All Forum Posts by: Kyler J Sloan

@Jeff Langley Exactly. Taking the photos is the first step, and I cannot count on my photographer being there when the best conditions arise to take a shot.  As long as I have that covered, I can outsource the rest. The main thing is learning how to position and angle the camera. 

Well, of course I would educate myself on professional photography first. 

When I said "snap photos" I was trying to emphasize that I would not need many, since I would only be taking them of the area that I changed. 

Better to have at least some moderate quality photos of an added amenity rather than none; by spending 100 dollars every time this happens, costs accumulate quickly, which more than exceed the cost of a professional camera. 

Also, in the mountains, there are rare seasonal moments in the smokey mountains that one can only capture at the opportune moment (i.e. fog falling over the mountaintops, Twighlight photos, snow photos, bear or deer stepping on the property, etc.). If only you are there to take them, do you really want to capture them on your iphone? 

I would sooner post these pictures that reject them because they are "not professional". 

Anyone else just go ahead and purchase their own wide-angled lensed professional camera? 

I would always start by hiring a professional photographer when listing a new place. 

However, I would like to keep my listing updated as and when I make incremental changes to my property. 

Ideas come to mind which I cannot help but implement, but prefer to do the work incrementally over 1 day vacancies (I have a 2 day minimum). 

Rather than ponder "should I have my photographer come back up" every time I make a change, I would like to just snap photos myself to keep the place continuously updated. 

Above is before the renovation. 

After, each would look something like these: 

@Jay Thomas Please tell me you are joking. Real Estate appreciates. 

@Ken Boone Yeah, you are probably right. The main reason I am drawn to new at this point is the low likelihood of needing ANY maintenance in the first 5 years; since you got it new, you are in charge of how well maintained it is over its life cycle, and have control to sell at the optimum time so that you can re-invest that money into another new tub in need of no maintenance. 

If you look to big corporations which depend upon depreciating assets, this is always what they do. For example, large trucking companies such as TMC buy all new equipment, but resell their inventory when they reach a certain milage (i.e. 500 K to 800 K). It is beyond that threshold that they start having issues and breakdowns. For hot tubs, that threshold is about 5 years. 

@Chris Henry Yes, and that was a plastic pre-fabricated tub. This is a custom design, with demo work removing paneling and two old tubs, laying backerboard, and installing the tiles from there. Of course it will be more. 

Oh, and it totals about 220 square feet of tile space. 

@Account Closed Not the case at all here. There are plenty of small businesses who do nothing other than refurbish and resell hot tubs they get on Facebook and craigslist (i.e. "Hot Tub Recyclers"). I have seen plenty of good deals slip through my fingers because I was not in town to pickup being sold almost new by owners who just decided they did not want to go through the trouble of maintaining them. If I come across such a deal, I will not hesitate. However, it has to be 2020 or newer. Regardless, as a default plan, I think it is best to buy new and resell or exchange for a new model something like 5 years down the road, once the warranties expire. You cannot count on a rare deal popping up on FB marketplace right when you need a tub. 

I am almost certain to buy new now. Setting aside the impression it makes on your guests, there are some great warranties as @Michael Baum mentioned, which expire in about 5 years, at which point you can resell them for over half of the price you paid for them, and then reinvest that into the next tub.

It avoids the need for maintenance, eliminates time wasted searching for a good deal on FB marketplace, craigslist, etc., and puts you in a better position when it comes time to get rid of the tub, since it is still fairly new and capable of being resold.  By contrast, a tub purchased used is likely going to the junk yard when you are done with it.

@Mitch Davidson Thanks! I will for sure do that if I find a great used model. 

I wonder if the better business model would be to buy new but resell something like 5 years later and put that towards a new model. 

They lose about 8 percent of their value per year, so selling at half price later down the road, it is as if you bought half price to begin with.

The savings are simply deferred.