All Forum Posts by: Matthew Dunn

Hey everyone, 

We own 2 short term rental cabins in the Smoky Mountains of TN. We've owned them for almost 5 years and for the first 3 years were diligent with refreshening the listings, photographs, seasonal comments etc. However the past year or so we've been focused more on scaling up our multifamily business and the STRs have taken a back seat to this. We self manage the STRs and this we'll to continue to do so, but we are looking for help with keeping the listings fresh and increasing our marketing exposure! 

Be great to connect with anyone that is using perhaps a VA for these services that has had a good experience.

Thank you!

MD

As an active MF investor for the past 5 years, I spent the first 3 consuming all content that I could that had little to no cost; podcasts, books, blog posts etc. It got me so far and I was able to accumulate some MF assets using this approach. However I found myself after a couple years hitting a plateau. I didn't have an educated network around me, I wasn't surrounded by others doing deals to inspire me, I had no real mentors and certainly no coaches. Most of the REIA associations you'll see focus on single family, so these didn't get me very far. I made a decision I wanted to be surrounded by like minded investors, have that accountability and have the confidence in my decisions by having experienced coaches to call. It was December last year I joined the J&G program.

Even though I felt I had the education, I soon realized there was a LOT I didn't know and it was this that was holding me back in the past. Since joining I've already closed my first commercial MF deal. The resources from the community, the accountability I receive from the network that I've formed and the great advice from my coaches, absolutely allowed me to get there. 

I have more deals in the pipeline from identifying my criteria, I have confidence to speak with brokers, I am no longer fearful of submitting offers due to not knowing how I could close them and I know the steps necessary to implement the business plan. 

Overall I've been exceptionally satisfied with the program and I didn't even mention the student events.. these are incredible to your success!!

@Renee Yourk it's going well thank you! We purchased our cabin in 2019 and it's been definitely worth it. Not sure I'd buy another STR just because of the time commitment and active nature of the business. But it's over performing our initial income targets and we have it now as automated as possible.

Dear BP, I have a triplex in Winter Haven FL, just outside of Lakeland and my PM are claiming they cannot find a local landscaper for less than $100/mo, my yard is very small and easy and I know this is excessive (yes I'm also looking for a new PM). If anyone knows of a local firm, that would be great!

TIA,

Matt

Thanks for your reply David! Congrats on the last few deals! Keep us updated here if you get something going with an MLO..

Hey David, I came across this post after learning about this strategy from a recent Joe Fairless podcast #19 I heard last week! Thanks for posting those useful links. How's it going with this so far? 

I'm already a MF investor in Tampa Bay FL with 66 units, but very interested in pursuing this method..

Thanks Lucas! Good news, the inspections went well with no real issues. You happen to have an insurance company you recommend? I have tried Proper but they are quoting me higher than expected. I guess this location is a little far out from the fire dept and the true log adds to the premium!

Any STR investors in the Wears Valley/PF area in early October that want to meet up?

Dear BP Community, I've been doing buy and hold multifamily for the last few years and also just closed on a 59 unit apartment building last month. However over the last 6 months or so I've been studying the STR strategy with the intent on buying in the Pigeon Forge area of TN. Predominant reason being we love the Smokey Mountains ourselves, we enjoy going there and specifically picked the TN side for the shear amount of vacationers that pass through and it's mostly consistent rental volume throughout the year.

We're currently under contract on a cabin in Wears Valley on 2 acres which has a 3/2 cabin, but also a 1000+ soft loft apartment above the garage. Our plan would be to rent the house, and the loft separately as two separate rentals. However I'm nearing wanting to quit my W2 so we are thinking we could house hack the loft while still maintaining the main house as a STR.

We in due diligence currently but set to close first week of October. The kicker is this residence is not currently a rental so we'll need to kit it out in the week we'll have when we visit post close. Since this will be our first STR and we plan to self manage initially out of state it would be great to connect with some other local TN Smokey Mountains investors!

I see there are a few cabin investors in the forums and I’d like to give a shout out to Avery and Lucas Carl for getting us to this point, we wouldn’t of got this far without you! 

My biggest obstacle has been the analysis part of this business, give me a regular multifamily property and I’m good to go, but this is such a different concept and it has me a little outside of my comfort not having that 12 mo lease and a sizable debt service and utilities to pay! 

Look forward to connecting..

Matt

Thank you both, much appreciated! I have decided to use a conventional lender, actually found one that keeps the loans in house and works a lot with investors. 277 pages of docs already sent to them to get started!!