This week Atticus and I stumbled into an off market STR property opportunity in our primary market of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, as we have been actively looking for another property there and I’ve been getting antsy – I’m not really known for being a patient person 🙂

The property was a great price and a great location with lots of potential, so we overlooked the fact that it was a bit smaller than we wanted. We saw it as a property that we could add value to by making some cosmetic changes and upgrades, therefore increasing the value of the property and allowing us to take money out by refinancing in a year or so. We decided to make an offer and when it was excepted we were thrilled! No matter how many times you purchase a property, it is always exciting to get an offer accepted – even with my clients, I always do a little happy dance! That feeling of success never gets old!

We decided to have my dad and stepmom, who have a home in Tennessee, tag along for the home inspection, as this property was much less “turn key” than others we have been interested in and without the time to get down there ourselves we wanted a set of eyes we could trust on the property. Unfortunately it quickly became evident that this “deal” was less of a deal, and more of a hot mess! It needed nearly everything – structural work, exterior work, plumbing work, HVAC work, electrical work, in addition to all of the cosmetic updates necessary to make it “rent ready” so ultimately we decided the right move was to walk away.

There is nothing more disappointing then having to walk away from a property when you think you finally found the next deal, but ultimately this is a business, and the numbers either make sense or they don’t! As frustrating as it is to be back to “square one” in terms of our deal, we did learn several valuable lessons from this deal. Some takeaways:

1. We were finally able to find a super solid home inspector that we can rely on for our future deals
2. We learned a lot about what some of the common deferred maintenance issues are in this geographical area (it really does vary region to region) and will be better able to keep an eye out for them and ask the right questions when evaluating future properties.
3. We learned to expect a different level of maintenance/ repair work on cabins that were not being used as rental properties – there was clearly no concern for code and safety regulations with the work done, as liability was not a factor for these owners.

So as of today we are back on the hunt! I’m definitely bummed to have to continue to wait, but this opportunity not only provided us with some great lessons, but it was also a great reminder that everything happens in due time and we can’t rush it. We could never have predicted this deal falling into our lap, and while this one was not “the one” the next one certainly could be! You never know what lies just around the corner in this business so I will keep on keeping on until the next opportunity presents itself!