All Forum Posts by: Matt Castle

@Diana J Adams I put in a call to my firm. I'll send you some info ASAP who can work emergency calls. 

@Daniel Kyle the best results, at least from my observations, are the average size 2BR/2BA cabins with a decent view that sleep 4-6 people. Sure, 4+ BR properties seem like a winning choice, but they may not rent as well as 2BRs with lower cost/night. You can charge more for 4BR, but they may be booked as frequently. 

But to counter my own point, a lot of customer decision comes from location, your interior design choices, reputation and photo quality. A gentlemanly way of saying "it's all in how the owner manages their investment." 

@Oriane Brice I'm in Knoxville and I work with investors/relocations quite a bit. In your case, don't put so much effort into which is the best city for financial gain, and simply think about which city vibe you like the most. House hacking works pretty much anywhere as long as it's not a dead zone or a declining market. 

In Knox area, west Knoxville is growing leaps and bounds. Maryville and Oak Ridge are growing and both have lots of older inventory that can be rehabbed, and with so much new construction, buyers may find a 1950s charmer or 1920s historic home a bargain to what the builders are asking. 

I speak from personal experience on the HOA issue. I had a condo where HOA finances went south. Payments went from $150/mo to $240/mo plus a $100/month add on water fee b/c of a water main break and lots of damage. Complex went from looking okay to run down, great looking condo inside but outside was poor visual appeal some tenants wouldn't even go in the condo after a drive by.

@Joe Delgrosso I survived the last one and bought more during it, but my #1 concern were job losses by tenants. No rental income, harder to pay mortgages. 

Other things like property depreciation are less of a concern b/c it's all paper losses unless you sell it. If you're a buy & hold forever type, then you don't have much concern. 

Since you're dealing with condos, I suppose you have to worry about the financial health of the HOAs. More defaults equal higher payments and greater difficulty getting a refi/HELOC if you need one.

@Justin Bartram just my 2 cents... don't over-complicate it. If it's a pre-existing STR, ask sellers to document existing STR income for last two years. If it looks low, ask why. More than likely they only had it posted to 1-2 STR websites, the pics were vanilla or amateur hour, etc. If it's the latter, then it's a business opportunity for you b/c you can leverage poor STR income into your bid.

@Casey Conner I know of a few but they're hard to secure b/c of good economy. What type of work do you need and I can send it out to those I know. 

As a long time, long distance investor, I agree the low prices can be a major draw but don't fall in love with the spreadsheets or the low prices without doing a ton of due diligence on the people you'll be working with. 

I've personally ran into situations where the property managers weren't on the level, skipped town, didn't have a good team behind broker so when the broker goes down the business suffers, etc. Realtors aren't as important b/c they're in and out, but if you're buying sight unseen, it's likely worth your peace of mind to visit the property yourself so you're not going off someone else's opinion and you can make assessments yourself. One can always take misleading pictures so don't rely on just that unless you really trust the person advising you from afar. If it's an investment, the travel costs are likely tax deductible.

But as many have said, I get several calls a month from out of state investors from northeast US or California b/c our inventory is half price compared to their backyards.  

My first question would be zoning. Talk to your municipality's zoning office and see if they would allow the transition. If they won't, it's dead in the water before anything ever begins. 

That said, very good idea. Many folks are re-purposing unused commercial into residential, and if you do it right, the reward can be big. 

Knoxville is almost as tough as Nashville. If you need boots on the ground in Knoxville, look me up.