All Forum Posts by: Kyle H.

@Michael Abernathy.  I underwrite all of my deals at 55% occupancy, and all of my STRs are in Bryson.

@Alan Taylor

Bryson City is crazy micro market as @Mitch Davidson has found out. I have been here since the early 2000's and I struggle to find reliable cleaners and help.  
Feel free to DM if you want some local recs for attorneys.  

@Jon Martin 

It's obviously a mixed bag.  We have guests wanting both experiences.  I would say that being within 15-20 minutes of town would be the max I would go if I were selecting a more secluded/private experience.  There are vastly different expectations of what secluded is.  I have a property on the river literally within walking distance to town that I have had people who were uncomfortable because they thought it was "too remote", side note I have two other rentals on that property as well,  so you just never know what guests will think of a properties remoteness.  As the downtown has matured, being closer to town has become more important IMO. 

@Adrien Abundes

With any average there are variables. I am way above the occupancy #s but most of my rentals are small 1 BRs and most would come in below that average $. I do all of my proformas at 55% occupancy and always suggest that # for any one looking at STRs. I think the 15% rule is a pretty good starting point for the $ end of things, and there are occasionally MLS deals here that will pencil out.

@Grant Vincent There was a ban "moratorium"  on short term rentals in Swain County during the beginning of Covid lockdown. We lost around 2 months worth of bookings/revenue, but the floodgates opened after the moratorium was lifted and occupancy was very high afterwards.

@Matt Schreiber Matt glad the info was helpful.  That property is in a good location and I'm familiar with that neighborhood.  I ran some quick numbers at list price, 20% down, current mortgage rates, self management and gross rental income I would be comfortable going to the bank with and it was cash flow negative. 

@Matt Schreiber I live and invest in Bryson City with 12 STR units currently in addition to a LTR portfolio, and have been on Airbnb with units since 2016. We basically saw a 25-30% increase of listings year over year the last two years which has saturated/diluted the market. I would say our local Realtors pushed some fairly unreasonable occupancy numbers to buyers and now they are all freaking out and dropping their prices or having their management drop prices. Demand is also down, I have my ear pretty close to the ground here and the majority of my friends and circle either own businesses here or have rentals and the consensus is that we are back to 2019 numbers +/- about 5%. The majority of my units are smaller and have typically rented more last minute but most of my peers here in town are seeing this trend with larger properties as well this year. Anecdotally I know of 4-5 people who have already transitioned from STR to LTRs here in the last couple months due to low occupancy. It will flush out here in my opinion in 12-18 months as most people will exit the market due to not coming close to occupancy numbers to feed the beast. I run all my pro forma numbers at 55% occupancy and have always been way above that but 20 and 21 were freakish in occupancy rates here outside of the moratorium we were slapped with (I ran over 90%). Everyone has their own way of running numbers but I have seen so many cabins sell here that wouldn't pencil out with any leverage even at high occupancy rates.

@Bryan Lauth. In my personal opinion location of the property is paramount at the moment. We have had high saturation and the resulting downward pricing pressure this off season more so than any other time since I started in 2015. To be specific, location in my mind can mean a handful of things some of which you mentioned (view, proximity to downtown, creek front, lake front), whichever you pick ensure that it is great. From an amenities standpoint hot tubs are very high on the list, that being said I have in town properties without hot tubs that do very well but it is not an expected amenity. We have a huge number of people entering the market with even single/double wide's being listed as STRs, I think it's going to take 12-18 months to flush out a lot of these listings where people have obviously not run their numbers. Just make sure your property has something that cannot be easily replicated. I just closed a deal to get to 12 STRs here and I am personally going to hit the pause button and transition towards more LTRs unless something really good comes across my desk. There is still money to be had and a lot of opportunity but just make sure your location is good. I'm always happy to chat if you have any additional questions. If you are looking for a STR specific realtor, Brian Whitener at Smoky Mountain Life Realty is the best in my opinion, he owns STRs and is a consultant for OwnerRez.

@Lindsay Z. I have 6 STRs in Bryson and just closed on 6 more with a group of partners.  While there is still a lot of opportunity here @Mitch Davidsons post is spot on with regards to inventory, help, and saturation. I have seen more and more people put houses that should only be a long term rentals into service as a STR, as well as paying prices that will not cashflow. Always happy to discuss the situation on the ground if you want to reach out, as I live, work, and invest here.

@Mitch Davidson congrats on the purchase, it's been slim pickings around here for a while.  We have built all of our rentals outside the 6 we just bought.   

@Stefan Folkert

Cardinal Homes