All Forum Posts by: Ruth Blue

@Marco Egurvide

Congratulations Marco

Welcome to the neighborhood! You did exactly what we have done. My Mom has 1 bedrooms and I also have a 1 bedroom. They rent very consistently and solid. When the larger ones are sitting open these will be booked more often then not.

@Michael Hyun

My Mom Rhonda Blue and I manage cabins in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge area. Besides the normal sought after amenities like fire pit, pool, hot tub, grassy area for pets. New experience we have been playing with adding to the extremely private locations is a fully enclosed outdoor glass shower. We have seen it a few times in international listings and plan to try it soon.

@Chris Doloriert

My MOM and partner @rhondaBlue has developed a relationship with a local lender who offers financing as part of a portfolio. She has several Residential loans, a few commercial loans, as well as line of credit. With commercial lending like this it doesn't show on credit bureau as they don't report. Her most recent purchase was a condo in Destin,FL. Most investments are Huntsville Alabama single family and Vacation rental in Pigeon Forge Gatlinburg area. Maybe this type of lending is what your looking for?

@Domanique Huggins

We manage cabins here in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and with the different owners for locations. The floors we have LVP installed look and feel better. The ones we placed laminate tend to have issues with guests complaining they are not always as clean. It's interesting.

We always recommend LVP.

Hi Bruce,

I have had some crazy experiences with Guests on Airbnb & VRBO. Most recently we had a guest that had the washer set on SOAK & was wondering why it did not finish it's wash cycle. I've learned that leaving as many detailed instructions as possible is a huge help. I am sorry that happened to you though, lying or dishonesty with guests sucks. 

I am glad this is not common for yall & I wish you the best of luck for your Summer Guests!

Hi Billy!

Property managers can be super helpful if you don't want emergency calls and maintenance to be handled by you or a family member. It really depends on how busy you are with your other investment as if you want to invest your time into managing. I have see some online managing companies at 10% but they won't be very hands-on to assist with issues. It is 100% normal for your manager to collect funds & then disburse them to you, we have had some owners that wanted to handle different portions like their own cleaning crew, so it depends on if they would be flexible to allow you control over different fees. 

I would definitely make sure your cash-flow would be acceptable after hiring a manger to ensure it would be worth while. 

Best of luck with your Vacation rental, I love mine! 

Hi Evan,

I would definitely look for a local company, we use Farm Bureau Insurance for our cabin in the Smoky Mountains. Local is good & you will want to check around a few different insurance companies for the best rate as the STR insurance has been going up in cost.

Best of luck with your search Evan!

Hi Joshua,

Depending on how involved you would prefer to be a PM could be necessary or not so much. Growing up, my other long-term rented out a house or two they owned in a different state. It is definitely possible to get a good tenant set up & collect payments with ease. I would 100% recommend having a good contactor for repairs or someone to swing by if needed. Since you are a few hours out you can always come out to visit as well if needed. You could save a good 10% to cover repairs and such moving forward without a manager but you would be your tenant's primary contact. Starting out with self management may be a good start then if you decide it isn't for you, you can always swap to a manager. 

Best of luck with your new adventure & future tenants!

Hi Kyle,

That is definitely an important choice of if you would rather rent Long-Term or Short-Term, you do run some risks and may have more legal concerns with a Long-Term 30-day+ tenant but you will want to research for your specific area. As long as you cash-flow & understand all the specifics you may need to know in case of trouble with a LT tenant, I would go for it. You will be able to see what works best for you and your particular property. 

Hi Wayne,

It is definitely helpful to have someone on the ground to take a look at work that is done when you are not available. In the past we have had a trust worthy cleaner who can come take a look at work that is done or a Realtor/Property Manager may be helpful in that respect. In regards to furnishings, It helps to look online & you can have most things delivered then later add any decorations + comfort items when you come down to visit the unit yourself.

It is definitely possible to set up your Airbnb remotely, you just will want to have some conversations & find someone trustworthy to help!