Movie Mansion - Smokies STR

[David Lyons]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $900,000
Cash invested: $135,000

The cash flow and equity from my other two house-hacks allowed me to buy this 5bed/5bath in the Great Smoky Mountains. It's 5-10 mins from downtown Gatlinburg, has a movie theatre and a hot tub. The interior was green and had old pictures when I bought it - hired a designer to make it modern and stand out!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Ability to purchase with a 10% down vacation home loan allowed me to juice up my cash-on-cash returns, depreciation and principal pay-down.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Worked with the Short Term Shop - my agent Derek Tellier found this on the MLS - it had been sitting there for 60 days in a red hot market due to poor listing presentation and being cosmetically outdated. Put in an offer $25k under list with no competition. Negotiated some sell credits to closing costs based on inspection report.

How did you finance this deal?

10% down vacation home loan through Parker Borofsky.

How did you add value to the deal?

Cosmetic rehab throughout - new paint, decorations, kitchenware, furniture, etc.

What was the outcome?

It has been a wild ride in the short term rental market, but I'm hoping to level out with $2,000 a month in cash flow - some months have been better, some have been worse.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Balance having a clear scope of work with trusting in your designer.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Movement Mortgage was a great mortage lender - I worked with Rob who was fantastic.
Derek Tellier was my agent and knows his way around the STR markets - though I believe he is in the Gulf Shores now.