Smithco Construction

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• By Steve F.

  June 4, 2021

  Build an investment cabin with 1 year builder's warranty

  $539,900

  I took possession of a new cabin from Chuck Smith 20 weeks ago.

  I remotely manage my cabin in the Smokies for the short term rental (STR) market, Airbnb and vrbo.

  Any negativity in this review does not pertain to the quality of the cabin itself, which I have not yet visited, and that my guests seem to like.

  My review is for any investors considering hiring Chuck Smith to build an investment cabin for the STR market, and my review is only concerned with the One Year Warranty offered by Chuck Smith, and concerned with Chuck Smith's very poor communication skills.

  I have been consistently very disappointed with Chuck Smith's response to the needs of my guests when things go wrong.

  Airbnb is all about the reviews. Anything less than a 5-star review from a guest can cause serious damage to an STR property's future income. Not only will low ratings repel potential renters, but low ratings can get your property de-listed.

  It is hard to over state how devastating de-listing is to the owner of an Airbnb. It could mean financial ruin.

  In the STR space, guests expect excellent communication and very rapid resolution to their problems. Chuck Smith does not seem to appreciate this fact, or perhaps he just doesn't care.

  To illustrate my warning I will give just the latest example of dozens I've experienced since January.

  This past Sunday my guest reported that the washing machine was not draining. This is a brand new washing machine, covered under my warranties from the manufacturer and from my builder, Chuck Smith. Chuck tells me he turns his phone off after 5pm Fridays and doesn't turn it back on until the following business day. Either way, he doesn't respond to my guest's broken things on weekends.

  So I started calling around to every appliance repair service I could find, even though I would likely have to pay for this repair out of pocket.

  No one I called was available to even look at until at the unit until at least Monday. Knowing that Chuck would not answer any call or text over the weekend nor the Memorial Day Monday, I texted him first thing Tue morning letting him know of the issue.

  24 hours later, Wednesday, I texted again "Status on fixing washer?"

  Chuck's response "All appliances fall under manufacturer warranty you have to call Home depot where it was purchased to arrange for repair."

  My response "Good to know. Receipt? Some proof of purchase? Date of purchase?"

  Nothing.

  30 minutes later I texted: "Trying to arrange Home Depot warranty. I need info about the purchase. Phone number associated with the purchase. Receipt. Order #. That kind of thing. Thank you."

  45 minutes later he texted "I am not where I have that info right now I will have the secretary go back and pull the receipt and get it to you".

  And that's the last I've heard from him.

  In the 20 weeks that I've had possession of the cabin, I have asked him repeatedly to provide me a list of all the relevant information about all the appliances and systems in my cabin. Make, model, serial numbers, purchase place, purchase date, name & number purchase was made under, contact information for manufacturer's warranty support. Nothing.

  When you remotely manage an Airbnb, you have to be able to answer questions like "how do I turn on the dishwasher?" and "how do I configure the TV for Netflix" and "how do I heat up the hot tub" etc.

  An owner needs to know the make, model #, serial number etc for all things in the house in order to download user manuals, download Youtube videos, and to know who to call for fixes when the builder's warranty is moot because he's checked out for the weekend and isn't answering his phone.

  So as I write this it is Friday, 6 days after my guest let me know my brand new washing machine isn't working. She's had to bring her family's clothes down to the laundromat several times now. "We packed light" because my cabin has a washing machine.

  There's no way I'm going to get a 5-star review from this fine family. Very likely I will get a 4-star or even 3-star for "Inaccurate Description".

  Negative reviews directly affect my bookings and my revenue, and risk getting my cabin de-listed altogether.

  Nearly all of the <5-star reviews my property has gotten have been because of this kind of situation, where things in my cabin are broken, and my builder is not responding in an STR timeline.

  He seems to think that a five day or eight week response time to problems is acceptable in the hospitality space that he has sold warranties into.

  It is not.

  While Chuck's super slow response time to fixing build problems may be acceptable to people who have purchased cabins for personal use only, it is completely out of touch with the rapid pace and always-on environment of short term rentals.

  So I'm leaving this 2-star review to warn potential investors that, once Chuck has been paid, you are likely to be on your own should anything break, and his one year warranty is effectively useless if you are STR.

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