All Forum Posts by: Mark Lee

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $515,000
Cash invested: $147,000

3 bedroom, 2 bath short term rental in the north carolina mountains

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My wife and I love the north carolina mountains and love the area where we invest.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We worked with a realtor to find the listing on the MLS. We negotiated the price with the seller through our agent.

How did you finance this deal?

Second home mortgate.

How did you add value to the deal?

The property is turnkey.

What was the outcome?

The property is listed in Airbnb.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The sharp rise in interested rates resulted in a much larger down payment than we had originally anticipated. However, we were able to absorb the additional cost, and felt that this would be a great long term investment.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes! We have worked with the same agent and mortgage broker on two deals now. Both are excellent.

Hi, I assume you have graduated by now. Congratulations! Did you end up moving to kissemee and making progress on your investment journey? 

Hi, did you end up investing in Orlando, and if so, how is your investment doing? 

@Jennifer Williams Thank you!

@kunal Mishra good point. To clarify, we have used about 10k of our own cash. All the other money required for the down payment on the mortgage, was pulled from the HELOC. If you include the money from the HELOC, than it's about 60k total.

@jim stout thanks!  We are so excited and appreciate the good thoughts!

@Rik Hunter Thanks for the question.  Boone is the closest large city.  The property is also very close to Banner Elk, and Blowing Rock, all great mountain towns.  We definitely were aware of the proximity to Boone.  In fact, one of our first three rentals are for home coming at Appalachian state.  Our goal was to be as close to Sugar Mountain as possible, but we ended up halfway between Boone and Sugar Mountain.  One of our big considerations was the drivability during the winter.  This property has all paved roads ride up to our driveway, that we understand are all very well maintained in the winter.  However, if it is snowing, snow tires, chains, or a 4x4 vehicle are required.

@Scott Hall We just bought our first STR in the Boone area. We love skiing at sugar, and escaping to the area during the summer to escape the heat in Charlotte. Did you find a place and are you renting it out now? How was your experience?

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $525,000
Cash invested: $10,000

4 bed, 4 bath mountain cabin, renting as a short term

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My family loves the area, and have stayed at aribnb's in the area on many trips. Our long term goal is to become full time real estate investors and my wife enjoys everything related to short term rentals. Given our interests, investing in a mountain cabin was an easy choice.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We worked with a fantastic realtor out of Boone. Given the market there wasn't much negotiation. However, the appraisal came back low, and the building failed one of the inspections. The sellers paid for the resolution on the inspection, and lowered their price to the appraisal.

How did you finance this deal?

I used a HELOC to fund the down payment and have a second home mortgage.

How did you add value to the deal?

I have been unable to find any contractors with availability to work. My father and I are comfortable using tools, and have taken care of some of the work, such as re-attaching gutters, trimming doors, adding downspouts, fixing toilets, etc...

What was the outcome?

The home is currently listed on airbnb and we have our first three renters.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We bought the place sight un-seen, and there ended up being a lot of maintenance. Log cabins are very different from traditional framing. Its very difficult finding anyone that can do any kind of home maintenance , plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc...

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, the inspector was excellent, as was our loan agent and real estate agent. Also, we utilized a service for radon mitigation and the service was excellent.

@Andria Kobylinski, sorry for the late reply.  I didn't get an email for some reason.  After several attempts at arbitrage, we honestly gave up.  We simply couldn't find renters willing to work with us.  We changed direction, and have one long term rental which is cash flowing for us, and are in the process of buying a vacation home as a short term rental investment.  I am so glad its working out for you!  I still think its a great strategy and maybe will find the right opportunity in the future.