Building a cabin near Gatlinburg

[Nathan W.]

I own a lot near Wears Valley. It's about 1.5 acres, has a decent view (B+) and is a short drive to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

For those of you who know this market, what size cabin, number of bedrooms, and features would you put in it to get the most bang for your buck? What would your estimated revenue be (after taxes and cleaning fees) for whatever combo you suggest?

Thanks for your input.

[Justin Anderson]

First, I'd have someone out to do a perc test for your septic to see how big you can get given your land size and positioning.   How much of your budget would eaten away installing a well, running power, leveling for the road/driveway/house (or not)?

Call some builders and ask for rough price per sf estimates given the land location/steepness/material prices.  What is their expected delivery time (a year?).

If you have a choice and funds are unlimited, generally bigger is better.  A hot tub is a requirement for all cabins at any size. At 3 or 4BR it's expected to have some sort of game room.  At 5 or 6BR I'd suggest a media room too.  Consider if you want to pick up some niche guests by allowing animals or making a cabin pet friendly or adding an indoor pool.  

Guest expectations are low in the area so I'd say stay away from higher end appliances and furnishings.  At the end of the day, you're going to spend more money keeping them up than it'll return.