What Makes a Vacation Cabin a Successful Rental Investment?

I speak with clients daily who all seem to be searching for the same property: A luxury log cabin with a great mountain view which is suitable for use as both a private getaway as well as a lucrative rental investment.

What Makes a Vacation Cabin a Successful Rental Investment?


For the most part, the North Georgia vacation rental market is glutted with "average" cabins. Buyers should be looking for a "special" property that will stand out from the crowd.

I suggest a cabin that is:

1) Within 10(+-) miles of town - The farther out you go, the more difficult it will be to find a property manager. It can also reduce your number of repeat & referral customers as it is inconvenient for them to get to stores and attractions.

2) Has either a beautful mountain view or is on good water (loud, visible and easily accessible) - A very secluded/private cabin is nice, but is not generally the first cabin requested.

3) A nice kitchen - As there are limited choices for eating out in most mountain areas, guests will use the kitchen quite heavily. If the cabin will sleep more than 4 guests, I would strongly suggest that you consider only cabins which offer a dishwasher.

4) Central heat & air is a must and paved roads are becoming a more frequently requested amenity.


The fact is that while many vacationers say they want to feel like they have experienced "roughing it in the mountains", they really do not want to be uncomfortable or inconvenienced at any time! In fact, our surveys showed that while on vacation paying guests expect their lodging accomodations to be "better than what they have at home".

Finding a cabin that meets your family's needs, but will also serve as a successful rental, can be tricky. Be sure that the agent you select to assist you has a FULL understanding of the vacation rental market in your area or your time and money can easily be wasted!



This North Georgia Real Estate blog is hosted by BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY Georgia Properties located in the quaint mountain town of Blue Ridge, GA. Please feel free to call (866-413-1781) or drop me an email gaylebarton@inbox.com if I can assist you with buying or selling your mountain home or property.

Gayle Barton has earned the Nationally recognized (SFR) Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification

Gayle Barton, a Realtor with BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY Georgia Properties in Blue Ridge, GA has earned the Nationally recognized Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification (SFR) from the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council of NAR. The certification program includes training on how to qualify sellers for short sales, negotiate with lenders, protect buyers, and limit risk, and provides resources to help REALTORS® stay current on national and state-specific information as the market for these distressed properties evolves. To earn the certification, she completed a one-day comprehensive classroom education program including passing a written test and three one hour webinars. The program provides resources to help stay current on national and state-specific information as the market for these distressed properties evolves.

Gayle will be contacting and assisting Fannin County lenders dealing with REO issues as well as homeowners facing foreclosure. She is also available to address the many Short Sale questions generally asked by cabin owners in distress, and to discuss options other than foreclosure.

Though the timeline related to the foreclosure process depends mainly on your lender, new programs were put in place on 4/5/10 so you may still be able to avoid foreclosure if you act immediately

If you would like to schedule a confidential consultation or proceed with the short sale of your home, please contact her by phone at 866-413-1781 or email gaylebarton@inbox.com.   **All communication will be held in strict confidence.

Guest writer - J. Byron Wyndham, Real Estate Attorney, blogs on the future of our economy.

Blue Ridge Georgia Real Estate is pleased to welcome guest blogger and local real estate attorney J. Byron Wyndham. Today, Byron shares with us his perspectives on the future of our economy.

Our Economic Future....


I recently had the privilege to attend a seminar where economist Dr. Donald Ratajczak spoke on his insights into our economic future. Dr. Ratajczak is a noted economist, the former head of the Georgia State University economic forecasting center and a noted worldwide lecturer. His opinions are in demand by the media and he is often sought after by major television networks for his thoughts on the economy.

Below is a summary of what Dr. Ratajczak sees for our economy in the near future:

Banks are reeling from the bad loans that were made over the past few years. Many lenders are surprised to find out how bad their portfolios really are. The banks feel that federal regulators are looking over their shoulders. How do the banks keep the regulators at bay? How do they improve their loan portfolios? They need lend…to good qualified borrowers. Then the banks will have more good loans in their portfolios.

Are we in an economic recovery? Yes, but it is not the traditional recovery that is usually led by the housing sector. Housing, in this recession, is a laggard. We have a two to three year inventory of unoccupied residential houses. However, by 2013, the inventory should be back to “normal.”

The recovery is slow because the banks won’t lend. New loans are DOWN eight per cent (8%) from this time a year ago. However, deposits are UP eight per cent (8%) from last year. When lending is down and deposits are up, the banks have money. They have plenty of money to lend if they would do so.

The banks need to change their manner of lending in order to get better loans into their portfolios. With a required credit score of 700, only one-third of the population can qualify for a loan. If the criteria were lowered to 675, then forty-five per cent (45%) of the population could qualify for a loan.

The Jobs Report for February showed a loss of thirty thousand jobs. However, sixty-four thousand of those job losses were in construction and government. State governments are letting people go to save money; state governments are experiencing large deficits and the fastest and easiest way for government to save money is to cut jobs. If the construction industry and government jobs are removed from the report, we actually had an increase of thirty thousand jobs last month. This trend should continue into the future.

Temporary jobs have also been increasing for the last five months. This will lead to job growth as temps are hired and made permanent workers. We should see continued job growth in March, April, and May.

For more information about short sales or other real estate related matters, please visit his website or email him at jbwyndham@tds.net



J. Byron Wyndham
2460 E. First St. Suite B-6
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
706.258.6222

 
 

 

This North Georgia Real Estate blog is hosted by
Gayle Barton of BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY Georgia Properties  located in the quaint mountain town of Blue Ridge, GA.

Please feel free to call (866-413-1781) or drop me an email gaylebarton@tds.net if I can assist you with buying or selling your mountain home or property.

Guest writer - J. Byron Wyndham, Real Estate Attorney, blogs on “Short Sales”

Blue Ridge Georgia Real Estate is pleased to welcome guest blogger and local real estate attorney J. Byron Wyndham.  Today, Byron shares with us his perspectives on understanding the secret side of short sales.

Short Sales...Continued


We are seeing more and more “short sales” in recent transactions. With many homes being “underwater” (the outstanding mortgage is more than the home value) in order to sell the house, the owners are asking lenders to accept less than the outstanding loan balance to release the house from the lien of the loan.

The “catch” ? Many owners don’t realize that just because the lender agrees to accept less than the loan balance to release the lien, that does NOT relieve the owner (the maker under the Note) from the obligation to repay the balance of the loan. The lender may file suit against the owner/seller for the balance of the loan that was not paid at the short sale.

The owners may also not understand that their credit can be adversely affected by the short sale. Usually, by the time the seller/owner has requested the short sale, they have missed several payments and have accrued late charges. This will appear on their credit report. But the seller may think that by doing a short sale, at least the stigma of a foreclosure has been avoided. However, in a short sale situation, the lender may “write off” the loan. This write off will appear on the credit report as a negative credit factor.

What options does a seller have? The seller can request that the lender agree to accept the short sale balance in full satisfaction of the loan and that it be marked “paid in full” on the credit report. This will avoid the actions noted above. However, the lender is NOT required to agree to these terms. It is an affirmative request to avoid the negative affects of the short sale. Though the Lender does not have to agree to this, many lenders are trying to avoid foreclosures and having more real estate on their books. In order to have a smaller loss than what would happen in the case of a foreclosure, the Lender might agree to this scenario.

The bottom line-it doesn’t hurt to ask. All they can do is say No! But if they say Yes, the seller can realize the full benefits of a short sale. JBW



For more information about short sales or other real estate related matters, please visit his website or email him at jbwyndham@tds.net


J. Byron Wyndham
2460 E. First St. Suite B-6
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
706.258.6222






This North Georgia Real Estate blog is hosted by
Gayle Barton of BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY Georgia Properties  located in the quaint mountain town of Blue Ridge, GA.

Please feel free to call (866-413-1781) or drop me an email gaylebarton@tds.net if I can assist you with buying or selling your mountain home or property.