All Forum Posts by: Terry Johnson

Jeff's done a good job of summing it up and I agree with his feedback. 

They're all so relatively close to one another, but if year-round rental income is your primary objective I would shy away from anchoring onto one of the two ski resorts. Instead I would place convenience to Banner Elk at the top of your list as people are attracted to this area for many reasons beyond skiing. 

Our home is a good example as we have views of Sugar Mountain, but it's location is situated about halfway between Sugar and downtown Banner Elk. Our peak rental demand occurs almost equally over Fall Weekends, Peak of Winter and the Summer with a 70+% rental rate for the year. If I were ranking the three in order, I would place Summer first as most of our reservations during this period are for a week or more at a time.

Good luck with your quest!

Terry

@Ashley Miller - our experience in Banner Elk with STR has been multiple peak seasons (Ski, Summer and Fall). Our occupancy rates have been 65-95% during the peak. The off peak is late winter/early spring (March to May) and we've had no less than 30% occupancy with an average of around 45%.

Could be that we're getting slightly above market demand at our home, but I don't believe these should be far above average for the area if any. Hope this helps.

Hello Satish- the greater Banner Elk area does have a lot going for it and the right property should provide you excellent income and a potential nice getaway spot. Happy to answer any questions or offer advice if a need arises. 

Good luck with your search/purchase!

Terry

Hi Will - we purchased a large home in the Banner Elk area in late 2020. We were primarily looking for a second home, but when I learned of the potential for income, we pivoted to looking for an investment opportunity first that could also serve as a second home when we could get away. 

While we're just under a year in ownership, I couldn't be more pleased with our decision. We love getting away when we can and when we can't, it's providing a nice return for us. We already owned/managed several LTR's in the Lake Norman Area and even though we don't manage the BE home, that experience has really come in handy. 

I saw your question about the offseason, which for Banner Elk is mainly spring. We were still 60% plus rented over that time period and now that summer's arrived, it's 90% plus. Summer, Fall and Winter all have strong demand for the area. I can't speak to Bryson City, but Banner Elk is so convenient to Sugar and Beech skiing, lots of golf courses and a really quant village with shops and restaurants in BE.

I don't have an agent recommendation for the area as our agent is not one I could recommend.

Wish you luck in your search!

Terry

Hi Chaz - we're investors and residents in the Mooresville community. We've lived here for 10 years, owned/managed SFH rentals for nearly that entire time and been traveling regularly to Mooresville for 20+ years. The quality of life here is outstanding and surely a big contributor to why it's seen so much growth for the last 20 years. The market is really hot right now (like many others), but compared to many I believe there's less downside risk. Last couple of years, we could have rented or sold many more properties if we had them.

So while I can't offer much insight on Mocksville, you be hard pressed to find a better living/investing situation in NC than Mooresville.

Terry

Hello Sean - we've been in the Mooresville area for ten years now and own 11 single family homes in the area. Some may view the area as less desirable to invest because it's very difficult to find properties that would meet the 1% rule. However we've had terrific success in the area as ROI is more meaningful to us than income. We recently bought a home that we're flipping, but primarily we've chosen to buy and hold. We manage all of our local homes, have had almost zero turnover, overall wonderful tenants and consistent value appreciation. The average market price of our homes is about $325K. So while we don't have as strong a cash flow as other markets, we've been really pleased with our investment returns and experience.

Congratulations on purchasing your future residence here and good luck with your move!

Terry

 Will share the company through PM Chris. 

Hello Christina - we recently acquired a home in Banner Elk that's just over a mile from the Sugar Mountain entrance. We had been planning to acquire a second home for sometime and finally decided to pull the trigger. What started off as primarily a second home with the possibility of short term leasing quickly flipped to a STR first and a second home when not rented because demand is so strong right now for STR's in this area.

We own 10 homes, but all the rest are traditional leases and are also close to our primary home in the Lake Norman area (all w/in 30m). A STR is a completely different animal in my opinion, in that it requires more work and much more compromise, but financially is worth the effort. The home has 6 bedrooms and comfortably sleeps 16. We do have a property management company and even with our experience with LTR's, just no way we could effectively manage this home without local property management.

We're excited to have made the plunge and likely will add a second STR in 2-3 years. Let me know if you have specific questions and good luck in your search.

Terry

Hi Russell - I've read differing opinions on your thread and I guess one's feedback will be largely influenced by their experience. We've bought, sold and managed properties for nearly 20 years now. We have 1 STR in Banner Elk and nearly a dozen long term rentals here in the Lake Norman area. To me, there's no comparison when it comes to complexity and required involvement between the two. The STR provides a much better return than the average return of our LTR's, but it requires considerably more effort and oversight. We personally manage all of our properties except the STR and even with a FT Property Management company we still put more mindshare and effort there. I would say the cost of entry for a STR would normally be much higher than a typical LTR.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful we have our STR and will eventually add one or two others, but my advice would be to start with a long term rental, get your feet wet and grow from there. Good luck to you!

Congratulations Mark!