Welcome to an educational journey into the world of midterm rentals, guided by the insights shared on the Landlord Diaries (opens in new tab) Podcast. Whether you are a seasoned real estate investor or just starting out, there's plenty to learn about midterm rentals, investment strategies, and the unique opportunities this niche market presents. In this post, we'll delve into the highlights of a recent episode featuring Leslie, a savvy investor with a wealth of experience in midterm rentals.
Introduction to midterm rentals
In this episode of the Landlord Diaries, hosts Kelly Bailey and Katie Lyon introduce us to Leslie, a seasoned real estate investor with a diversified portfolio. Leslie's story is fascinating and demonstrates the potential of midterm rentals. In particular, Leslie shares her journey from owning a single-family home to managing multiple properties, her experiences with seller financing, and insights into balancing short-term and midterm rental strategies.
Leslie’s journey: from Craigslist to a diversified portfolio
Leslie began her midterm rental journey in 2011, starting with Craigslist before the concept of midterm rentals was widely recognized. Moving from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta, she found herself with more space than she needed. Leslie capitalized on this by converting her daylight basement into a rental unit, targeting young, single female travelers moving to Atlanta.
Fast forward to today, Leslie owns five midterm rentals in Athens, Georgia. Her portfolio includes one single-family home and four condos, each acquired through creative financing methods like seller financing. Over half of her bookings come from Furnished Finder (opens in new tab), a platform she endorses for its efficiency and extensive reach within the midterm rental market.
The benefits of seller financing
One of the standout points from Leslie’s discussion is her utilization of seller financing, a strategy that can be particularly beneficial for investors with limited capital. Seller financing involves the seller acting as the lender, allowing the buyer to pay off the property over time directly to the seller. This approach can be advantageous for sellers looking to avoid high capital gains taxes while also providing immediate cash flow without managing tenants.
Leslie's success with seller financing highlights the importance of building trust with property owners and proving oneself as a reliable and committed buyer. This method allowed her to expand her portfolio more quickly and with less initial capital outlay.
Balancing short-term and midterm rentals
Leslie employs a hybrid strategy that incorporates both short-term and midterm rentals. During the football season, when demand is high in the college town of Athens, she rents out her properties on a short-term basis, often fetching three to four times the usual rent. The rest of the year, she reverts to the more manageable and steady income of midterm rentals.
This approach allows Leslie to maximize her income during peak times while ensuring consistent occupancy throughout the year. For those new to real estate investing, considering seasonal demand and leveraging events in your area can significantly boost your rental income.
Key tips for building a successful midterm rental portfolio
Furnishing and Design: Leslie emphasizes the importance of creating aesthetically pleasing and functional spaces. By thoughtfully designing her condos at different furnishing levels, she caters to various price points and tenant needs. She's also a strong advocate for using high-quality materials, such as Made-in-USA mattresses, and maintaining unique, eye-catching décor.
Utilize Tools like Tenant Tracking: Leslie uses the tenant tracking tool (opens in new tab) on Furnished Finder to keep detailed records of her tenants, ensuring smooth transitions and optimal management. This tool helps landlords keep track of tenant details, lease dates, and special arrangements like pets or specific needs.
Network and Build Relationships: Networking with other landlords and maintaining a good reputation can open doors to new investment opportunities and tenant referrals. Leslie’s story is a testament to how strong relationships can lead to seller-financing deals and partnerships within the community.
Flexibility and Risk Management: Leslie’s high risk tolerance and willingness to pivot when necessary have been crucial to her success. She advises investors to be adaptable and ready to shift strategies if a particular approach isn't working. Calculated risks often lead to significant rewards in real estate investing.
Closing thoughts
Leslie’s journey offers valuable lessons for real estate investors, particularly those interested in midterm rentals. By leveraging seller financing, balancing different rental strategies, and staying flexible and proactive, investors can build robust and profitable portfolios.
If you’re looking to explore midterm rentals or want to optimize your existing properties, consider connecting with platforms like Furnished Finder (opens in new tab) for valuable resources and support. Start your journey today and navigate the ever-evolving world of real estate investment with confidence.
Episode 110 Transcript
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. Hey, Hey everybody. It's Kelly Bailey, your host of the Landlord Diaries. I am here with my co host, Katie Lyon. We bring you everything new in midterm rentals and Furnished Finder, and we are excited to share Leslie's story today. Katie, what did you learn?
Yeah, Leslie has, um, five midterm rentals. She has one single family home and then she has four condos and her Listings are some of the most beautiful listings I have seen in so long. So definitely check them out if you're looking for a little inspiration But she's just very savvy and also very intuitive.
I feel like She's dabbled in seller financing with, um, the condos that she acquired using that method. Um, and she also plays around with a short term rental, mid term rental hybrid method, but hers are based around the football season. So really interesting approach, um, and I think she has a very good balance of wanting her real estate investment.
Staying in midterm rentals to perform really well while also making it like manageable for everyday life. So um, some great conversations in here and we are again excited for you to check it out.
Leslie Hooper has five midterm rentals in Athens, Georgia, started MTR on Craigslist in 2011 before it was even called MTR has been a real estate investing for around 12 years. Over 50 percent of Leslie's midterm rental bookings come from Furnished Finder. Leslie. Thanks for being with us today. How are you? Thank you for having me.
I'm excited to be here. Yes, we met Leslie at the Midterm Rental Summit 2024 and It happens once a year around April May of that year and one thing that I loved that Leslie said was Kelly Katie, you keep me company on my daily commute and she listens to us on one and a half speed, so that's impressive.
Uh, Leslie, what have been some of your most valuable takeaways from the Landlord Diaries podcast so far? Uh, you know, I love hearing from other guests that are risk takers or pioneers in their areas. Um, especially people that are, you know, Um, in non traditional places or just starting out, maybe they're the first one or early adopter in their town.
Um, I also really enjoyed the episode about, uh, the king beds only, because even though I haven't been able to implement that everywhere, I do share that philosophy and want to try and put king beds everywhere. So I just like hearing solutions that other, uh, investors have already tried and had success with.
Yeah, I think anytime we can take ideas or strategies from other people, it's like we're all just getting better together. And that is something that is so cool about this midterm space. So, um, I would love to hear how you got into midterms, um, and a little bit of your journey to where you are today, because nobody just like wakes up and has five rentals.
Um, so I'm curious, kind of what got you started, what made you interested in it and how you got to where you are today. Right. So, um, I accidentally got started in midterms back in 2011. I'd moved from a high cost of living area in Washington, D. C. I had a studio apartment and then I got to Atlanta and for the same price, I got a five bedroom house and I started thinking, um, this is just way too much house for one single person.
So, um, I did what any you know, realistic single 30 year old girl did and I got a puppy to take up some of that space. So he got his own room upstairs. He could patrol the cul de sac and I realized I still had way too much space. So, um, I ended up furnishing, um, a daylight basement unit. Um, and put it on Craigslist, because that was the only game in town back then.
Um, it was very cheap for me to furnish, and I just got a lot of young, single female travelers that were moving to Atlanta that maybe didn't have a friend group yet, or didn't know what area they wanted to live in, or Wanted to make sure that they liked their job before they committed to living in the city.
And I was just able to provide them safe, affordable, flexible housing in Atlanta while paying about half of my mortgage. Um, so fast forward about 10 years. Um. I ended up buying another property in Athens, Georgia, which is a college town, furnishing that as a game day rental for football season, and then just, um, ended up transitioning into midterm space, uh, during the rest of the year, and I loved that, and then I just kept expanding, uh, properties from there.
You have such a cool story that's similar to my mom's. She hasn't grown to your level yet, but my mom is a Furnished Finder host as well in, uh, at Texas A& M in College Station, Texas. So she's got a cute little two, one cottage that she rents out short term during football season and then midterm, uh, in the rest of the year.
of the year or short term, depending on what, what wins out. Uh, so I love that. Uh, y'all have similar stories there, but you're let's dive deeper into your portfolio. So you've got, uh, the house in Athens, Georgia, which is a single family home. And then you added four condos to the mix as well through seller financing, which is kind of like your new specialty.
So let's hear about those four condos. Yep, so um, I had been doing the house as a short term rental for about 5 years. And I was very burnt out, it's hard to keep up with it even during football season. So, like I said, I transitioned into the midterm space for that. But I was just turning people away left and right.
Um, and When I initially came on with Furnished Finder, I was thinking I'm so close to the main hospital in Athens that I was just going to be getting a lot of medical personnel, but what I found was there's a lot of people relocating to Athens or that sold their house quickly. and don't have anywhere to go or we're doing new construction and so the demand was, um, crazy.
So I asked a friend of mine, um, who's a realtor here locally, Janet Estrada, and I, I said, keep an eye out. I want another property. Um, and so she kind of overachieved. I, I wanted one, but she found somebody that, uh, was willing to, um, to sell four at once on the condition that I would own or finance it, which was kind of a dream come true, um, I think for both of us.
So, um, instead of just getting one property, I ended up with four condos in the same unit, um, which was a huge leap of faith because I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to rent one, much less four, but, um, it's definitely proven to be a great venture and I'm booked in all of them. Yeah. And I'm excited to dive deeper into, you know, investing in Athens, Georgia, how you made each of your rentals at a different furnishing level to attract different style guests.
So we're going to get there, but before we get there, let's, uh, how do you value your portfolio? If someone said, you know, what's your portfolio worth? How do you, how do you like to explain that to people? All right. So, um, I think I mentioned in terms of valuing it, the monthly rents come in at about 14, 000 and of that about 2000 is pure cash flow.
So I'm on the appreciation superhighway. Um, just the amount of time that I have to devote to The portfolio, um, you know, I'm focused on that long term growth and I like to cash flow and have everything covered, but, um, it's just more important to me to have it as a long term strategy. I actually like that though, because there's a lot of different values that you can put on a portfolio and sometimes the value is You know, we've talked to some people like Christian who they're they have all arbitrages, right?
So it's like well, I'm not getting the appreciation or necessarily the tax value But my cash flow is really high and then there's people who are doing a lot of renovations or improvements and it's you know I'm not getting as much of the cash flow right now, but I'm getting a lot of the appreciation and the tax benefits So it's not Like a, a cut and dry question.
And there's no right answer. So I think as long as your portfolio is working for you and the way you want it to midterm rentals can serve those goals in a lot of different ways. So I think that's, that's fantastic. And you're going to get a lot of appreciation on these properties. You guys, I just looked at Leslie's, um, properties, her midterm rentals.
They are beautiful. They are, they are beautiful. Like she has decorated them. So well, and I would encourage anybody if you are listening to this at some point, pop into the YouTube where you can see the links and we'll link her listings. Like just take some inspiration cause they're beautiful and they're out of the box, right?
We've got green walls and we've got some green cupboards and a pink bathroom, but they're like so cute. So good for you also for taking like Just a little bit of a different approach to it. I love it. One quick insert. You can click through to her Furnished Finder listings on audio platforms as well. So wherever you're listening, just look at those show notes and check out her properties.
They are really nice. Which brings us to the Furnished Finder section. When, if we're already on design, might as well take a quick look at Quick minute to talk about design. What are those key things that you look for when you're furnishing your properties, especially since you furnish your properties at all different levels?
That's so cool. Yes. And that was something I was very, um, conscious about. I did have a friend, um, who works at a design and architecture firm here in Athens called the Relay Shop, uh, helped me out with, um, just the, the design paint palettes and coordination and some of the measurements so that I could streamline everything with my contractor and Use them efficiently because I renovated them all at the same time But what I had in my head was that there's different kinds of travelers that are going to be at different price points So you may have a visiting scholar who's at University of Georgia That's on a different budget than a doctor at the hospital here or an insurance claim And so I would wanted to distinguish each of the properties, um, both through the design and renovation and the furnishings.
Um, so. Yeah, I did everything at once, which is a little, um, overwhelming, but I had some things in my head. Like I want it all made in the USA mattresses, which were expensive, um, compared to some of the other brands. But I had heard about, um, some of the mattresses coming from China that people are getting sick from.
And I also just liked the thought of, um, supporting made the USA businesses. And so I had to allocate more of my budget to that. And so then I was I was looking at Facebook Marketplace for other items to try and fill that, but I do love having a different price point or elevation for each, um, because they rent from between 1, a month right now, and so different travelers are going to be attracted to different properties.
Today's episode is proudly sponsored by Furnished Finder, the ultimate platform for hassle free midterm rentals. Whether you're a seasoned landlord or just getting started, Furnished Finder has everything you need to find your next tenant. With Furnished Finder, you can say goodbye to booking fees, markups, and commissions, and hello to direct bookings.
If you're ready to experience all the benefits renting your property for 30 days or more, head over to furnishedfinder. com where you can list your property for one low annual price. We make it easy to get started.
And so what are some of those traveler types that you're seeing at the different levels in Athens, Georgia? Right. So, um, I don't know if I mentioned this, but the four condos are about eight blocks walk from the hospital, um, or a short three minute drive. So, um, I've actually earlier this year, I had a doctor, a nurse and, um, two roommates from the lab.
So, um, hospital personnel at all different price points were staying in my properties. But, um, right now I have two groups of expats that have lived overseas and want to move back to the U. S. And they just need a place to call home for between two months and a year. I've got another guest who unfortunately has a sick family member that he's here taking care of.
And so he's here indefinitely until, um, You know, that situation resolves itself. And so I like to provide that flexibility for the guests. It's just one less thing that they have to worry about with, with what they're going through. But, um, I would say my main group of guests is just relocation. Yeah, I love that.
Even when you're, even when you're so close to the hospital, it's not all you get is these medical professionals, right? There's just so many use cases and the needs are growing and growing, especially as you know, we're 4 years past COVID now. So we're, we're really like, back to moving around and back to exploring.
So, um, yeah, I love that. I love that you're seeing all of the different traveler types. Well, for example, um, and this is something I couldn't have anticipated when I got the condos, but they just opened the first film studio here in Athens. And so a couple months ago, um, one of the studios that this, This particular group planned to use in Atlanta ended up not being available and last minute they moved all the cast and crew and staff out here and they all needed places in Athens and so there's just crazy opportunities that you wouldn't even think of until you go live on your property.
Yeah. So your four condos and your single family home in Athens, Georgia, it's a, you know, a college town. So you already stated during football season, go university of Georgia. Uh, you rent out the homes as a short term and then you flip it for midterm, uh, most of the rest of the year. So what do the numbers look like for what you can get during?
Uh, short term season versus mid term season and just what's your take on the balance? Right, um, so right now I'm just doing the house for football season and mainly that's just for my mental health of being able to keep up with that and I have a property manager that's assisting me with that property right now, but It's about 3 or 4x during football season.
So a property that rents for 3, 000 is going to rent for 8, 000 as a short term rental during football season, but those people have pretty high expectations as they should of the quality of the The house as well as the service that they're going to get based on the price point that they're paying for the rent in Athens for these memorable football weekends.
I actually really like how you've placed your hybrid strategy for short term and midterm not around I should say around these events right like football where you're like I can get absolute top dollar for my property as a short term rental For these football games or this football season, right?
These weekends. And then, then the other times I'm going, you know, as soon as that opportunity is over, I'm going to flip to midterm. You're not necessarily saying, okay, for six months out of the year, or, um, I'm going to do midterm and then fill in with a short term. This is a little bit of a take on the seasonal approach, but you're more doing it based on events and kind of saying, okay, I'm going to take the high highs when they're here.
But when those high highs pass, like I'm going back to midterm, which is the default because it's so much easier to manage and stuff. So this is like a little bit of a different take on it that we've heard. And I think you're very wise for kind of doing that approach of the hybrid with it. Yeah. And it's been working well for me.
And, and honestly, as much as I love cash flowing and this is a business, like Athens is a small enough town where I like providing a community service, honestly. So after last football season, I had a neighbor reach out and she had some Italian film students that were here for a couple months, um, in the low season.
And they weren't able to find any housing. They could only white walk or bike to campus where they needed to be. And she asked me if I could provide them housing. And, and honestly, it wasn't that lucrative, but I started thinking back to when I was a I'm an exchange student in Argentina and I had a really good housing situation and it just made my whole trip memorable and, and stress free.
And so I thought, you know, why not just give it to these students at cost and let them enjoy their experience and build goodwill in the neighborhood and fulfill this need. And then I can balance that with the crazy football season cash flow. Yeah, it's about the balance, right? And it's all about, I also like how you're, you're balancing the cashflow, the high versus the mid, right?
Midterm rentals, you're getting midterm, like mid cashflow, right? Like midterm rentals are medium for everything. They're more work than a longterm rental with property management, but way less than a short term. And for cashflow, same type of deal. Right. But I love how, like you said, that you're able to give a safe place to stay to someone who's with a sick family member and those students who were looking for somewhere to stay, and then you can mix it up and get the crazy football people in there for a while.
But like, it's, it's all about that. I think I would actually lose my mind if I had to manage a short term rental year round, or I would have to hire a property manager at which point it's like, Oh, You might as well just do a midterm because the cash flow is about the same and I just really like how you've been able to find that balance.
For sure. Well, this has been a great conversation about the hybrid strategy. Let's continue on Furnished Finder and one of the tools on Furnished Finder that you really use well is the tenant tracking tool. I myself also use that as my property management system. So tell us how tenant tracking has been a beneficial addition to your midterm rental business.
Right, so um I like to keep track of everybody in the, the tenant tracking portal just because, um, sometimes you may just be communicating with the person that made the booking, but they could have a spouse or a roommate that's there too. And then you have different, um, contact information for them.
Sometimes I have a hard time remembering, um, when people are moving in and moving out, or I'll make notes about who I need to be flexible with. Um, you can add. the codes for the smart locks in there. I'm all about safety and security. I want those codes deleted and unique as soon as somebody is, is in or out.
And so the tenant tracking just helps me, um, if I need to get in touch with them in the future too, like after they move out, it may be that the cleaner finds something of theirs or it's in a drawer and isn't discovered till later. And I just want to have a good record of who is here and how to send them.
An email or a text later. I love it for my Furnished Finder calendar. I mean, cause a majority of my bookings come from Furnished Finder. So I stay the most active in Furnished Finder. I go after tenant leads. I don't wait for booking requests or messages to come to me. And so it's very important to make sure your calendar is up to date.
Uh, and that's the easiest way I've found to do it. Double check it is once we set up the lease, well, then we, and have the, all the move in fees, then we go over to Furnished Finder Tenant Tracking and put in the details for that guest. Do they have a pet? Uh, are they definitely moving out when their, um, you know, lease ends or have they expressed that, you know, it's an insurance claim and it might need Month to month after that, or they may extend their contract at the hospital.
So I always make those notes, uh, so that I can follow up with them and say, Hey, are you planning to stay? Are you planning to move out within those last 30 days? And if someone inquires, then I can go double check them and make sure, you know, was that the date that they were moving out or, you know, did they need to extend potentially?
So it's a really great tool already in your Furnished Finder dashboard.
Hey, landlords. Are you ready to level up your rental game and simplify your midterm rental business? Well, get ready to meet your new best friend, KeyCheck. KeyCheck is your all in one solution for stress free property management. With tenant paid screenings, online rent payment processing, custom lease creation, and a suite of incredible landlord tools, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
No more chasing down checks or sifting through piles of applications. KeyCheck helps you organize and manage all things landlording Simple and efficient way. Make landlord life a breeze with key check the game changer for modern property owners, visit key check. com to unlock the power of stress free property management and take your rental business to new heights.
The nice thing also with tenant tracking is that it's a very simple tool, but like it's all you need. A lot of these other systems, they're way more than you need. And for midterms, it's just, you just, you don't need all of these, like Super detailed, sophisticated tracking things. Like you just need to know who's in there.
What's their contact. What are the details of the stay and to have a handle on that? I do want to give everybody, everybody a pro tip on the calendar too. Um, we are actively working to improve our calendar. Like it's like one of our top priorities within our product. Um, but one of the things that I think confuses, um, people a lot is when we say, keep your calendar up to date and they might say, well, my calendar is up to date.
My, my property is open and it's been open for the past 3 weeks. And my availability says that it was available 3 weeks ago. When we say, keep your calendar up to date, we mean make your calendar availability date. Um, when you tell furnished finder that you're available, your property availability started last week or two weeks ago, it very well might be accurate, but it also might mean that you forgot to update your calendar or someone moved in and you didn't, you know, you didn't mark that as a move in or that you're doing repairs.
Um, so. You give us the best signal and for your search results and your accuracy and the best matching with tenants when your calendar availability date is a present date or in the future. So I just want to make that really, really clear and just let everybody know like, You can get excited about the future of the calendar.
Like we know you want to have blackout dates. You want to have, you know, flexible availability. And we are working so hard on all of these things. And I'm so excited to share them with you all. But for now, like hold tight and trust in our team, because it, it, something as simple as the calendar, like once you really dig into it, there's a lot of nuances with it.
And we want to make sure that it is awesome for you guys. Yeah, for sure. I just, so we never got to the seller financing portion. So I want to circle back because Leslie has some great tips on finding seller financing partners and what type of landlord to watch out for. So Leslie, tell us more. Right. So, um, the last five properties that I've purchased have all been, um, seller finance and it seems to come from the same type landlord and it's owner, and those retired landlords, um, and it's people that have owned the property a really long time, it's paid off, um, in the instance when I bought the condos, um, the gentleman I purchased them from, he had actually, um, spoken with his tax advisor who said, you might want to consider seller financing these to somebody or you're going to get hit with a really big capital gains tax.
And so, um, We worked it out. Um, I, I mean, it's great. I only had to put 10 percent down. Um, I created a basically a personal financial statement that I gave to him, um, which included My bank accounts, mortgage statements, my credit score, and then I just made a bio about me, honestly, and I, and I gave that to him and I met with him and started building trust, um, with him and so, you know, haven't missed the payment yet, so it's working out and he's actually cash flowing.
More By me paying him the seller financing route than he was when he was renting them as long term rentals He's not having to deal with any of the maintenance. I had to replace two HVAC systems This year and you know, I'm taking that on not him and then I did purchase another home Seller financing from a gentleman that was in the same situation.
He owned the home for outright and, and I just pitched him and he said, I like your hustle. Let's give it a try. And then once you build that reputation with them, um, they've actually come to me and said, Hey, I have other friends that want to get rid of their property. Do you know anybody? Um, or I just had another landlord in Athens approach me, um, wanting me to manage his properties or do arbitrage for him, um, and some of his properties.
And I just, I don't have the, the Time to take that on, but when you get a good reputation, then people come to you with the deals and you, you don't even have to, um, search them out that much. You just talk about what you're doing and what you love and what your successes are. And then people come to you.
Yeah. I've actually had this happen in the past week. I've had two of the partners that we use for arbitrage come to me with other properties that we're not currently working together on. And they're like, what would you do here? Would you be interested in this one? And I'm like, Well, you know, like we're pretty full right now, but then it gets to talk about, like, you know, maybe we could do some sort of other partnership set up.
So it is like, it opens up that Avenue. The other thing that happened to me last night that I thought was really helpful, really interesting with the relationship side of the business. And I've never had this happen before, but we talk about it a lot is I had a tenant who's moving out, who said, Hey, my coworker is also a travel nurse.
And our contracts overlap by a month. I met her at the hospital. She's great. She wants to know if she can move in when I move out. And I'm like, wow, why? Yes, she can. Yeah. So, and I was like, I've been like waiting, like hoping this sometimes happens. So I'm, I'm wondering if that's ever happened to you on the tenant side, kind of those relationships or referrals as well.
Yes, um, 100%. Um, I haven't always been able to fulfill them just because of the demand. And then the, when I started out with just the single family home, that wasn't always good for one traveler, but you'll have somebody that moves here for business that's setting up that says, Hey, I'm hiring an employee and they need a place to stay.
Um, I will, you know, to the credit of I was really nervous when I listed my properties because I did it, um, I think it was December 28th. So, like, people are not looking to move right around then, but I had, um, two tenants, uh, in place within 48 hours. They had moved in and they'd met each other at the hospital and they had both lived in different places in Athens that they described, you know, as sketchy, and they wanted to get out ASAP and they bonded over that and so they were, you know, I had that place filled in 48 hours.
That's amazing. I love that. I also love Leslie when I'm looking at your listings. Um, she has, she's using our unit listing feature, which she has, um, all of the four condos kind of tied together. You can see the different offerings, um, between each unit. And I also like how she has taken each unit and is listing it separately.
Like use, get a listing for each one of your properties. Um, it's really, really important to keep that updated and you can track each tenant. You can also show the differences in each listing. Even if you have four listings that are. Or four properties or units that are almost identical. Travelers want an accurate representation.
Um, and it makes, it makes you seem very professional if you have multiple properties and you have a listing for each. Um, the other thing just strictly from a marketing side is I think about it like the cereal aisle, right? Like the more you can take up of that space, the more attention you get. Right? So like in my local market, I have a listing for every single property, even though some of them are nearly identical because when a traveler searches the map, I want to show up multiple times over and over and over because I want that attention and I want those leads.
So I think for such a low over overhead investment of 149 year, 149 a year, like. You're going to make that up with one booking, like so quick. And I think you're very smart for a putting it up even when you're not sure about the timing B putting them all up. Um, and then see like just being really active on the platform and engaging with tenants and answering questions and things like that, which is just so big.
Yeah, and, um, one thing that, you know, I've started to become friends with other people in the landlord community up here. And so we've got this network to where if we get an inquiry and we don't have a place, I'll say, Oh, well, my friend has one about two miles away. Let me check in with him. Or. You know, we just go back and forth and I think it's really helpful when you're active on the platform or reaching out to people, um, with, I love the unmatched leads because I'll reach out to anybody that it's even kind of in the same realm or I'll say, Hey, I might be a little bit out of your budget, but if you don't find anything, um, you know, I think I could make a place available for you, or even if the dates don't align, I'll just say, Hey, I, you know, I've got a friend that could house you for two weeks and then you could move in for the rest of your stay.
So it works out well. Yeah. Katie, I'm combining my last three questions into one. Do you have anything you want to add before I do that? No, go ahead. All right, Leslie, let's have some fun with this one. So to wrap us up, we've had a previous conversation. Uh, and one, I love your company name, Cloud Bi Day Residential.
I find that intriguing and want to know what it means. But you've also expressed that you have a high risk tolerance and you not only have midterm rentals, long term rentals, you also invest in financial services. Passive investments through some sub two groups. So what do you want to tell us about your business and how your company name and your high risk, uh, you know, can just encourage others in their real estate journey?
Right. Okay. Well, so for part one of the question, my business is cloud by day residential, and that was something that was expired inspired by the book of Exodus chapter 13. And it's the story of when the Israelites The Israelites are freed from Egypt by the Pharaoh, and they're making a trek through a long and unexpected path through the wilderness, and they're not sure, uh, what's in store for them.
And so there's high temperatures at this time of year, so, um, you know, they're promised a cloud by day to shield them from the sun, and fire by night to help them guide their journey. And to me, it's just, uh, there's a lot of symbolism in here of faithfulness and perseverance and I actually see a lot of parallels with modern day real estate investing Because you know just like the you know folks that are on this journey to the promised land.
They don't have a map They don't have a guide. They just have to trust and trust have faith that they're moving in the right direction. And that's what I see with real estate investing. There's not a cookie cutter strategy. You learn as much as you can and then you, you adapt knowing that in the long run, this is a good wealth building strategy, right?
Yeah, for sure. And so, with your midterm rentals, what is your exit strategy? Well, so, I have pivoted in a lot of them. Like, if I had opened these up and found that nobody was staying here, I'd take the furniture out and turn it into a long term rental. I have the option to do short term rental, and I think that there would be demand.
I just don't want to do it. Um, But right now, I mean, I'm just, I'm cruising. There's, there's no need to change my strategy right now. And, you know, to the second part of your question about risk, and I've learned a lot of this from Barbara Corcoran from Shark Tank, who's also a huge real estate investor.
And she basically said, you know, if you are not. a little bit, um, risk tolerant, this is not the business for you. And I have a lot of people say, you know, if, if I just made a little bit more money, I could be a real estate investor like you, or, or if I just, you know, read a couple more books, I could probably do it.
And I just tell them, I'm like, I don't think that that's what's holding you back. You know, I'm, I'm a very average person with average income, and I've snowballed. this. And so, um, what holds people back is risk. And so I'm just a huge advocate of, um, taking a leap of faith. I mean, that's what I did with the condos here.
I wanted one condo and I ended up with four and I just had to adapt and figure out what to do and and it's been great and I have no regrets and you know Everything isn't perfect and lollipops and roses all the time and if your strategy isn't working you just go to something else Yeah, we've been very accustomed to thinking that risk is bad, but calculated risk can actually be very, very beneficial.
I don't know anybody who has achieved really great things in their life without at some point taking what a lot of people would think is a really big risk, but you're right. You just have to take educated risk, right? But, but doing the same thing every single day is also a risk. Um, my husband and I were talking the other day and he came across a quote and it said, You know, the best decision is the right one.
The S the second best decision is the wrong one. The worst decision is no decision. And I'm sure I'm butchering that quote. So I'm sorry, but it's kind of like, you know, when you take these, these educated or calculated risks, or when you're invent investing in real estate, it's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to not be perfect.
It's okay to need to pivot sometimes. Um, but you're never going to get anywhere if you don't do anything. Right? Like, it's kind of like that, that cliche saying of nothing changes if nothing changes, but it's also very true. Like the worst thing that you can do is nothing like go try something. You can try it from as small as learning from a co host, right?
And you can try out co hosting or you can try just learning more, but at some point you got to try it to see if it's going to work. Yep. Well, this has been a fantastic episode. Leslie, thank you so much for joining us. If someone wants to reach out or connect with you, how would you like them to do so? You know, probably the best way is just through my Furnished Finder profile.
I could also provide you my Instagram for the show notes and can respond to messages that way. Perfect! Everything will be in the show notes, guys. And I'm going to leave us with a thought of, you know, that calculated risk. Furnishfinder. com forward slash stats. Go check out your calculated risk and see what the midterm rental demand is in your area.
And you can look at getting started through arbitrage, uh, buying a property, or partnering with a friend. So, there's so many ways to get started. Just jump into this midterm rental space and we all are on this journey together and are here for you. So let us know in the comments if on YouTube and there's actually a text feature now on audio as well.