All Forum Posts by: Ben Morrow

Justin and Julie thank you for the feedback.... That's what I was looking for.  I have an 11 bedroom under contract and wanted to double check before taking the plunge. You guys are terrific so I appreciate it very much!

For the Gatlinburg / PF resident experts I’m curious how the really large (over 10 bedrooms) cabins do. I’ve heard the bigger the better but does that still apply to really large cabins? Does the profitability tend to level off or even decrease once you go over x number of bedrooms or does it actually go up? I’m interested in moving some money from a 1031 into a large cabin and I’m curious what to look out for when it comes to the larger cabins. Positives vs negatives, any deal breakers, etc... It seems the occupancy would be lower than average but I realize there’s not as many large cabins either. Would love anyone’s advice!!

Thank you for the feedback... I was hoping we could put less than 20% but it sounds like it’s not likely. I’ll be finding out soon from a lender.

Do you know how much money down would be required in this scenario?  

Hello BP,

What kind of loan would a lender offer someone if they didn't have a primary residence or primary mortgage (say for instance they rent or live in a house that has an "in-law" suite) but they want to purchase a STR property with the purposes on making income and staying there a couple of times per year? Just trying to determine how much money down a lender would require in this scenario. Thanks!!

@Douglas Spence I did do a search and my property was way down the list. It seems since yesterday that it has improved a bit after I changed my main photo and description. I was just shocked to see a sharp decrease in views when I have Superhost status, a high rating, always respond quickly, leave reviews, etc... I know the answer is somewhere like you said but it is frustrating when the one source who can help explain what’s going on doesn’t want to take the time of day to do so.

@Patricia Taveras I’ve only had 15 out of 28 days for February booked. I’ve got 2/28 - 3/10 open and I’ve bottomed out the rate to get them booked. I did notice that the rest of March is completely booked.

In one week I went from 900 page views to under 100.... and it's been like this for the past month.  I called Airbnb and they were no help. They just sent me to a page that explained what I can do to help increase my page views.  The only thing I can think of is that I have switched to dynamic pricing recently and maybe that is negatively affecting my page views?  I have over 50 reviews and a 4.92 rating.  Has anyone else had this experience?  I've just started to change out my pictures and change the description to see if that would help. 

Thank you both... 

Have a few questions:

Does Airbnb/VRBO obtain licenses/permits for me? I know they both report my taxes so that is covered I'm pretty sure including the 1% gross tax required in Pigeon Forge (at least that is why Avalara told me on the phone). I have been using Avalara but since my taxes are already reported I'm cancelling my subscription. I just deeded my STR over to my LLC and out of my name so I wasn't sure if I needed to get new licenses/permits which is why I need to find out if Airbnb/VRBO does this for me already.

Also, I have a STR in both Sevierville and Pigeon Forge.

Thanks you guys!!! Hands down the STR forum is the best.