North Georgia Mountains - Airbnb

[Josephine Ramesh]

I am actively looking to buy a lake front property in Hiawassee, GA area. This would be our second home and also a short term rental. I have four long term rentals that I self manage. But this would be my first short term rental property. I would love to connect and hear from fellow Atlanta area investors, with properties in the North Georgia mountains. How is the demand for AirBnB? What should I watch out when buying a lake front property especially in the mountains? Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences.

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Josephine Ramesh, welcome to the fray! I am not invested in the area you are looking at, but I do own a lake front property in north Idaho.

Buying a lake house isn't much different than any other house. A couple of considerations that differ would be these off the top of my head:

• Take a look at the septic system. Some lake front properties on septic require some special things to keep the effluence leeching into the lake. So double check with the county on any of those requirements if any.
• Where does the water come from? Here in Idaho, there are many lake front homes that get their water directly from the lake. Those systems require much more maintenance than a well. There are pumps, filters and UV systems to keep going so keep that in mind.
• The location on the lake is also important. Lake Coeur d'Alene is a natural deep water mountain lake with an average depth of 125 feet. Chatuge Lake (where I assume you are looking) is a man made reservoir with an average depth of 30ft. That can mean you will find some areas that are quite shallow and might not be as waterfront as you would like in times of drought.
  
• Is there lake effect weather? Being in the south that might not be an issue. It isn't an issue at our house as we are up from the lake a bit, but some homes right near the waters edge can have trouble. Usually with ice formation due to winds blowing spray. The Great Lakes are an excellent example of lake affect ice. But if the area is prone to winds, you could get some spray up on the house which will create a need for more maintenance.
• You need to make sure you have proper coverage for lake front property. Access to a beach and dock for guests requires a special rider. Not really expensive, but just be aware you will need it along with your short term rental policy.

Those are just a couple of things I can think of. I will post more if I can remember others.