questions for the locals, folks that know the area or have invested in VR thereabouts...

--First and most importantly...generally speaking, when are peak rental seasons and how many weeks per year can a good mountain cabin be expected to rent in the area? I understand that the rental seasons may be longer around Asheville/Brevard, than in Highlands/Cashiers given the more mild climate? This is obviously location and property specific, but we're working with partial numbers so far...let's assume you'd want to stay in the cabin on vacation:) If we find a place for $300k with 25% down at 5% interest, conduct $50k of value-add rehab...renting it 12 weeks/year breaks the project even on a cash-flow basis incorporating all costs. We'd need 20 rented weeks/year or ~$3400/month to see double-digit COC...is this realistic?

--What specifically do vacationers look for in the Blue Ridge?  Smaller traditional wood cabins lost in the forests or larger more renovated "HGTV" cottages on paved roads, views, hot tubs, proximity to town/amenities (and micro-brews!), close access to National Parks, golf, fishing, rivers/lakes, bicycles, canoes, boats...et al?  Again, obviously depends on the renters, but what are some trends and most popular requests owners/investors are seeing more recently?

--Noticed that many communities have HOA restrictions, mostly for road maintenance...but several restrict weekly rentals as well. Which towns or areas between Highlands and Mt Mitchell in particular, are especially cabin rental friendly, with great views and property? The hills east of Brevard looking back at the Blue Ridge for example are awesome (we drove and rode the entire area...did an 80-mile bike ride one day!), but many neighborhoods like Sylvan, The Reserve and Straus Park in town restrict rentals via HOA. Same goes for much of Highlands.

--We'd prefer the property be passive and property managed...while this certainly eats into profit (I've already budgeted this into the calcs outlined above), this has worked quite well at our other VR, but we have a great PM.  Any recommendations for great Property Management outfits in the area that we should consider?   Same goes for GC's while we're at it...if anyone has any great recommendations...always like to give the business to the right folks.

Welcome any and all advice...thanks much in advance! Christian