Finding the perfect monthly rental as a digital nomad requires more than just a roof over your head. After spending two and a half years living exclusively in furnished rentals across 10 different cities, Chelsea Kimlel has developed a keen eye for what separates exceptional properties from the rest. Her insights reveal exactly what digital nomads look for when choosing where to live for months at a time.
The power of first impressions: photography that stops the scroll
When searching through dozens of rental listings, digital nomads make split-second decisions about which properties deserve a closer look. According to Chelsea, high-quality photos are the single most important factor in stopping her scroll.
"Pictures are going to be key because I'm signing leases sight unseen," Chelsea explains. "I need to feel confident that this place is going to look in real life the way I'm perceiving it to be online."
What makes photos stand out
The best rental photos go beyond showcasing attractive spaces. They tell a story about how someone will actually live in the property:
King-size beds that signal comfort for extended stays
Updated kitchen appliances that make cooking regular meals appealing
Comfortable couches perfect for relaxing after work
Space for pet beds when properties are pet-friendly
Open closets showing available storage
Kitchen cabinets displaying dishware and small appliances
Linen closets revealing towel and bedding inventory
Bathroom shots with shower curtains open to show tub or shower details
Poor quality photos, phone screenshots, or spaces that look hastily furnished will cause digital nomads to keep scrolling. The goal is to demonstrate that the space has been thoughtfully prepared for someone who will be living there, not just visiting.
Non-negotiable amenities for digital nomads
Chelsea's must-have list remained consistent throughout her travels, reflecting the unique needs of remote workers who live in their rentals rather than just sleep there.
Essential requirements
Multiple bedrooms: At least two bedrooms to accommodate visiting friends and family
Dedicated workspace: Ideally a third bedroom for an office, or at minimum a comfortable workstation for 8-9 hour workdays
Pet-friendly policies: Without restrictive weight limits or breed restrictions
Utilities included: Simplifies budgeting and eliminates the hassle of setting up accounts for short stays
Storage space: Garages or sheds for hobbies and equipment
Functional kitchen: For preparing regular meals
Comfortable living areas: For unwinding after work and on weekends
"We're not short-term renters," Chelsea emphasizes. "We're not coming in just to sleep and then go explore the area. We're living here. We're watching movies. We are making dinner together. We're taking our dog on walks."
The search process: Filters and priorities
Digital nomads typically start their search 60 to 90 days before their intended move date. Chelsea's approach focuses on a few key filters rather than getting lost in excessive details:
Price range (staying realistic to allow for other experiences in the area)
Minimum two bedrooms
Pet-friendly
Utilities included
She then relies heavily on the visual preview cards to identify promising properties before diving into full listings. This approach allows her to quickly scan dozens of options while focusing on properties that meet her core requirements.
The importance of accurate listing information
Chelsea notes that filters are only as valuable as the information landlords provide. Property owners should regularly audit their listings to ensure all amenities and policies are accurately reflected, including recent additions like in-unit washers and dryers, parking arrangements, or pet policy changes.
Deposit structures that work
Security deposits and fees can make or break a rental decision. Chelsea has developed clear preferences based on both positive experiences and near-scams:
Green flags
Security deposits proportionate to the property size and location
Refundable pet deposits
Cleaning fees (rather than cleaning deposits)
Pet deposits (rather than monthly pet rent)
Red flags
Security deposits equal to monthly rent
Cleaning deposits
Excessive deposits for smaller properties in less expensive markets
"I prefer refundable pet deposits," Chelsea notes. "As tenants who have gotten their deposit back at every single location, even pet deposits when they were available, I'm looking ideally for all deposits to be refundable because we know we will love and take care of your property."
Communication: The foundation of successful rentals
The quality of initial communication often determines whether a digital nomad moves forward with a property. Chelsea sends a professional introduction covering who she is, her work, her partner, their dog, and their travel plans. She then carefully evaluates the response.
What makes a strong first response
Professional and courteous tone
More than a few words or generic acknowledgment
Answers to specific questions asked
Information about the landlord's experience
Details about recent tenant experiences
Personal touches that build rapport
"I'm making a real effort," Chelsea explains. "So I want that same in return. Whether it's just answering my questions, giving me a little bit about you or how long you've had the property or what your recent tenant experience has been like, just kind of anything to build that rapport."
The dating analogy
Chelsea compares the initial communication to online dating. Just as "Hey" doesn't work as an opening message on a dating app, a three-word response to a detailed inquiry signals a lack of engagement that makes digital nomads move on to more responsive landlords.
She typically reaches out to about a dozen properties, expects responses from five or six, and has serious conversations with one or two before making a final decision.
Amenities that don't matter
While some features seem impressive, Chelsea found several common "luxury" amenities added little value for midterm stays:
Saunas: Used once, then repurposed for storage
Hot tubs: More maintenance than enjoyment for everyday living
Pools: Significant liability and upkeep concerns
Smart TVs: No longer a differentiator since most TVs have this feature
Live plants: An unwanted responsibility
These amenities work well for vacation rentals but don't align with the lifestyle of digital nomads who are working full-time and living normally rather than vacationing.
Lease flexibility and clear terms
Detailed leases that address common scenarios actually increase confidence rather than creating concerns. Chelsea appreciates when leases include:
Clear policies on extended absences (important for holiday travel)
Guest policies with reasonable limits
Utility caps with room for negotiation
Specific maintenance responsibilities
"I liked when we were able to have just those discussions because of something in the lease," Chelsea says. She successfully negotiated terms around utility caps, extended guest stays, and property absences by having transparent conversations with landlords.
The negotiation mindset
Negotiation in monthly rentals differs from traditional real estate. It's a collaborative conversation to find terms that work for both parties, not a hardball business deal. Chelsea has negotiated utility caps with first-time landlords, adjusted guest policies for holiday visits, and worked out solutions for property absences during winter months.
Active engagement matters
Furnished Finder's "last updated" feature has become one of Chelsea's favorite tools for identifying responsive landlords. Properties updated within the past week or month signal active management and increase the likelihood of receiving a timely response.
Landlords who let their listings sit unchanged for months drop to the bottom of her outreach list, even if the property otherwise looks appealing. Regular engagement with your listing signals professionalism and availability.
What digital nomads really want
At its core, digital nomads seek properties that feel like home for their temporary stay. They need spaces that support their work life, accommodate their lifestyle, and provide the comfort of a real residence rather than a hotel or vacation rental.
The most successful rentals combine:
Professional, high-quality photos that show how someone will live in the space
Essential amenities for remote work and daily life
Reasonable, transparent fee structures
Responsive, personable communication
Flexible lease terms that acknowledge the unique nature of monthly stays
"We want to make sure that we can come in and make this space have room for me and feel like it's also mine," Chelsea explains. "I can respect it and appreciate it in the time that I'm there."
By understanding these priorities and implementing them in your rental strategy, you'll attract quality digital nomad tenants who treat your property with care, communicate openly, and become the kind of reliable, long-term guests that make monthly rentals rewarding for everyone involved.
Episode 134 Transcript
Stopping my scroll is a couple of things. Definitely knowing my price range was important and sticking to that. And using those filters so I'm not in this dream world of Oh, I would love to stay there, but realistically, that's gonna not allow us to do the other things we want to do in the area.
Honing in on that price range, being realistic to that, and then looking through those pictures. So pictures, that kind of key marketing piece is true, whether it's a house for sale, a vacation rental, or a midterm rental for us. Those pictures are going to be key because I'm signing leases sight unseen.
Welcome to the Landlord Diaries, where we talk about midterm rentals and the opportunities behind them. We'll share landlord stories, talk about maximizing investment potential, and discuss how to live the very best landlord life. This podcast is proudly brought to you by Furnished Finder. The leader and largest online marketplace for midterm rentals.
Remember to like, and subscribe. If you enjoy our content from Chicago to Bozeman, Austin and beyond Chelsea Kimlel and her fiancé, Josh have spent the last two and a half years living exclusively in furnished finder rentals as. Digital nomads with 10 cities under their belt and midterm stays ranging from 2, 200 to 3, 000 with a two to five month duration per stay, they've seen the best of midterm rental living.
In this episode, Chelsea shares what makes a rental stand out. Common mistakes landlords make and how hosts can better attract and retain tenants like her. So let's jump into the conversation, Chelsea. Thank you so much for sharing your story today. How are you? I'm good. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to talk and bring in the tenants perspective.
Yes, this is going to be such a fantastic episode, so don't miss it. Stay tuned all the way to the end. And let's start off with, what are some of those highlights and the fun memories of your two and a half years on the road in 10 different cities? I would say the highlight is getting engaged at the end of it.
We started as a love story to see. How would this long distance relationship do? Josh and I, when we're close quarters, when we're no longer long distance, we're no distance away from each other. And through two and a half years, we put our relationship through the works. Most couples struggle to move once.
We've moved 10 times. And so to come out of this whole experience with a new puppy, with a wedding on the horizon, with putting down roots and building ourselves a home, it's been it. A experience I didn't even know I could dream about. Kudos to you for that. That's a big accomplishment. I feel like not only working together every day in close quarters, my husband and I both work from home.
And sometimes I look at him and I'm like, I love you. I need you to go to the basement all day. So that is a true testament to you. So congratulations. I love that Furnished Finder has. Is a part of our first official love story. Probably not our first, but first official. We're claiming it with you, Chelsea.
So kudos. Tell us about your work life and how that works with being a digital nomad, what you and your fiance do for work. And how that has, how that evolved with your adventures. Yeah, so I have worked in digital marketing my entire career and as I grew in my career, I started working with global corporations where whether I was sitting in Baltimore where I started or where I was in Reno visiting Josh, I was working remote no matter what my colleagues were in Europe.
They're in India. They were in Brazil and. It was really up to me and time zones to manage it no matter what. So when we decided to take our relationship away from being long term, that's when this idea of let's figure out where we both want to live. Let's figure out how we do this. And luckily I have had very supportive corporations.
It. Be inspired by my journey and just allow us to take my work on the road. Josh, of course, is in a little different of a situation. He owns his own woodworking company that he had to scale down and really re strategize on how he was going to operate that from a nomadic perspective. But he's also just such a charmer and easygoing person that he enjoyed picking up odd jobs here, there, and everywhere that either helped his future in the Woodworking field or just got him really it acquainted with the areas really fast because we both love food.
We both love cities. We both love to explore. And so when he'd be driving around doing pizza delivery, he'd come home so excited about this restaurant that he's found or this seafood shop. He wants to try out or this market and it just really allowed us to explore places that much better. Yeah. And I love that y'all went about it in a different way than probably a lot of digital nomads too.
I feel like when I hear digital nomad, I think whimsical, right? And you guys mapped out your journey before you even started. And I don't know if you knew it was going to be two and a half years or how long, but you knew you made a list of places that you wanted to go. Tell us about that a little bit and what tools you might've used to help you build that travel mapping.
So for our travel map, It relied one on me. Cause the funny story is as the person who pitched being a digital nomad and driving across the country to live in different places, I hated driving. I would not drive more than three hours. That was insane amount of time for me to be behind the wheel. So I was like, yeah, sure.
Let's go somewhere and drive 10 hours in a day. Let's go 11 hours in a day. So when it came to mapping it out, it was first of like. How can we make this where I'm not going to go crazy in a car for a day at a time? What places and what does the map look like? What does the seasons look like of where we want to be when we want to be there?
And it started with what was a halfway point for us, which Josh would agree, it's not halfway, he had to do a lot more driving to get to Chicago from Reno than I did from Baltimore, but it started there and then we had, sometimes we had certain events we had a wedding in Florida, so we.
Designed our road map around that, and then it was just a matter of, yeah, where do we want to be when we wanted to be in Lake Tahoe in the summer, we wanted to be in Minnesota in the summer, we wanted to be Bozeman in the winter, and it all just fell into place after we identified some of these top cities and top areas we wanted to visit.
And just a quick reminder, if you're traveling on a. budget or you want to map out what that will look like expense wise for your journey, whether you're on a budget or not. We have furnishfinder. com forward slash stats. It's a great tool to see what the average price is for room rentals, two to three bedroom homes, et cetera.
So jump on there and check it out. It covers nationwide. And then Chelsea, now that you've. Wrapped up your two and a half years, you've been to 10 different cities. I'm curious, where did you and Josh end up landing now that y'all are engaged in getting married? We landed in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.
We stayed here in 2023 for the summer and fell in love. We loved that it had diversity in food. It had diversity in people. We love that there was professional sports, live theater, international airport, four seasons, surprisingly became very important to us after living in very hot places like Sedona, Arizona and Austin, Texas area.
So we were thrilled to be like, yes, we are people who need all four seasons. And so it just. Fell into place and we have zero regrets. All right, Chelsea. I want to dive in here because this is, you're our first tenant that we've had on the show, and I think this is like such a cool opportunity for landlords because you get to hear it from the horse's mouth, right?
Like all of our audience today gets. To gets to hear what is it like to be a traveler? What are you looking for? How can someone stand out? So there's just so many good insights that I want to pick your brain on. So we're just gonna get started and dig in. Tell us what, you, tell us what you look for in a rental.
Like you're on furnished finder, you're ready to go to the next city, and it's like step one, like what grabs your attention? What is really important for you and what are your top, like your must haves. Our must haves have always been consistent in two and a half years.
It was more than one bedroom because we had guests in every location that we went to. Someone wanted to visit us. Preferably a third bedroom for an office, but that was very uncommon. So some kind of a workstation, because I needed to be able to set up a workstation that was comfortable because that's where I was going to be spending eight, nine hours straight every day, Monday through Friday.
And so that was non negotiable. Non negotiable. I needed a place that was pet welcome and didn't have pet restrictions such as under 10 pounds or something like that. Utilities included made it so much easier. So that became a non negotiable as soon as we started. And then from there, we really honed in on what were those nice to haves.
That we would not necessarily identify as a requirement until now that I'm reflecting and that was things like storage space. If there was a garage or shed for Josh to set up his workshop in that was important to us and then, kitchen and a comfortable living space because we're not short term renters.
We're not coming in just to sleep and then go explore the area. We're living here. We're watching movies. We are making dinner together. We're taking our dog on walks. So having that really comfortable homey environment was really important to me. So whether it was something that was. Decorated super modern or not, it was more important that it felt like home for however long we were going to be there.
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So what is the first way that you'd start to find these is, you're going on Furnished Finder. Are you doing the scroll? What makes you stop your scroll? Because as landlords, we're all trying to attract amazing tenants. We know they're searching on Furnished Finder. What makes you stop your scroll?
Stopping my scroll is a couple of things. Definitely knowing my price range was important and sticking to that. And using those filters. So I'm not in this dream world of Oh, I would love to stay there. But realistically, that's gonna not allow us to do the other things we want to do in the area.
So honing in on that price range, being realistic to that, and then looking through those pictures. So pictures, that kind of key marketing piece is true, whether it's a house for sale, a Vacation rental or a midterm rental for us, those pictures are going to be key because I'm signing leases sight unseen.
I need to feel confident that this place is going to. Look in real life the way I'm perceiving it to be online. If pictures have are clearly screenshots from a phone, if they're poor quality, if I see that kind of just. Furniture has been thrown in and not really I don't want to say strategically, but not crafted in a way that's going to be comfortable.
Then I'm going to keep scrolling past. And so I'm stopping when I'm seeing king size beds in the photos. I'm stopping when I'm seeing updated kitchen appliances that are going to mean we're cooking delicious meals. I'm stopping when I see a couch that we can cuddle in and I'm stopping when I see a space where my dog can.
have a bed on the ground and be comfortable as well. So those are the things that are going to make me stop when I'm scrolling through all of those photos. Yeah, I think that's so huge. Photos truly are like the cover to your book, right? And everybody says, the cover of a book doesn't matter.
Don't judge a book by its cover. But we do Every single day we do. It is hugely important guys. If you do not have amazing pictures that like Chelsea saying, show off your space. I love how you said has room for you to put your dog's bed. Heck if you're a pet friendly place, put a picture of a dog on the wall, right?
Put a hook for the leashes and take a picture of that. Make it really clear because your photos are not just showing off that yes, this is a great property. It's clean. It's kept up. We have the King bed. It's, you're also showing like Chelsea said, how is someone going to live in it?
That's such a huge distinction between short term and midterm short term you're looking for is it close to the beach? Is it close to where I want to travel? Does it have enough beds? Does it have, you're looking for more of these short term qualities that you really need.
You're not looking to live there. Chelsea's looking for somewhere. Where's she going to put the dog bed? Can she make dinner when I'm on vacation? The last thing I'm going to be doing is making dinner I don't know about you guys, but it's like you have to think about that I know in one of our midterm rentals that's really aimed more towards displaced families We have pictures of the open cabinets showing that like we have kid dishware We have plastic plates and plastic cups like and it feels like a very weird picture to put up But it's no If you have a family, like I have kids, I want to know, do you have stuff my kids won't break?
So put yourself in that mindset. I think that's so huge and I love that you brought those in. I also, I want to see closets. I want to see how much closet space I have. I want to see a dresser. I don't want to see clutter. Decorations look beautiful in the pictures, but when I get there, I need a place to put my jewelry box, my makeup.
I have little knickknacks I'm putting on the bedside tables. And so I want to make sure that I can come in and make this space not destroy, but I want to come in and make sure that I can make this space have. Room for me and feel like it's also mine and I can respect it and appreciate it in the time that I'm there, but I will say to your point, I love the pictures when there's of the open kitchen cabinets.
I can see what kind of dishware I'm working with. I can see what kind of small appliances I'm working with. It seems weird. Maybe don't put them at the front, but I also appreciate when there's those open cabinets, seeing the linen, seeing the towels, it just gives you the sense of what you're going into because then I know, Oh, I don't have to buy towels for this rental, or I don't need to buy because we've had to buy stuff because it wasn't provided by the rental or the landlords refused to restock it if it went missing between tenants.
And It's very comforting to know what those expectations are. Yeah, one tip, or one thing I've always asked of my photographer is, will you take a picture of the bathroom with the shower curtain open? No, it's not as pretty. But you want to see, like people want to see, is this a tub shower?
Is this, a walk in? Is there a big step over it? And just that type of clarity when you're thinking about, appealing to someone who's staying there for probably months at a time. Like you have to just adjust your thinking a little bit. So I love those things that you've noted. We've got a couple more things to talk about that makes a rental stand out that I want to come back to.
But before we continue, I wanted you to hone in a little more on that search process on Furnished Rinder, because those are some key things to help save time and efficiency is how to get to the right listings as quickly as you can. So one of the things that you had said is you don't actually use that many filters.
So tell us about that. And I have a couple of questions I want to prompt you through to wrap up this section. I don't use the filters in depth fleet. I use the two bed plus filter. I use the pet welcome. I use the utilities included filter. And then, of course, I'm using the price range filter. As for some of the others, I.
Not use them being an early adopter of Furnished Finder is because that information is only as good as what landlords put in it. So I highly encourage landlords. Please fill out as much of that information as possible, because that's going to make the filters that much more valuable. For me, when I'm going through that scroll and that search, I'm honing in on specific neighborhoods if I'm familiar with them, and then I'm using that left side with all of the cards to identify, ooh, I like that picture. Ooh, that one looks in my price range. That one has identified good wifi, pets welcome, in unit washer and dryer. I'm going to stop on that one first. Yeah. And you guys check these every once in a while because so often I hear landlords and they're like, Oh, I did decide to be pet friendly or, Oh, last year we added an in unit washer and dryer, or I used to charge for parking, but now it's free.
And you have to go in and you have to update your listing with those check boxes. To make sure that you will qualify for those filters are becoming more and more popular just because as there becomes more listing travelers want to hone in very easily and quickly. So double check, every once in a while, if it, every six months or so when you're auditing your listing, go through and just make sure that everything you have is truly reflected.
All right, let's talk about when you are looking through a listing, what else stands out to you? What are you looking for? Are you looking for specific details on property fees? Are there deposit amounts that stand out to you as too high or maybe even too low? What are some Red flags and green flags that you might come across.
Great question. Red flag is if the security deposit is equal to the rent. I know that's very common with long term leases. Huge red flag and we almost got scammed and not from FurnaceFinder but using a different platform. We almost got scammed because we didn't know that to start off with. It was a very quick learning, so I'm looking for the security deposit to be proportionate to either the size of the listing or the size of the city.
If that makes sense. If it's a higher demand city or more expensive city, I'm aware that security deposit is going to be a little bit higher. However, if it's a smaller location and not in the most happening city, I'm not going to be paying thousands of dollars in a security deposit. Absolutely not.
I prefer. Refundable pet deposits, not very common, but as a tenants who have gotten their deposit back at every single location, even pet deposits when they were available, and I'm looking ideally for all deposits to be refundable because we know we will love and take care of your property. I'm looking for cleaning fees over cleaning deposits.
Hate cleaning deposits. Won't ever do 1 again. But I don't mind cleaning fees because that means the place has also been cleaned for us, just like it's going to be for the next person and I prefer pet deposits over pet rent. Weirdly, it just makes it complicated. And yeah, those are some of the red and green flags around deposits also in the listing.
Yeah, I'm going to verify that it's been, pet welcome. Like I said, sometimes it says pet welcome, but there's actually pet restrictions, no dogs, no puppies, no. Animals larger than X, Y, Z. And so those are kind of those things, those small details that make a difference whether we can stay there and it's worth our time reaching out.
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All right. Chelsea, that is so many great things that can make your listing stand out. What are some things that you didn't care about along the way that is nice to have, but maybe not something that makes a midterm rental stand out? I did not care if you have a sauna, I don't care if you had a hot tub, I don't care that you have a smart TV.
Those are often listed as a perk. Sorry, every TV is a smart TV. It's really hard to find somewhere that's not a smart TV anymore. So it's just wasted space. As for saunas and hot tubs, again, they're great for vacation rentals, but we're living here. It's a lot of effort to go make sure everything's running.
So when we had a sauna once we won, we didn't pay extra for it. We use it as storage. It was the only storage space available a hot tub. Our family and our visitors used it way more than we did because it just doesn't it's not part of our natural life. And we're not on vacation. We're living here. So those are some of the things that was like, we considered places that had pools.
But again, that's a lot of liability on us. That's a lot of upkeep. That's a lot of inviting others on to. In our space to upkeep those, because we're not going to upkeep them. We don't, it would not be something we'd be interested in. And so those were kind of like, those are big asks to say are we really willing to put in that work and take on that risk?
We also will not take on plants, live plants. Yeah, that's a real, that's a really interesting situation. I, as a landlord, I don't know about you, Kelly, but I don't have live plants in any of my properties. I hesitate to put live plants in my own house because. They're essentially signing on for their own death.
Am terrible at it. So to put that on someone else, that is really interesting. I think about that landlord's like your if your plants are something you really care about, putting that responsibility on someone else. It's a pretty big burden to shift. I appreciate some greenery, but maybe they need to be artificial.
And quick reminder here that Furnished Finder, we as Furnished Finder, we coach landlords throughout the edit listing process. It is expected to include utilities. in a midterm rental stay. We recommend that. If you don't, just make it clear on your listing, since it is common and expected in your midterm rental searching process.
Code the other one is lawn care, right? It's expected that lawn care is included. We want midterm rental travelers that have work life. Balance. We want them to be able to come with their suitcase, relax, unwind, and enjoy. Very similar to a short-term rental, right? Or to a hotel experience. So try not to put anything or too much on your guests, vice versa.
We want guests to be responsible with the utilities. So some people will put like a utility cap in the lease, things like that. What, how do you feel about that, Chelsea? If. If there was a utility cap or anything in love them. We use it as a negotiation tactic. There were a couple of places where it was very expensive in that area.
And so when we looked and had conversations with the landlords, it was because they were covering themselves from the expense, especially in Bozeman, the expense of the heat. And so we love to negotiate that because in, for example, Bozeman, there was an entire pellet stove that. When they had tried to be in short term rental, people didn't know how to use it.
They were using it for ambience, not as a heat source. So they're using the very expensive base water heater, and that's what they were trying to cover their expenses. We're like, whoa, we get it. But we know how to use a pellet stove to retain heat in a house. We saved them that first month 200. In their heating bill, because we were able to negotiate those conversations.
We've also used it for 1st time, a midterm rental landlords where they're not really sure what it's going to be like, what those bills are going to be like, we negotiate caps and say, we're willing to pay anything above this. We've never had to pay. Yeah. And I think you guys this is a good opportunity to remind everybody that like negotiation when you're working with a midterm tenant or traveler isn't like this like hardball negotiation with two people behind solid desks.
You're really just trying to find The magic point where it works for them and it works for you. And sometimes there is some movement there. That's why we give you unmatched leads in your dashboard. And that's why we want it to be a conversation between you and the traveler to see if you can make it a successful landlord tenant relationship is because it's not always a perfect, Hey, exactly what Chelsea wants.
I have. It might be that we need to flex a little bit on the budget, but then I can put in things like a utility cap to cover me, or she has a dog. I'm usually okay with dogs, but not puppies. So she's going to give me a pet deposit. There's communication there in a way that is really key to this successful relationship.
So every time that, we're talking about negotiations and communications here they're meant to be. these discussions. And that's why, in midterm rentals and on, on Furnishfinder in particular, we want you to have full control of your bookings. We want you to be able to use your own, your lease template.
We want you to be able to customize your leases. We want you to be able to communicate outside of Furnishfinder, right? That's why we give you those freedoms. And we don't take those booking fees is because it's just a different. process. Yeah, now we do have tools available if you don't have something already set up.
Just a reminder if you're new to midterm rentals, we have everything ready for you to talk to your first guests all the way to checking them into your property. So we've got tenant screening that we recommend, state specific fully customizable leases rent payments through Kicheck, our sister company, that allow travelers to pay by credit card, which a decent percentage of travelers like to do to earn those miles.
So don't forget to use those tools if you don't already have systems in place for your midterm rental process. Chelsea, the booking process and communication, those are two, it, that's really the. Start of a successful midterm rental process, right? So let's dive into some of the details there of like, how far in advance do you start your search?
How many landlords or properties are you normally looking at? How many landlords are you talking to? What does that look like for you? I'm personally starting my search probably as soon as I get to whichever location I'm in. It's just too stressful to do it too much in advance, but. I honestly just with Furnishminer didn't need to do it months and months in advance.
I didn't need to be six months or a year in advance. I could be 30 days, 60 days, 90 days. So I'm probably starting my search just trying to understand the market in the next city that we're trying to go to around. 90 days, and then when it comes to closer to 60 days, 45 days, I'm going to start reaching out to those top locations that I've saved throughout my search.
And I'm going to probably hit a dozen of those and then from there, depending on the responsiveness, I'm probably talking or getting responses from 5 or 6 actually moving forward with communication and talking about leases and getting to know the property, maybe 1 or 2. At that point, I've really honed it in because I like to talk through the Furnished Finder app, especially for first connections.
I'm not really willing to give out my phone number immediately. And so from there, I like to that 1st, I like to have this kind of script, this professional script that says, this is who I am. This is what my job is. This is who my partner is. This is our dog is this is how old they are. This is why we're traveling.
This is the dates and how long we're planning to be there. I have my script that I'm going to send over to say. Give that first initial comfort. I'm experienced at this. I have a job. I am reliable. Those are all the things I'm trying to say in that first touch point. In that first response, I'm judging in depthly.
Is it professional? Is it courteous? Is it more than just three sentences, or three sentences? Is it more than three words? Am I getting an actual response? How does that feel? Do they answer my questions if I put some in there? This is so key. This is so key because on Furnished Finder, like we're connecting these travelers and landlords as leads, right?
But when you get a message from someone like Chelsea or you get an unmatched lead or a matched lead or anything, it is hugely important that you take time to write back and don't just say, Okay. Yes, my property is available or would love to host you like give them a little bit of details and Chelsea correct me if I'm wrong here But I have always been under the assumption that traveler travelers like to know as much About me as a landlord as they do about the property, right?
Like I've been doing this for X number of years. I have an X number of units Oh, yeah, even if you're brand new that's Fine, right? Say this is my first midterm rental and I'm so excited to get started. This property is so great because it has X, Y, Z, take, this is your first impression and you're not going to go on a date and have your first impression just be like you showing up in gym shorts, right?
Take a couple minutes and really. communicate the way that you want to set this relationship off? Yes, I'm looking every rental that I reach out to. I'm looking at that property manager, like page. I'm looking at the landlord profile. One, do we have anything in common that I can use to relate to each other?
I've definitely looked to see, are they first time landlords? And I would say about 50 percent of the ones we've stayed with have been first time landlords. Great experience. 50 percent of the ones we've stayed with have been experienced landlords. Also great experiences. And so yes, just how I'm keeping my, to your point, just like dating.
I'm keeping my profile up to date. I'm uploading a picture. So you see exactly who Josh and I are. You see what our dog looks like. You see our little story to give you comfort. And I want that same because it's a relationship. It might be more of a business relationship. But it's a relationship and there's a lot of trust going into not only you having us as your tenants, but as us giving you our funds sight unseen.
Yeah. And then in that first communication, which is through the Furnished Finder Messaging, most of the time in your case, what did that look like for successful ways of communicating personally for you? And then you have a couple of turnoffs that were Poor communication styles that you want to advise landlords to avoid.
I love this dating analogy, even though I'm now engaged, but thinking of the times when I was like online dating for sure. It's like you say, Hey, what am I supposed to do with that? I can't it's a roadblocker. It's not fun for anybody. It's not, it's really hard to power through, especially when I'm giving you like, this is who we are.
This is what we want to do. This is why we're excited about the area. Like I'm making a real effort. So I want that same in return, whether it's just answering my questions, giving. me a little bit about you or how long you've had the property or what your recent tenant experience has been like, just kind of anything to build that rapport with, because I, we, Josh and I have been adamant of we have to connect to landlords.
We have to have some kind of connection because things happen. We want to know that we can feel comfortable calling on you when something breaks, whether it was our fault or not, we want to be able to speak to you and. Voice concerns, or yeah, if there's a snake, we've had a snake in our place or a bear we don't know what to do.
We're in brand new areas. We may not know what to do with our cars in negative degree weather. We may not know where the grocery store is or. We're the closest hospital is we want to make sure that we have enough of a relationship. Not that we're annoying you, but we feel comfortable reaching out if we truly have an issue or a concern.
Yeah. And this is the start to that relationship, right? If you reply to a message, a direct booking request, a housing request, any of these things, if you, it signals to that traveler that you are reliable come with all of the information and that sets the tone. That sets the tone for the entire process.
And it makes it so that you can start that relationship off on the right foot. Absolutely. Yeah. And in regards to that first communication, one thing I want to pull out from what Chelsea was saying was, Hey, I gave you all this information, just Okay, cool. That's not going to work for me. So what I like to do is look for some connecting points in that message that I can then put into my reply.
So some things that have come up for some of my eight midterm rentals in the past would be, if it's a couple traveling and maybe I'm at the higher end of their budget I go ahead and remind them, Hey, you're welcome to have guests come over. There's an. extra bedroom. It's great for, work from home set up.
And then walkable. If someone says, I want to be close to adventure or things rather than just saying, okay, cool, maybe give them some ideas of great. Here's some things that are close by that you might really enjoy in the area. And then just to wrap up this section you mentioned Chelsea, that.
That the last updated was one of your favorite features that was added to Furnished Finder recently. So tell us why that's one of your favorites and how quickly do you like to see landlords respond typically? I'm so glad you brought that up and reminded me to speak of it because It is a new feature in Furnished Finder and I love it because like life happens.
Sometimes tenants and landlords get into Furnished Finder and then they forget about it or it's not what they wanted to do it. Like being a landlord isn't for them totally fine and so when I'm in especially maybe busier cities where I'm just not getting response. or like just consistently being ghosted, not getting response.
My inquiries aren't hitting anybody. It's really helpful to see that they have that last updated. So now in these last searches, I was like, Ooh, they've been on in the last month or Ooh, they were just on within a week. I know they're active and I feel like I have a higher probability of getting a response.
Yeah, you always want to see if someone's active, right? You want to see that listing is updated. You want to see, you want to see that you're working with someone who's involved and not just a. Background landlord for sure. So if it's, I get that maybe things haven't really changed, but if it's going to be a year since you've updated your listing, you're going to go to the bottom of my reach out and inquiry list versus someone who's Oh, they were on last week.
They were on last month. I'm going to reach out to them. Yeah, and we're wrapping up the episode and we talked about this briefly earlier, but I wanted you to be able to give more insight into it. You actually like when the midterm rental lease includes details that are important, such as move in fee structure the flexibility, et cetera.
So why don't you speak to the lease terms and how that actually was something that made it more confident for you. I do. Yeah, we've had leases that have been pretty general. We've had leases that have been more specific, hence. However, when it has those elements that allow flexibility, that's when I feel that much more confident and comfortable in the listing.
So there's been multiple times where our lease has been identifying we can't leave the property for X amount of days. Especially like bozeman, where in the winter pipes are going to freeze. If nobody, there's no activity in the house and we were able to negotiate that and be transparent. So that way we weren't considering the places abandoned when we were traveling for the holidays.
And so I liked when we were able to have just those discussions because of something in the lease. I also appreciated when we say, yes, since it is a lease versus a vacation rental, it's expected that we have guests. I don't mind if there's a limit on how many guests or how long, as long as we can have those discussions.
So when I knew my parents were coming out for the holidays to visit, I was able to be up front and say, this is how long they're staying. It is a little longer than the lease allows. Do we have any issues? And we could I love this. Chelsea, this has been so insightful, and I think not often enough do landlords put themselves in the shoes of a traveler and a tenant and really think to themselves, what is the traveler looking for?
What do they see? What kind of communication do they want? What kind of amenities do they want? So I think this is just going to be invaluable for so many people. So thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. Give us your thoughts and your perspectives. I feel like we're like getting a sneak peek into the mind of, people that that we want to work with all the time.
Huge congrats to you on your successful Furnished Finder love story. I'm just going to go ahead and claim it. Kelly and I can come to the wedding depending on, the time of year. But this has just been exceptional. I think we would love to continue to get these insights from you to share with landlords.
So landlords keep on the lookout for hopefully more from Chelsea, because this has just been such a great way for everybody to start the new year, the new quarter, and think about how are you going to make your properties even more appealing for travelers? And Chelsea, thanks for joining us.
And why don't you tell everyone about your travel blog and how you'd like others to connect with you if they want to hear more of your story. Sure. You can connect with me at chief nomadic officer on Instagram, as well as chief nomadic officer. com, where I do exactly this. I share those tips and tricks on how to be a successful digital nomad because there's digital nomads all over the world.
There's digital. There's. Travel nurses that have all the support, but as we digital and corporate nomads start gaining our numbers, I want to make sure that this process is as easy for everyone and I can share the learnings that I've had. So find me there and look forward to speaking with you guys again.
Thank you all for tuning in as always bringing you fresh midterm rental content. Frequently, so join us again and don't forget to subscribe, comment, share it with a friend and on YouTube we have playlists if there's a specific topic you want to dive in and do a deep dive for. Have a great week and we'll catch you again next time.