All Forum Posts by: Kyle Smith

I think the key to riding out these storms or recessions is creative marketing and having a unique property.  If your cabin looks like all the rest then your competition is enormous.  May be time to spend some money on making your property themed or special.  Use this opportunity to set yourself apart from the rest.  

I agree.  A water front property, big long range 160 deg view (not marginal view) will get you $300/night possibly, but all it takes is a little research and you will see 100’s of really nice properties struggling to get bookings in June and July right now on VRBO & ABB.  I’m seeing most properties in the low $200’s/night and even some in the 100’s.   If your property offers something all the others don’t then it can still be great, but an older knotty pine 2 bed 2.5 bath cabin with a 7 out of 10 view will be $50-$75k in my opinion in 2023.  

Hello,

I am looking for a HELOC type loan on a 2nd home (STR in Gatlinburg) to grow my portfolio. I am finding most, if not all, banks in the Sevierville area do not allow HELOCs on 2nd homes. I am looking for banks with reasonable rates that meet my current needs. I have about 50% equity in the property.

Thanks in advance, Kyle

This is a true statement.  My fiberglass pool cost $13k with pump, filter- everything.  Installation was probably around $75k.  I’m on a critical slope and that didn’t help any.   I also need to add this… the vast majority of builders in the area have zero business building a pool cabin.  They may say they know how to install an indoor pool, and they may have done it in the past, but those that do it right are rare.  There’s only one guy in town that does it right that I know of and he owns Patriot Cabins.   There are quite a few pool cabins with mold issues among other things.    some pools are sinking, breaking away from their coving, empty spots underneath, cracks…you name it.   It’s very expensive to do it right.  

I said I’d never build again but I have to admit the returns I’m getting so far have been amazing on this pool cabin.  Now that I’ve gone through the school of hard knocks I may do it again with the right vetted builder (and on a semi flat lot)!  My story parallels Ken’s. It was a horrible experience but in the end I learned a lot and know how to survive the onslaught of issues one night face.   My advice to 90% of the random people wanting to build in Sevier County is going to be “don’t do it.”   Buy a house almost completed and construction financed by the builder. 

Darell Roberts at TN state bank in Gatlinburg.   Terms and % down not what they used to be.  Have a lot of cash on hand. 

Right now you have to think about recession proofing things the best you can.  #1 - Mountain Views, #2 - proximity to Gatlinburg/PF, #3 Cabin Amenities (indoor pool a big plus). You have to think about competing with a few thousand cabins and what will make yours stand out from the rest.  There are a ton of big view cabins out there.  Position yourself correctly for the bad times and you will float through the bad and do well when things are great. 

All in on my 2600 sqft pool cabin with a big view, and me doing most of the construction management, was around $365/sqft.  It was built on a critical slope and the foundation was around $150k.  I’m with Luke. I wouldn’t build again…not in the smokies. Too many bad builders, contract labor is out of hand and the material costs haven’t came down like they should.  Also, better dang sure know who your contractor is and have many references and call those references.  If his estimates are too low, stay away.  Also note, if he can start this month then he has no business building in the mountains.  As far as I know, all the good builders are backed up for 6 months to 2 years to start.