Vacation Rental - TN

[Nick C.]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Sevierville.

Purchase price: $203,000
Cash invested: $40,000

Vacation Rental Property - Cabin. Purchased in Dec 2012 and now in the process of selling.

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

We had visited the Smoky Mountains and loved the park and thought the area would make a great place for a short term rental and allowed us to vacation there a couple times a year.

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

One of the local realtors had a ton of information about the area and I watched his site for about a year before contacting him. The property was a foreclosure so the negotiation was with a bank. During a survey, we found out that part of our driveway was on the adjacent lot which a different bank held. The bank we were negotiating with asked for an easement and the other bank said no so we wound up buying the additional lot and splitting the cost.

How did you finance this deal?

20% down and as a short term rental.

How did you add value to the deal?

buying the adjacent lot has provided more seclusion and the cabin sits on about 2 acres now.

What was the outcome?

We've owned the cabin for almost 9 years and have utilized a management company to run the every day business. It's allowed us to vacation there 3 times per year with others paying down the mortgage. We are now in the process of selling as values have appreciated significantly.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Short term renters don't treat your property very well. Very frustrating at times to see the damage they do. Holes in drywall, ripped furniture, stolen items.