Hard Time Hollow up for sale

[One Half]

For all the "experts" and "skinflints" out there who think they could run a better hostel and do it at "hiker friendly rates" here's your chance.



http://www.rustyshardtimehollow.com/

[peakbagger]

Its been for sale on and off for a couple of years. IMHO unless someone has money to burn and no expectation of ever turning a profit they are in for an expensive education.

[The Old Chief]

This piece of property is severely overpriced. And in its current state it can't be listed as a business with any kind of moneymaking potential. "Rustic" buildings and no water or electricity means the structures are worthless. No bank or mortgage company is going to lend much of anything towards the purchase of this property except for the raw value of the land, or probably less than half the asking price. There may be somebody out there that would give $475,000 in cash for the place but they may have spent that much all ready on an oceanfront lot in Arizona.

[One Half]

This piece of property is severely overpriced. And in its current state it can't be listed as a business with any kind of moneymaking potential. "Rustic" buildings and no water or electricity means the structures are worthless. No bank or mortgage company is going to lend much of anything towards the purchase of this property except for the raw value of the land, or probably less than half the asking price. There may be somebody out there that would give $475,000 in cash for the place but they may have spent that much all ready on an oceanfront lot in Arizona.

I get that. Even at less than half the price, the value of the land, running this as a hiker hostel at "hiker rates" would not turn a profit.

I put it out there because we see too many people complain about the "conditions" at hostels while wanting to stay for practically free. Champagne tastes on a cheap beer budget.

[The Old Chief]

Agree with you. One correction--it does appear to have electricity on the property these days.

One of my friends heard a hiker in Damascus the other day complaining about the run down condition of Kincora. Wonder if that hiker paid the 5.00 donation.

[The Solemates]

Agree. If it had about 200 acres might be worth considering

[Slo-go'en]

Isn't it one of the last privately owned pieces (or maybe the only) of land in the SNP? Land locked by the park and easement land. $25,000 an acre isn't all that unreasonable considering the location. The big question is are there any deed restrictions about subdivision or development of the land. It would be a prime location for a rich persons retreat or for a hotel complex. In which case $475K is really cheap.

[peakbagger]

Years ago there was the somewhat infamous Mountain Mamas just north of the Smokies, It consisted of a store that sold cheap cigarettes as it was just over the state line. The accommodations were primitive. It went up for sale and someone bought it, closed it, cleaned up the junk and put in a vacation home. I had driven by one year on a section hike and it was still there but next year there was a new building.

I agree that barring deed restrictions a couple of high end vacation homes is probably its destiny. I seriously doubt there are any zoning restrictions. One alternative is if the property is inside the declaration boundary of federal land its regarded as an "inholding", the fed or a private group will frequently have a wish list of in holdings that they will either directly make an offer to buy the inholding or they will make it known to a private organization like The Nature Conservancy who has more flexibility to make an offer. They generally offer the raw land price and usually the owner decides to list if for sale knowing that worst case is they have a backstop sale directly or indirectly to the government. Now that the LWCF is fully re-approved and fully funded there is (or at least there was) was a lot of money for the fed to buy land. If in the declaration boundary there is a lot less paperwork for accepting land and appending it to the federal land holding. If its outside the declaration boundary, it requires an act of congress to officially accept it.

Reminds me of Rainbow Spring Campground a popular place to stay for many years, it was bought and cut up into house lots.

[TNhiker]

Years ago there was the somewhat infamous Mountain Mamas just north of the Smokies, It consisted of a store that sold cheap cigarettes as it was just over the state line. The accommodations were primitive. It went up for sale and someone bought it, closed it, cleaned up the junk and put in a vacation home. I had driven by one year on a section hike and it was still there but next year there was a new buildin




that was just a touch east of the big creek entrance to the Park....

and yeah......it had a that "rustic run down" look to it...

and apparently they made to order huge hamburgers.......

i never had one...

and i thought (and its been years since ive been over there) that the new owner was trying to keep the store going and the sorta hostel that they had going there...

and that was on private land maybe a mile-ish from the boundary of the Park......

[Grampie]

I stopped there in 2001 and it was for sale then.

[The Old Chief]

Isn't it one of the last privately owned pieces (or maybe the only) of land in the SNP? Land locked by the park and easement land. $25,000 an acre isn't all that unreasonable considering the location. The big question is are there any deed restrictions about subdivision or development of the land. It would be a prime location for a rich persons retreat or for a hotel complex. In which case $475K is really cheap.

It's not in SNP. The "park" is the Blue Ridge Parkway. The BRP is just not that big a draw for tourists anymore. Most of the privately owned hotels that were adjacent to the Parkway are gone now. Wintergreen resort is just down the road from the property so I don't think another resort without a draw, like skiing, would be feasible. 16 miles up the road at Rockfish Gap, where the BRP and Skyline Drive meet, the hotels are gone. Maybe an offer is standing from some conservancy group but they are not going to pay anywhere near the asking price. I believe this property has been for sale off and on for several years. Evidence that it is way over priced.

[jigsaw]

46276 it was just wall to wall ciggs but the burgers were pretty good

[peakbagger]

One of the many sayings in real estate is the asking price is not too high its just too early. Looking at Google Earth Pro, its looks like there are several private lots in the area and a development just down the road.

[The Old Chief]

One of the many sayings in real estate is the asking price is not too high its just too early. Looking at Google Earth Pro, its looks like there are several private lots in the area and a development just down the road.

The development down the road, I believe, is Wintergreen ski resort. Wintergreen has been around for over 40 years and its proximity to the property has not created a demand for the property yet and I don't believe it will. You can list a piece of property for any price you want to but that doesn't mean you will get that price. I hope the owner gets more than the property is worth but he will have to compromise on the price. If not, his heirs certainly will.

[peakbagger]

I see multiple homes within 1/2 mile.

Wintergreen looks to be 4 miles away. Plenty of 400K plus asking prices for high end homes at Wintergreen on their website.

[The Old Chief]

I see multiple homes within 1/2 mile.

Wintergreen looks to be 4 miles away. Plenty of 400K plus asking prices for high end homes at Wintergreen on their website.
You are correct, but there isn't a high end home on this property. The amenities available in the Wintergreen resort area are also a little bit more "high end" than what is available on this property. I have property in the mtns of NC and it's within 3 miles of a $10,000,000 home sitting on about 30 acres of land and the price of my place and land and homes around it haven't been impacted at all. Maybe in your area, the Hard Time Hollow property would be a good deal, but down here, no way.

[peakbagger]

My guess is like many folks, Rusty's only retirement may be the value of the property. In order to move on, he has to sell it, pay off any debts and park it in bank account and live off it for the rest of his life. Take a look at the annuity value of around $370K and its not a lot of yearly payments.

[AsoloBootsSuk]

Looking at the price of mixed hardwoods, you may be able to harvest 15-40k from that property

[peakbagger]

IMHO For scenic properties, the loss in potential value drop due to the cutting usually far offsets the revenue from the cut. The caveat is if someone stumps its out and seeds it into fields, the scenic value can come back in several years but it usually costs far more than any revenue.

That said if it hasn't been high graded in the past and they have veneer quality trees, they can bring in a lot of bucks by a bit of high grading ;). Straight large diameter oaks with no defects in the first few logs from the stump can be worth a couple of thousand bucks a pop.