Gatlinburg Real Estate Blog

I recently purchased a truck to replace my trusty vehicle that I have enjoyed since buying it new 10 years ago. With VERY few problems and a lot of miles racked up, I decided it was time to trade. In sizing up my options, I ended up with a replacement that I am quite happy with. Funny thing is that I have become quite spoiled. I considered another version of the same vehicle but because that particular truck didn't have a leather interior or heated seats, I decided it just wouldn't work. The fact is that once you have an option, it is very hard to purchase your next vehicle without the same option or accessory. My reason for writing this here is that the same thing is true for homes. Once you are used to certain features, it is VERY unusual to settle for a home without the same options/amenities. People who vacation here expect their getaway home to be at LEAST as nice as the home they live in when they aren't on vacation. For this reason, people considering the purchase of...

I recently purchased a truck to replace my trusty vehicle that I have enjoyed since buying it new 10 years ago. With VERY few problems and a lot of miles racked up, I decided it was time to trade. In sizing up my options, I ended up with a replacement that I am quite happy with. Funny thing is that I have become quite spoiled. I considered another version of the same vehicle but because that particular truck didn't have a leather interior or heated seats, I decided it just wouldn't work. The fact is that once you have an option, it is very hard to purchase your next vehicle without the same option or accessory. My reason for writing this here is that the same thing is true for homes. Once you are used to certain features, it is VERY unusual to settle for a home without the same options/amenities. People who vacation here expect their getaway home to be at LEAST as nice as the home they live in when they aren't on vacation. For this reason, people considering the purchase ...

I spoke recently with a friend who owns several Gatlinburg cabins (of all sizes from 1 bedroom to 8 bedrooms) and he were talking about the performance of one of his vacation rental properties in particular. When he told me that it would rent for 270+ nights this year I was floored. To be sure, years ago, I was able to easily find homes that generated unbelievable numbers but we've built a LOT of cabins since then. Can cabins still generate those gaudy numbers even in a recession economy - see Gatlinburg Real Estate Blog: Gatlinburg and the Great Recession ? The answer is an unqualified "Yes!". This one bedroom luxury cabin in Chalet Village is rented like I wouldn't have believed and will in fact produce an overall occupancy rate of 75% or even a little more for the fully year of 2009. The real question is what is it that allows this particular property to do so well? Here are the reasons as well as I can determine them: The cabin is a "state of the art" p...

I spoke recently with a friend who owns several Gatlinburg cabins (of all sizes from 1 bedroom to 8 bedrooms) and he were talking about the performance of one of his vacation rental properties in particular. When he told me that it would rent for 270+ nights this year I was floored. To be sure, years ago, I was able to easily find homes that generated unbelievable numbers but we've built a LOT of cabins since then. Can cabins still generate those gaudy numbers even in a recession economy - see Gatlinburg Real Estate Blog: Gatlinburg and the Great Recession ? The answer is an unqualified "Yes!". This one bedroom luxury cabin in Chalet Village is rented like I wouldn't have believed and will in fact produce an overall occupancy rate of 75% or even a little more for the fully year of 2009. The real question is what is it that allows this particular property to do so well? Here are the reasons as well as I can determine them: The cabin is a "state of the art" p...

A Cabin that Truly Pays for Itself! 13 years ago when my wife Karen and I first moved to Sevier County it was pretty easy to make a vacation rental property pay for itself. In fact, the vacation rental industry has been in the Gatlinburg area since the early 1960's and has thrived during the many years since. With hundreds of rental management agencies and many thousands of overnight rental cabins and chalets this very success has become our area's biggest challenge. Due to the recent building boom of the past 5 years our Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Cobbly Nob/Wears Valley area has an oversupply of properties available for vacationers to rent and not many of these homes are still able to clearly cover their entire expenses. There are however exceptions and the three bedroom, three bath log look cabin that we just listed is one of those happy situations where the owners ARE producing rentals that exceed the total cost of ownership. What is unique about this cabin? Several important...

A Cabin that Truly Pays for Itself! 13 years ago when my wife Karen and I first moved to Sevier County it was pretty easy to make a vacation rental property pay for itself. In fact, the vacation rental industry has been in the Gatlinburg area since the early 1960's and has thrived during the many years since. With hundreds of rental management agencies and many thousands of overnight rental cabins and chalets this very success has become our area's biggest challenge. Due to the recent building boom of the past 5 years our Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Cobbly Nob/Wears Valley area has an oversupply of properties available for vacationers to rent and not many of these homes are still able to clearly cover their entire expenses. There are however exceptions and the three bedroom, three bath log look cabin that we just listed is one of those happy situations where the owners ARE producing rentals that exceed the total cost of ownership. What is unique about this cabin? Several important...