The Great Smoky Mountains remain the most visited park in the United States, even in the middle of a pandemic. The area received over 12 million tourists, which didn’t fall short of its 11.3 million annual average despite the pandemic.
While the area attracts millions of tourists per year, it’s not exactly popular amongst investors. There are hundreds of listings of log cabins for sale in Smoky Mountains that don’t get deserved attention.
In this article, we’ll explore the Great Smoky Mountains, the meaning of log cabins, and the viability of purchasing a log cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains.
What are the Great Smoky Mountains?
The Great Smoky Mountains, also known as the Great Smokies or simply Smokies, was established in 1934, sometime before the land could be destroyed due to excessive logging.
The park spans over 500,000 acres with breathtaking biodiversity. In the park alone, there are 240 different kinds of birds, 50 species of fish, and a much more impressive 1,500 different species of plants.
The popularity of the Great Smoky Mountains is partly thanks to the very many species of organisms that live inside the park.
What’s a Log Cabin?
A log cabin is exactly what it sounds like; a house built from logs of wood. It’s expectedly the dominant kind of house in an area like the Smoky Mountains, due to the abundance of trees.
Log cabins have a certain antique look that attracts tourists to them. They’re closer to nature than regular brick houses without compromising on safety.
Due to their impressive upsides, log cabins have been, and remain a logical investment, especially in an area like the Great Smokies, where lots of tourists converge all year round.
Factors to Consider Before Buying a Log Cabin
While a log cabin can be a great investment, there are some basic factors to consider before buying from the log cabins for sale in Smoky Mountains.
Here are some of the factors to consider before investing in a log cabin property, and why the cabins for sale in Tennessee Smoky Mountains are a great investment.
- Location
Before buying a log cabin, you want to ensure that it’s in a practical location to make it a worthwhile investment. Buying a log cabin within a residential area isn’t going to do a lot of good; not many people are willing to desert their homes for an antique wooden building nowadays.
However, log cabins around popular tourist attractions work excellently, as people enjoy staying at non-conventional places during a vacation.
Thus, buying a log cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains will be an excellent investment choice. What’s a better location than a park with more than 11 million visitors every year?
- Size
When buying a log cabin, you should think of your prospective tenant. Are you planning to pitch the property to a family taking a vacation or just a single person?
Asking questions like this will help to determine the right size of log cabins you should buy, and how much they may cost.
Fortunately, you can find Smoky Mountains cabins for sale in varying sizes at Avery Carl’s website. Thus, you don’t have to worry about shopping around after deciding on your perfectly sized log cabin in the Smokies.
- Potential Costs
Before buying a log cabin, you should check out the house physically to ensure that it’s appealing enough for residential purposes.
Log cabins generally require regular maintenance to keep the woods from getting wet. Since the house is basically all wood, getting it wet may lead to the formation of mold, making it unappealing for potential tenants.
Investing in a good ventilation system and dehumidifiers are all logical investments that you may have to make after the fact. Getting a termite treatment plan is also a no-brainer for log cabins.
All the same, you want to buy a cabin that requires the least maintenance upfront to reduce the overall maintenance and upgrade costs after the fact.
- Internet Access
If you’re buying mainly for renting to tourists, you want to ensure that the Internet is accessible from inside the cabin. Not many tourists are willing to let go of social media and Google throughout their vacation.
If you’re primarily targeting people following the “digital detox” trend, a remote log cabin without Internet access may be the best choice for you in the long run.
In short, if you haven’t thought much about your potential tenants, it’s always safe to go with a log cabin with steady and fast Internet.
Where to Buy a Log Cabin the Smoky Mountains
It’s almost impossible to go wrong when you invest in a log cabin in the Smoky Mountains, but getting the best locations also means the best profit potential.
According to a recent analysis, Tennessee is the best investment location for vacation rentals in the Smoky Mountains.
More specifically, Gatlinburg and Sevierville, both in Tennessee make the best investment locations for vacation rentals investors across the entirety of the Smoky mountains.
This doesn’t mean you should avoid log cabins in other locations; cities based in North Carolina also make very excellent locations for vacation rental property, and specifically log cabins.
Also, the study wasn’t laser-focused on log cabins. Instead, it took all vacation rental property into account, making it unreliable for use in making investment decisions relating to log cabin properties.
Whether you’re buying any of the mountain view cabins for sale or you’re purchasing one in Cherokee in North Carolina, you can always be sure you’ll be getting a bang for your buck.
Should You Buy the Log Cabins for Sale in the Smoky Mountains?
The log cabins for sale in Smoky Mountains are a perfect investment property if you’re looking to expand your investment portfolio with vacation rentals.
Before paying for the cabin, however, you should check to make sure that you won’t have to spend disproportionately high amounts for repairs and maintenance. Basic repairs are fine, but you shouldn’t buy uninhabitable log cabins.
Unless you’re renting out to digital detoxers, you should also verify that the Internet is accessible and fast from inside the cabin.
As for the location, you don’t have to worry about that. Any log cabin around the Smoky Mountains will always make a great investment. Visit the Short Term Shop to see available log cabin properties.
