Blowing Rock, NC vacation rentals

[Glenn Goranson]

Has anyone every looked at or own property in Blowing Rock, NC? My wife and I were just there and it is beautiful with some good deals on cabins right on ski mountains or off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We are thinking of investing in a vacation rental. Thanks.

[Michael Thurston]

Hi Glen, I’m new to BiggerPockets but I just noticed your post. Did you ever buy a vacation place in blowing rock? Love that area and was thinking the same thoughts about buying a vacation rental. I also like Boone quite a bit. Would be curious to know what you decided.
Cheers,
Michael

[Adam Payne]

My wife and I just bought a cabin there at the end of last year. Planning to put it on the short term market, but we are having massive water problems (digging a well, terrible contractor). Since we aren’t on the market yet, I can’t tell you much about our experience. Happy to answer any questions I can, though.

[Tarun Raval]

Hello Glen,

I do not own cabins or vacation rentals in Blowing Rock - but do own several student rentals in Boone, NC. So far the investment has paid for itself and is cash-flow positive. Here are my observations

a) 100% occupied for 4 properties for the last 5 years.

b) Property tax is extremely low in Watauga County as compared to other places in Mid-West

c) Low GRM (Gross Rent Multiplier) and high Cap Rate

Hope this helps.

Regards

Tarun

[Ryan Warrenburg]

Tarun, thanks for the good info on your student rentals. I live up in the Boone area and based simple rules of thumb like the 50/50 rule & 1% rule it seems like an extremely expensive market. Would you mind sharing any details like type or property, purchase price, rental rates, or operating expenses? Thanks!

[Kelly McCormack]

Hello Glenn,

I know this thread is quite old but I wanted to reach out to see if you ended up purchasing property near the Blowing Rock area? I am looking to purchase a vacation home/short term rental property in the NC mountain area and that is one of the towns I am looking at. Have you had success there?

[Keith Dowdy]

My wife and I have a property in Beech Mountain and another in West Jefferson. We also help people buy houses in the area (she’s a realtor). When you have some time, we can chat if you want. Our rental in Beech is going like gang busters. The one issue in Blowing Rock is that many neighborhoods do not allow short term rentals.

let me know when you’d like to talk.

Keith Dowdy

[Ryan Warrenburg]

@Keith Dowdy thanks for sharing! My wife and I are on the hunt for a STR up here in the mountains as well. How has your occupancy been on those 2 properties? That is the one metric we've had a hard time nailing down as it seems to vary quite a bit property to property. I know @Adam Payne mentioned in a previous thread they were seeing about 80% occupancy for the year, but a local owner I talked to recently said they were more like 30-35%. Thanks again!

[Keith Dowdy]

We estimate that to break even, we need to be about 50% occupancy as a vacation rental. We are at about 70% for the year so far, and that accounts for March and April at essentially 0 occupancy. We've been near 100% occupancy since the restrictions for vacation rentals were removed. 

We've also seen an uptick in demand for purchasing houses in the mountains. A lot of interest in finding a remote place to escape to.

[Ryan Warrenburg]

70% occupancy is impressive given the 2 month shutdown! We are going to look at a property tomorrow, and our estimate is that we would need about 50% occupancy to break even as well. It feels like that's a high number for a break even point, but the more I hear from people maybe it's not.

[Keith Dowdy]

We’re available on Aug 13 to show you properties if you’d like. We’ll be renting a river property in Piney Creek. 

[Keith Dowdy]

Hi Glenn,

Well, this comment was a long time ago. I thought I would see if you were still out there. My wife and I work with investors in the NC mountains, around Boone, to help them find vacation rentals in the area. We're closing deals left and right at this point. If we can help you, please let me know.

Keith