Play 01
The in-town Blowing Rock STR
A walkable-to-Main-Street condo or cottage. Highest nightly rates, easiest to book, best appreciation floor. Entry point for first-time investors who want something turnkey.
For investors
More than selling homes — building empires in the High Country.
Patti McCollum builds real estate portfolios for investors in Boone, Blowing Rock, and across the Blue Ridge. Short-term rentals, second homes, land plays — engineered around your goals, not the next transaction.
Why investors work with Patti
A portfolio strategist who happens to hold a broker's license.
Before real estate, Patti spent two decades negotiating for Fortune 500 companies and running land acquisition for cellular infrastructure across the region. She reads deals structurally — cap rate, exit, counterparty, entitlement risk — and she reads this market intimately.
Short-term rental income
Blowing Rock and Boone draw year-round demand — leaf season, ski weekends, App State parents, summer escapes from the Piedmont and Charlotte. Cabins and condos in the right pocket run 60–75% occupancy at premium ADRs.
Appreciation with limited supply
The High Country is topographically and municipally supply-constrained — buildable mountain lots are finite, and Blowing Rock's town limits protect scarcity. That's the setup long-hold investors want.
Second-home to portfolio pipeline
Many of Patti's clients start with one mountain property they love, then add a second — a rental, a land banking play, a family compound. She helps map that arc from day one.
A negotiator, not a note-taker
Twenty-plus years negotiating Fortune 500 contracts, then land acquisition for cellular infrastructure. She reads a deal — and a counterparty — like few agents in the market.
Why Boone & Blowing Rock
A four-season market with real, structural demand.
This isn't a boom-town — it's a compounding one. Tourism, education, and geography quietly stack in favor of long-term owners.
3,500+ ft
Elevation & scarcity
Blowing Rock sits above 3,500 feet with strict town planning; buildable in-town lots trade at a persistent premium to the surrounding county.
21,000+
App State enrollment
Boone anchors Appalachian State — a durable renter base plus a parent-and-visitor economy that fills short-term inventory year-round.
16M / yr
Blue Ridge Parkway visits
The Parkway is the most-visited unit of the U.S. National Park System. Its 469 miles funnel travelers straight through the High Country.
365 days
Four-season demand
Ski at Sugar, App, and Beech in winter. Leaf season October. Summer festivals, whitewater, hiking. Rentals aren't chasing a single season — they're stacking them.
Where the plays are
Four investor archetypes Patti actively builds around.
Every buyer is different. These are the shapes most High Country portfolios take — starting points, not scripts.
Play 02
The Boone/App State rental
A duplex or townhome inside the App State draw. Long-term student and faculty leases, or hybrid short-term during football and parent weekends. Cash flow first, appreciation second.
Play 03
The mountain cabin portfolio
Two to four cabins in gated communities like Yonahlossee, Elk River, or Blue Ridge Mountain Club. Managed as a small STR portfolio with real brand and repeat guests.
Play 04
The land bank
Acreage with view corridors or subdivision potential — held for appreciation or a future custom build. Patti's cellular-tower land background makes her the right agent for a raw-land read.
How Patti works with investors
Underwrite. Acquire. Compound.
Whether you're buying your first STR or your fifth, the process is disciplined — and quiet enough to keep you competitive.
- 01
Strategy call
Goals, capital, timeline, tax posture. What role does this play in your bigger picture?
- 02
Market fit
Blowing Rock in-town, Boone student market, gated cabin communities, or raw land — matched to the strategy, not the other way around.
- 03
Underwrite the deal
Rental comps, projected ADR, seasonality, HOA rules, management costs, exit assumptions. Numbers first.
- 04
Negotiate & close
This is where Patti's Fortune 500 background shows up — structure, terms, and price working together.
- 05
Portfolio, not transaction
Ongoing check-ins, market read-outs, and the next acquisition when the time is right.
Blowing Rock · Boone · Banner Elk · Linville
Ready to see what your High Country portfolio could look like?
Book a 30-minute investor consultation with Patti. Bring your goals — she'll bring the market.