All Forum Posts by: Neil Doldo

Quote from @Dahyo Chako:

Hi @Neil Doldo

I have narrowed down some areas in North GA mountains. Was wondering if you would be willing to share your experience with your 2 properties performance thus far ? 

thanks,

Dahyo

Hi Dahyo,
We have grown significantly since this post.  We now own 4 properties in the Blue Ridge Area and are co-hosting 5 others (with 4 more coming in the next 6mo).  All have been very profitable, grossing anywhere from $95k up to $300k.  Its all about the style and amenities in BR right now.  Renters want new and modern, with as many things to do on the property as possible.  Most of the investors we are working with now are putting pools to help differentiate, which has been huge for their success.  It's definitely harder to find deals that make sense, but they are still out there.  We have found its actually cheaper to build right now than buy an existing property.  Glad to chat more and give more insight.

Neil

Hi Annette,

We own 3 large properties in the Blue Ridge area and co-host two others.  With the size and amenities of our houses we definitely get a ton of families booking.  During the summer these can be week long stays, but on average we typically see 3-4 nights.  We give people a ton to do at the property, so we find alot of them stay at the house a large majority of the time.  We have pool tables, hot tubs, theater rooms, board games, and full size arcades at all of our properties, and pools at three of them.  We find our guests may go into town and spend a half day, or do the Blue Ridge railroad, but we make the house the destination.  You can put in a really nice small pool for $60-70, and there is definitely a positive return on that investment.  Your house is large and already on water, so that lends itself very well to families already.  Glad to chat more if you need any further input.

Best, Neil

Hi Alton,

I've definitely never heard of a lender coming back asking for more of a down payment, especially at a point when the EMD is at risk.

We are investors in the area as well as co-hosts and I can tell you that if you have the right property, you can still be very very successful in Blue Ridge.  

I would definitely be wary of the lender, requesting that amount of a down payment, and I would definitely be glad to provide insight on the property that you are looking at if you’d like to share. 

Best, 

Neil

Hi Serena, 

All of these responses are correct.  You absolutely need to stand out in this market.  Modern decor and high end amenities are a must.  You also really need views or to be on water.  We have one that grosses $225k that doesn't have views or water, but it has a pool, theater room, game room, hot tub, and sleeps 19.  I would look at upscale 2Br, or go 4Br+.  Stay away from 3Br unless it absolutely checks all of the boxes.  They seem to be too large and pricy for one family, and two small for multiple families.  And, as mentioned above, there is a TON of competition in 3Br.  Glad to chat more if you need any more insight.

Best, Neil

Quote from @Agustin Conti:

Hi, I am looking to work with a Real State Agent in or around Blue

Ridge, GA. I am ready to make an offer for a long term rental (or Short)

property. I am from South Florida but I know the area well and would

like to invest there. Thanks!
Please, PM me your info
Regards,
Agustin

Hi Agustin,
My wife is a realtor in the area who specializes in STRs, and we own 3 excellent properties. She has worked with many investors from here on identifying great cash flowing properties in the Blue Ridge area. DM me and I’ll be glad to connect the two of you. 

Best,
Neil

Quote from @Shirley Dimitro:

Quote from @Neil Doldo:

Quote from @Shirley Dimitro:

Hello, I'm seeing a lot of cabins for sale in Blue Ridge, GA that were only bought a couple of years ago (2020-2022). Were these just Covid "impulse" buys or is the STR market so slow now that owners are compelled to get rid of their investment? Anyone with STRs in Blue Ridge can give me some insight? Thank you!

Hi Shirley,
I think there is still a lot of potential in BR, but you absolutely need the right property. Too many people bought boring cabins at higher prices and are needing to unload them now. The market is trending towards modern and chic, not bear comforters and grandma’s antiques😂. My wife and I own three and co-host others that are doing extremely well. You just need amenities that stand out and the views and/or water are just about a must have. I’d be glad to connect anytime to provide more insight. 

Best, 
Neil

Hi Neil, thanks a lot for the insight. Question: What do you do as a co-host vs a property manager? What are the advantages & disadvantages, and what is the cost difference? Thank you much!

The only difference between us and a traditional property manager is we do not pay your taxes monthly and we do not collect payments from the guest.  We recommend using Avalara to help with the taxes and for payments you set up a stripe account and we invoice monthly for our service.  We also handle ordering of all supplies/consumables, manage the cleans and trash pick up and minor repairs and get reimbursed monthly.  THe biggest difference between co-hosts and property management, is how the property is marketed.  A PM markets their website, not your property individually and typically books at lower rates just to fill your calendar.  We directly market each property individually and utilize pricing software and optimization strategies to get the properties booked at the highest rate possible.  Co-host can also save you money.  Most charge 15-20% whil PMs are charging as much as 35% in Blue Ridge.

Quote from @Shirley Dimitro:

Hello, I'm seeing a lot of cabins for sale in Blue Ridge, GA that were only bought a couple of years ago (2020-2022). Were these just Covid "impulse" buys or is the STR market so slow now that owners are compelled to get rid of their investment? Anyone with STRs in Blue Ridge can give me some insight? Thank you!

Hi Shirley,
I think there is still a lot of potential in BR, but you absolutely need the right property. Too many people bought boring cabins at higher prices and are needing to unload them now. The market is trending towards modern and chic, not bear comforters and grandma’s antiques😂. My wife and I own three and co-host others that are doing extremely well. You just need amenities that stand out and the views and/or water are just about a must have. I’d be glad to connect anytime to provide more insight. 

Best, 
Neil

Quote from @Brian Barch:

Congrats on your success!we own in Clayton and are having a lot of success. On a personal enjoyment level, I find it much better than BR. It’s more of a locals town, lots more waterfalls, and the downtown has a little more substance to me.
we bought in Nov 2022 for $365k, and are on pace to gross $55-60k with our first rental.
https://abnb.me/KOuWo7B1CBb
I have found in this market, the smaller the place the better occupancy is holding up. Hot tub, Mountain View, and log cabin seems to be the winning formula.
having stayed on BR a dozen times, I find in Clayton, and just over the border in NC, the clientele doesn’t seem to want or expect some of the premiums just yet (game rooms and such). They seem to skew a bit more outdoorsy and thus from the best I can tell, crave a bit more of an unplugged experience.

All anecdotal from my own experience and the forums I’m in. We have yet to have a month under 65% occupancy, and July has blown us away at 28/31 days booked!!! 
it’s been a fun ride for us so far, and transparently it we love using the place monthly.     
cheers to continues success!!!

 Nice! Glad to hear is is going well.  The smaller ones definitely have better occupancy.  WIth our larger ones, we shoot for a little lower occupancy and higher daily rate.  We find it weeds out the party groups and puts less stress on the properties

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Neil Doldo:

Quote from @John Underwood:

What type of dedicated marketing are you doing?

We do alot of what Bill Faeth is preaching. Surprisingly, Facebook B/S/T groups have been the most successful. We also do targeted Facebook ads and have a lot of local Facebook group connections (Atlanta suburbs). The next step is targeted email marketing 

 I had never heard of him. I watched a few of his videos.

What is B/S/T?

Local FB groups?

Buy/Sell/Trade. They are free to post in. We have joined all over Florida and Alabama and periodically post in them. Check out Build Short Term Wealth Facebook group, that’s Bill’s site. They are taking hosting to another level

Quote from @Ryan Moyer:

Appreciate you sharing actual numbers, that's awesome!

What would these cabins sell for on the open market today?  Just doing some browsing on Zillow, for instance, that first property as a 4br cabin with a view would be $1M or above, no?  Possibly upwards of $1.5M compared to some of the comps currently listed (though not sure if those ones are actually selling).

Of course $117k gross looks a lot different on a $525k mortgage at 3% than it does on a $1M-$1.5M mortgage at 7%.

That one is actually still on the market now for $844k. We had a buyer in the fist week that backed out in the final hour of DD. We are pulling it this weekend to make some improvements and keep it. But, you are correct.  Much harder to make the numbers work, but it’s out there. Look at Vaughn springs above.