All Forum Posts by: Amanda Webb

My husband and I just bought our first investment property in 2020, an STR in Gatlinburg, TN and we couldn't be happier with how it's been going. We want to buy another in that area at some point but are also looking to diversify. I was taken by an absolutely beautiful property I saw in Hartford, VT and was wondering if anyone had any experience with the market up there? Long term rental, short term rental? Is there any sort of decent ROI by investing in that area?

@Zach Plackemeier I second Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg Tennessee. I own a cabin in Gatlinburg as an STR and we average 96% occupancy and cash flow very well on a 2 bed 2 bath.

@Katy Reid so, my husband and I ended up putting an offer in on a cabin and it was accepted. However, as soon as our offer was accepted, something wasn’t sitting quite right with me. I started doing the math and it seemed with how regulated short term rentals are becoming in Big Bear, mixed with the fees, permits, etc to even get started, it seemed as though we’d be lucky to even break even. Not to mention, real estate seems to be getting way over saturated up there. So we ended up pulling our offer. I’m glad we did, because then Covid hit. But after weighing everything, we’ve decided. It to invest in Big Bear.

That said, my heart was still set on investing in a short term rental in a mountain town. I began to do A LOT of research. My husband and I have since purchased log cabin in Gatlinburg, TN and are using it as a short term rental. We are cash flow positive each month and couldn’t be happier. Now we want to buy a few more in that area.

I think Big Bear would be a decent investment if we had all cash to purchase a property, but in carrying a mortgage, the juice didn’t seem worth the squeeze at the end of the day.

@Justin Anderson Thank you so much for the intel. We do currently have a realtor out there, but will definitely keep that in mind since I've seen Avery's name come up quite a bit. Do you yourself know of any Property Management companies that charge in the 20% range? Or ones that you know of that do well. I really want to self manage, but am nervous about finding a good and reputable cleaning person being so far away. 

Hello all,

My husband and I are looking at investing in a vacation rental in Gatlinburg, TN. I know some of the property management companies out there charge 40%. Does anyone have any recommendations of ones that don't charge as much? 

Also, we are very aware that self-managing will make us the most money, and that is our plan in the future. But right now, we are out of state buyers/investors so our plan would be to get our rental up and running with a property management company first (especially as I'm hearing good cleaning companies are hard to find) and then take it over ourselves at some point once we feel comfortable. So in the meantime, any recommendations would be most helpful. 

Question. People keep talking about factoring in cleaning fees, but don't you charge your renters the cleaning fees on platforms like AirBnB? 

Hi all,

I started a discussion about vacation rentals in Big Bear a few months back. We're starting to get more serious about purchasing one, as I'm starting to see a bit of a shift in the town and prices beginning to go up. 

What I want to know is, for those of you that own vacation rentals in Big Bear, do you have services you absolutely love and would recommend? I'm new to this, and am looking for any helpful advice. Of course there are platforms like Yelp, but I don't always trust the reviews on there, so am also looking for word of mouth. Do you have cleaning crews you love that won't rake you over the coals? Any and all advice would be much appreciated!

Just an update to this, we almost made an offer on a property last August but ultimately decided not to. We're travelling back up there this Sunday to view a few more listings. I'm starting to see a shift up there, as real estate prices seem to be climbing upward. 

@Aaron K. Yes, we’re also looking for this to be a home that we, ourselves would want to use. We know it’s not going to be a “get rich quick” money maker. 

@Alfonso Aramburo Zepeda we did look in Lake Arrowhead, but the issue with needing Lake rights seems as though that would be a turn off to some renters. 

I’ve noticed a lot of threads in the past discussing short term rentals in Big Bear, but many of them are from a few years ago and there have been updated city ordinances since then, so thought it best to start a new thread.

My husband and I have been looking for a rental in Big Bear for a couple of years now and are finally ready to buy. We live in Burbank so would be managing it ourselves from afar via Airbnb. That said, I know new ordinances have been put into place that there must now be a designated in person check-in person to meet your renters as well as a designated 24/7 complaint response person who resides within 15 miles of Big Bear. This seems as though it would make short term rentals more difficult for people managing them.

My question is, are there people who offer the service of being an in-person check in person as well as a 24/7 complaint response person that you can pay? Do some husband/wife cleaning and maintenance services offer this now? Is it expensive, and would a vacation rental in Big Bear still be a good ROI?

In addition, could you technically designate a 24/7 response person who lives 15 miles away but you still be the person they call for things that don’t require someone to show up in person?

I was just looking on Airbnb the other day and noticed several Big Bear listings still have self check in keypads advertised. Are these people just outwardly breaking the law and advertising it? How do they get away with it? 

Is it still worth it to invest in a VR? Any advice would be much appreciated!