All Forum Posts by: Grant Vincent

Thanks!

 @Kyle H. Can you elaborate on the moratorium? I think I missed some news. What's that about?

Thanks, @Matt Schreiber. I'm interested in learning more, too. If any of you have services like this you would like to pitch, please hit me up.

Lots of great feedback from everyone here. One very important thing to start getting a feel for is how important the homesteading component is in your future satisfaction. As someone with farming, gardening, hunting, and rural-land-specific real estate sales experience, I recommend putting some thought into what sort of footprint you'll need for crops, livestock and infrastructure to be sure you are comparing properties that are actually usable, especially if you expect to depend on revenue from your growing operations.

A small garden can work in a lot of places, but raising crops and livestock requires space, gentler land, cleared ground, sunlight, and access to a water source. In any market, availability of views, suitable (gentler) terrain, cleared ground, water frontage/access increases land prices...a bunch!

I know the Bryson City/Cherokee/Nantahala areas of WNC well. Although I just stayed in Sevierville/Pigeon Forge area last weekend passing through on holiday travel, I know less about the TN side. One difference I noticed is that it seemed like the town areas and rural outskirts I traveled leaving Sevierville/Pigeon Forge seemed pretty flat compared to Bryson City/Nantahalas area where our place is. All that to say, WNC may have "cheaper land" but the limited supply of usable land there may make it more expensive to get what you really need. Be advised cheap land is usually cheap for a reason. 

"Cheap ain't always cheap."

@Ken Boone, thank you for your post. Good information. I just want to double check...you're saying your hot tub is completely drained between each guest? 

@Garrett Stockton Not exactly what you asked, but be sure your deck can handle the added weight of a hot tub. If it the deck will need reinforcement, factor in those costs in your analysis.

Speaking as a consumer (not an owner) that has rented STR cabins in north GA and Bryson City areas, I value a hot tub. They seem to require ongoing routine maintenance (water/chemicals) and start to need repairs as they age. If you run some numbers, please post your findings. I'm looking at investing in this area and would love to know if the data says if the ROI is a "must-have" or a "meh"!

Hi, Lindsay! I love there area. My in-laws have had a place up there for years. Would love to discuss. Sending you a DM, too.

Not sure what happened to the exterior home pictures. The first floorplan pic shows the first level, the second is the upstairs. Attaching home exterior pics that help show how the non-conforming addition meets the original house.

View report

*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

I'm analyzing this a few ways, but I need to start with the renovation budget. While running the numbers on the flip, STR, LTR and BRRRR scenarios, I wanted to gather some opinions from the community to see if anyone has insights on rehabbing very old properties.

The costs reflected in this linked report are intended to estimate costs high and they are mostly based on the existing floorplan; HOWEVER, I am strongly considering floorplan changes that address the outdated layout. Because I have not determined the best way to address an addition or floorplan modification, I suspect my analysis may “double-capture” portions of some budgeted items (plumbing, electrical, etc.) and be way high.

Sorry I don’t have actual pics of the interior, but I will post the county’s floorplan sketches.

Subject Property Fast Facts:

• - Not a registered historic home, just very old.
• - 1890 Construction; brick (original house) & vinyl-sided (1-story addition)
• - 3Bed/1Bath; 1 bed and bath downstairs, 2 beds and 1 extra community area upstairs
• - Originally a 3Bed/0Bath. Built before indoor plumbing. Eventually a bathroom, laundry room, and mudroom were added (all downstairs; addition is vinyl-sided exterior).
• - Full reno needed
• - New septic needed
• - Replacing electrical
• - Replacing plumbing. Luckily(?), 100% of plumbing is currently located in kitchen and rear addition.

Interested in general feedback or feedback on any of these points:

1. Did I miss anything?

2. How do you source bricks to match the 130-year-old bricks and how do you project costs?

3. Costs to put a beam to open the space between existing kitchen and LR?

4. Options & Costs to reconfigure the layout? 

Would like to see it be a 3/1.5, 3/2, or 4/2. Presumably, the big front room downstairs would be the master bedroom with separate exterior door; however, you have to pass through a living room and kitchen to get to the house's only bathroom! The addition with the bathroom is only on the ground level. It's low quality and needs a new roof and gutted to the studs, anyway. I’m considering reworking the existing downstairs addition to be 2 stories in order to add a second (full or half) bathroom upstairs and/or doing something more productive with the wasted community space connecting the stairs and upstairs BRs (i.e. - add a bathroom there or create a 4th BR).

Thanks and sorry! I know this is a lot. Starting to think the only way to profit is finding gold bars stashed in the walls of this place.