In the ever-evolving real estate landscape, savvy investors continuously seek opportunities that not only yield high returns but also offer flexibility. Monthly midterm rentals have emerged as a compelling option for those looking to maximize income without the turnover rates of short-term rentals. Yesenia’s secret? Emphasizing compact living spaces that offer homely comforts without the stress of daily management. Let's delve into how you can capitalize on monthly rentals, even with a small space, and embrace the Furnished Finder community.
Understanding the monthly rental advantage
Monthly rentals are distinct, offering the perfect blend between long-term leases and short-term stays. They create value for real estate investors by ensuring steady income streams while maintaining lower turnover. Platforms like Furnished Finder (opens in new tab) allow landlords to connect directly with a pool of tenants who value the comfort and practicality that monthly rentals provide.
Tiny spaces, big returns
Why Tiny Spaces Work: Compact spaces, often perceived as limited, can deliver impressive returns with thoughtful design and strategic positioning. By leveraging what would typically be dismissed as "too small," landlords can enjoy significantly high occupancy rates, as tenants appreciate the affordability and privacy of well-designed compact homes.
Yesenia's Success Story: Yesenia Garkanian transformed a 600 square foot guest house on her property into a lucrative midterm rental. Initially skeptical, Yesenia took the plunge after researching on platforms like Furnished Finder, wanting to ensure an equitable balance between her family's needs and those of potential tenants. The result? A consistently occupied property that pays as much as, or more than a conventional job would.
Key considerations for maximizing tiny spaces
Strategic Design: Investing in quality furnishings and practical layouts can dramatically enhance tenant satisfaction. Essentials such as a comfortable bed or a well-equipped kitchenette can differentiate your rental from others. For instance, Yesenia's thoughtful inclusion of a queen-size bed and versatile shelving made her space incredibly functional.
Leverage Outdoor Areas: Outdoor spaces increase the attractiveness of small rentals. Whether it's a private patio or a communal garden, providing tenants with accessible outdoor areas can set your property apart. Yesenia cleverly fenced off areas and integrated landscaping features to give her guests an added sense of privacy and enjoyment.
Embrace Multi-functionality: In small spaces, select pieces of furniture or fixtures should serve multiple purposes. Incorporating items that double up on functionality—like a fold-out desk that acts as a dining table—can help optimize the living area without feeling cramped.
Marketing Your Monthly Rental: Furnished Finder offers several tools to boost your property's occupancy from listing performance panels to tenant feedback integrations. These resources can offer invaluable insights into improving listings for maximum appeal. Additionally, Furnished Finder provides essential tools for tenant screening, secure leases and rent payments.
The landscape of real estate investing is changing, with monthly midterm rentals leading the charge in innovative strategies for maximizing small spaces. By accessing resources like Furnished Finder and using them to inform your decisions, investors can enhance their property's value proposition, secure strong tenant relationships, and enjoy an efficient, high-return rental operation.
For more information on getting started or maximizing your rental potential, visit Furnished Finder (opens in new tab) or explore Landlord Resources (opens in new tab). Get inspired, take the leap, and watch as your small space transforms into a real estate triumph. To hear more about Yesenia's journey and insights firsthand, tune into episode 145 (opens in new tab) on "The Landlord Diaries" podcast, where she shares her experiences and tips for succeeding in the monthly midterm rental market.
Episode 145 Transcript
I've been seeing just an amazing turnout on Furnished Finder. You guys popped up on my feed. I read into you guys. It didn't take something like overnight for me to jump on, honestly, for me to convince my husband and I convinced myself it took about a year and we finally said this, this year in January, we, we have to do it.
And if we can't rent it out, I don't know how we're gonna do it. We're gonna have to sell all the furniture and just do long term. But let's take the risk. And it's been impressive. My family actually comes from a long line of long-term rentals and so when I told them what I was doing, they were a little skeptical.
I'm not gonna lie. But even my father, he actually helps people 'cause he is a contractor. He helped somebody with their A DU and he actually called me and he said, can you give him the spiel? Tell him what you're doing, because you know it's so different. It's not. It's not something that even people really know about.
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. Today's episode is all about proving that tiny spaces can deliver big results. While both Katie and I operate high performing compact rentals, we've invited Yesenia Garkanian to join the conversation. A first year host who turned a 600 square foot guest house on her primary residence into a reliable, family friendly source of income, all through Furnished Finder.
After researching the midterm rental strategy, tapping into the Furnished Finder community and following. The Landlord Diaries podcast. Yesenia is now living the strategy. She once studied and 100% of her bookings have come from Furnish Finder. Yesenia, thanks for being with us today. How are you doing? Hi.
Thanks for having me, you guys. I'm doing well. Very excited to be on here. Awesome. Well, I'd love to kick off this episode Yesenia, with, uh, how your guest house on Furnished Finder has added value to your life and your families, please. Yeah, you know, big thing, uh, that it's added is freedom. Freedom is the number one thing.
I'm able to stay home. I'm able to not only get the, the income from my Furnished Finder, uh, rental, my midterm rental, I also have a long-term rental. And so that actually gives me the same pay as actually more pay than, um, my old job. So it's been able to give me freedom to stay home. Um, I'm really quick to respond to those Furnished Finder tenant listings.
I am probably the first one to talk to them because I'm not working. I'm, uh, have my phone on, on me all the time. So, um, it's been giving me freedom. I also love that it gives me something to do. I'm able to be creative. Uh, I shared last time my number one thing that I love to do is decorate, and so I was able to furnish it.
Have fun, be creative. And I honestly, it's been able to gimme peace of mind too, knowing that I'm constantly booked and I don't have to worry about constant turnover because short-term rental was something I was looking into, but I don't think I could have done, uh, con a constant turnover, especially with two little ones, right?
Uh, 203, it's a little too much. I love that not only have you been able to make a, a really big impact out of such a small space, but also out of a small portfolio. So many times I think our landlords think that you have to have 10, 15, 20, or more properties to make the impact, but you've been able to create a substantial source of income just with one small property as a midterm.
So I just love that. Thank you. Honestly, it's really fun and I also really enjoy meeting new people. Uh, our current tenant right now, she actually just extended, uh, on Monday. She, she loves the place. She says she, it's perfect for her. She says she would like to extend for another three months, and so I did have to turn somebody down, unfortunately, but they're going to look for me in November, so that's gonna be exciting.
Oh, good. Excellent. And, and you've had, uh, I think, uh, you know, a couple stays. You're in your first year of hosting right now. Uh, what type of guests have stayed in your guest house and what do you love about housing professionals, uh, in your, in your primary residence? So I made sure it's private. That's one of the things I put a gate, because if I go to my backyard, I used to be able to see the front door.
So if I get outta the front, you know, I have, uh, sliding doors for my, my bedroom. If I open it to go see outside and go look at the pool, you could see their front door. And so I need to make sure it's private right? And I'm thankful I did because I was able to block off their little area. But give them a private entrance.
A private patio, um, like a little. Backyard area and or front yard area. If they have a pet, they have like turf. And I'm, I'm loving it because I'm getting a lot of women and they're feeling safe there. And I also notice that they're either, um, traveling nurses and they're here for the hospital, or they're actually occupational therapists.
Uh, that's one of the big ones that have been coming out here too. Let's talk about, we, we comment here from landlords like, oh, I think my space might be too small, or, I don't know if I could rent just this room, or just a studio or just, um, this a DU or this guest house like you have. How did you know that your tiny space would make a great home for somebody to stay in for months at a time?
Well, I mentioned this to Kelly last time, but I actually lived there, uh, uh, when I first bought the house. And so living there, it's just me, my husband, our dog, and our toddler. And I realized that it has so much potential, but we couldn't actually live there. Just us in a one bedroom. You know, we can actually do it.
And so when we. We're in there, our main house, our four bedroom main house was getting completely remodeled, gutted out everything. So we didn't have a kitchen, and the kitchen back there was very minimal. So, you know, I took notes and I said, even though it's a small space, I can make something, you know, very useful out of the small space.
Let's, let's make the best outta what I have. So I kind of already designed the kitchen in my head while I was there and I said in my notes, I need X, Y, Z appliances. 'cause you know, I'm living there and I don't have those. And so then the bathroom, oh my gosh, the bathroom has a, is a pretty decent size. But what.
People do, um, when they have small spaces, sometimes they believe that they need to go smaller on everything, but that's not true. So the shower was one of those corner triangles. You, you guys know which one ones I'm talking about? Oh my gosh. I heard my husband, he's so funny. Uh, I heard him taking a shower and all of a sudden I hear the curtains like a whole bunch of noise.
And then he's like, oh my gosh. Oh crap. And I ask, are you okay in there? He's like, I fell, you know? 'cause your, your, your eyes are wet and just going back the triangle is not ideal, especially if they're tall. You know, that was not a good one. So write down, he's like, write it down. We need a bigger shower for the next people who live here.
So we completely gutted the shower. We made that one custom and it's nice and tile with like the little rain shower head and we're like, we would enjoy that. So we know they would enjoy it too, so, so we did the most with what we could. I honestly didn't even think I was gonna have a dining space and I said Kitchen island it is, because that's the best thing I can do for them.
In the space. Definitely. And I look forward to talking more about like the specific things in, you know, getting ready for, uh, your monthly stays, uh, what you put into your space. But before we jump too far in that, to that, I. I just love the idea of, you know, overcoming that stigma of do tiny spaces work on Furnished Finder?
Right. And we're all proof that they do. Katie's got studios. I've got a 300 square foot and 600 square foot a DU, uh, we know that, which I call cottages. And we know that Yesenia's got a 600 square foot, uh, a DU. She calls a guest house. Yes. So I would, there you go. Yes, I would love for us each to take a moment to just share some of that feedback that we've gotten from our guests on what they love about our tiny spaces.
And mine doesn't even have a washer dryer or a full kitchen in one of them. It has a kitchenette. Uh, so Yesenia, you wanna kick us off on what some of the guests have shared, uh, about your space that they love? First thing is they're the bed queen size. I invested really well in that mattress because they need a good night's sleep after working 14 hours or even more sometimes.
And so biggest thing is I just love the bed. I love that it's clean. It's not cluttered in there. It's very minimal, but it's very. Purposeful, everything has a purpose in there. And also I made sure to get a good living, uh, room area, TV room area. And I made sure a good couch, a good decent sized tv, right, so they can lounge on there.
And I've been able to hear that they really enjoy having the feel of a home considered. It's not con. It's not technically a tiny home, but they still feel like it, it, it's very different than their regular home. So, and a full kitchen, uh, having a full kitchen obviously makes a, a big improvement for them as well.
And so I'm glad I'm able to provide that. I honestly didn't think I had space for the washer and dryer. I know you mentioned your space doesn't have one. I didn't think I was going to be able to do that. They actually recommended my contractors to put one outside and I. I have crazy weather here. I mean, you're in Texas, you, you know, look at crazy weather too, and so I didn't want to risk them having to walk outside and in that area I wouldn't have like a cover, a patio area like I do in the front.
So I made sure the kitchen was designed with a washer and dryer in mind, but it wasn't going to look tacky if that made sense. I think this is a great point, uh, because we've got very different stories here. Uh, we've got Yesenia in California, myself in Texas, Katie, uh, most of her studios are in Iowa, um, even though she lives in in Denver, uh, area.
And so one thing I wanna point out is. While we're across the nation, the price points are very different, right? Like we've got Yesenia 600 square foot space renting for 2200 per month. In California. We've got my 600 square foot space renting for 1400 per month. Same for my, uh. Same for my, uh, 300 square foot.
But my opportunity is limited though, because I don't have that washer dryer, and I don't have, uh, a full kitchen in one of those. So those are things that Yesenia thoughtfully added that she knew guests would like. But you can be successful either way. For myself, I'm like, Nope, don't love remodels. I love the space the way it is.
I can totally make a kitchenette out of this. And that's what we did and it worked great. So I just wanted to share a five star review from our 300 square foot, uh, cottage that I think you guys will all really like, and, and our guest said Nice. Quiet little cottage for a solo traveler like me. Quiet surrounding an quaint little town, fully furnished, including a creative space for cooking with appliances and utensils.
Very comfortable bed with tefi and wifi right in front of you. Uh, convenient covered parking and a. Surrounded by a privacy fence, close proximity to everything downtown, especially good Texas barbecue. Uh, so that one just stood out, uh, as like an encouragement to, if you have a tiny space, embrace it.
Right. What about you, Katie, with your studios in Iowa? Yeah. Um, some of the common themes that our guests, um, and tenants really like in our studios is that we do have a full kitchen, which we're very lucky that we have full size dishwasher, full size fridge, full size range. Um, that's really important. Um, we also have a balcony on a lot of them.
Um, some of them wanna. Door bikes or you know, other things that gives them a little bit of space. And also just, I mean, they're small patios, but just enough that you can open a door and get at least a little bit of fresh air. Um. Also having, having as much full size things as we can that fit comfortably.
Having the biggest bed that you can have comfortably. We have a kitchen table, a small kitchen table that also can work as a, as like a laptop station if you want. Um, we have a full size washer and dryer that. Are actually like the bathroom closet and washer and dryer are all in one big room. So just like smart uses of the space.
Um, but I think when it comes to these smaller spaces, like the theme is less is more and starting to think about really high quality, thoughtful touches versus just how much can I add? Right. And I think, like to Yesenia's point, like. You know, the bed we make sure is really comfortable, right? Even though it might not be able to be a king, we make it a really, really great queen.
Um, and if you don't have a full size kitchen, making it so like you're really thoughtful about what appliances you have in there so they can be meaningful and really useful. Um, and just, just being. Very conscious about all that. For instance, like we have one tv, right? 'cause they're studios, but we have it on the type of mount where you can pull it out and you can pivot it.
So if somebody wants to watch it from bed, they can. So I think it's really about putting yourself in the shoes of your tenant and saying, okay, if I were staying here, like what types of stuff would help this feel like home? Um. So I, I think those are really important. And Yesenia, I bet you've gotten really amazing at that, especially if you love design.
Do you have any, any tips or insights or things that you have found to be really helpful as you're putting these small or this smaller space together? Yeah, I, I chose a theme. I'm like, what, what theme do I want for this house? Kelly mentioned she really likes like the ocean theme, right? So I wanted to do something.
I live in the desert and so, uh, it is also called Aerospace Valley where I live. And so we get a lot of people that travel and we have like pop, do you know the poppy? We have poppy fields. Yeah, poppies. Poppies are awesome. Yeah, we have a whole field of it. So I have a little picture on top of the desk area just so they can see a little, uh, part of our town.
I have also like a little aerospace, uh, picture. Because, um, it, it makes them feel at home if they are from the aerospace. And then I have like a little one about nurses and how they rock and, uh, uh, that's on the desk area, but I wanted to That sounds cute. Yeah, I want, thank you. I wanted it to be like my home decor.
So as you see right now, I'm in my home. I have a lot of greenery. Um. Even if it's fake succulents. I added some of those to my house too, in the guest house because I wanted it to look like there's life in there. Right? So I added some fake plans because I don't want them to take care of real plans. I'm sure they have a lot of responsibilities already.
And then the kitchen, I wanted open shelves because I wanted some of the decor that's also used for the kitchen. It, they honestly can use the pot, the teapot to warm up, you know, the tea kettle to warm up some water. But it's also decorative because it matches the theme of the kitchen of the, you know, the blue.
I have like, um, like a mustard yellow and I have other black and white colors. And so I made sure it all was purposeful, but not overwhelming. And one of my biggest things I like to tell people is you don't even have to spend a lot of money on these things. I actually went to our local thrift store.
Believe it or not, it's like home Goods. I bought a tea kettle that's literally sold at Target right now for $60. I bought it there for $3 and it's brand new. I wash 'em, I clean 'em, I sanitize them, I put 'em all through the dishwasher, and if I'm able to use it, why not? Right? I put it up and it's, it helps you save money too, but at least you're, you're getting the good stuff.
I love that idea of taking something that's functional and also using it as a decorative item. Because sometimes these decorative I, these knickknacks, these decorative items, they can really clutter a small space. But if you're gonna take something more meaningful, right, and maybe you hang on the wall instead of just a picture.
Like, like you said, like a plant that has some texture, even if it's fake or maybe it's like a planning board that someone could use or a whiteboard right. That they could also use. Um, I think the more you can show that off, you're really showing in your listing that, Hey, I've put a lot of thought into this.
I've, yes, it's a small space, but it's very functional. Like I would rather have a smaller functional space than a larger space that is unintentionally put together. Kate, Katie, anything you wanna add there from just the idea of how have you made your studio more efficient with little hacks, uh, on, uh, storage solutions or things like that?
Yeah. I, I think really it's like instead of getting one use out of something, if you can get two to three, it's even better. Like I said, the kitchen table also serving as like a desk if it needs to. Um, we have our dr the dressers are also, like, the TV is over at the dresser, and the dresser kind of serves as like a table in the family room because it's all one room, right?
Um, the more you, the more you can get multiple uses. Out of things. Um, we try to put, you know, if there's any modems or or wifi routers or anything that we need, we'll try to put 'em in a shelf in a corner, right? And then you can also just put like a fake plant or something on there so it looks decorative.
Um, but I think the more you can do with that, the better. And then also just like. I don't care how small your space is, you can't skimp on the kitchen. Like you still, even if you don't have a full kitchen, even if you have a kitchenette, you need to have enough utensils. You need to have enough towels, you need to have enough pots and pans, um, that you don't want it to, to feel like, okay, well it's a, it's a kitchenette, but I only have.
One tiny pot to work with. You still wanna make sure that you're everybody can, can comfortably live. Today's episode is proudly sponsored by Furnished Finder, the ultimate platform for hassle-free midterm rentals. Whether you're a seasoned landlord. We're 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 are ready to experience all the benefits renting your property for 30 days or more, head over to furnishedfinder.com - Make a decision on your personal finance comparisons (opens in new tab) where you can list your property for one low annual price. We make it easy to get started.
A, a couple things I wanna add to this conversation about how to creatively use your tiny spaces. I like that word compact. Uh, at the end we can share some of the chat GPT words of how to describe a tiny space. It's kind of funny, uh, but compact spaces, you really do have to be creative. So some of the things that I like to make sure and emphasize is when someone is booking, I have that conversation of, Hey.
By the way, I'm so excited. We would love for you to stay with us, but just wanna make sure you notice that there's not a washer dryer and that it is a kitchenette. You'll be able to cook everything you need to. You can walk to the downtown area for lovely restaurants. Uh, but I wanna make sure you were aware of those things because then you're starting off on a good foot with O Trust.
Um, and really just establishing the expectations of the space. But some ways that I have been able to. Kind of navigate that 300 square foot space is, there's really not a lot of, I, I can't have a backup comforter in there that's, that's too large or, you know, even a backup quilt or something like that would be way too large.
Um, and so what I do is I have our cleaner keep. The backups. So they have a backup set of sheets, uh, but they don't necessarily have a backup comforter. Uh, so our cleaner has that fresh round to come in since she can't wash things, uh, on property with it being, you know, no washer dryer. So that's a way that we've creatively used this.
Base is finding that cleaner plus that will happily take it, wash it at their own house, you know, bring it back so we don't do same day flips on that one. We do one day flips so that she has plenty of time, uh, to reset the home, uh, with really two days. If she'd like. Uh, Yesenia, what about you, uh, in utilizing those tiny spaces?
Oh, I wanted to say, I agree with both of you ladies. I agree with the kitchen. Comment about making sure, like you have full things on that. I also made sure I added a dishwasher. I made sure I even added a pressure cooker with all the instructions on all my appliances in my home guide. So they all have access to every single appliance just in case they're like, how do we use this coffee machine?
Or so. You know, X, Y, Z. So I made sure that they have access to all of that. And if they do the walkthrough with me, I actually asked them if they prefer coffee, what's their style? Do they like to do their espresso shots? I have like five different coffees. But like you were saying, Kelly, you have extra backup for some items that can't fit.
I have the same thing. I actually, on my property it's half an acre, so we have a big like warehouse garage. I purposely have a area that's locked up with extra cleaning supplies, extra pillows, um, you know, sheets, uh, blanket blankets, and also towels. Um, all sizes and if they ever need some or request some or say, you know, this one got damaged in the washer and dryer, I have backups for sure.
They don't have to even go to the store for it, and it's easier for me just to replenish it. And, uh, keep tabs on how much I need to get. And I would prefer them to, you know, you know, to be honest and know that I'm there for them. But again, I respect their privacy. Um, and then the kitchen area also, just making sure that they, if they have what they need, and if they don't need that appliance, what's the point of them having it there?
So if they don't even drink coffee, I take all the coffee machines out and this way they have more space in the. The cabinets, but I even have the corner cabinets to be, um, rotating to rotate. And so this way they can put hand foods or anything that they need and they can move it around so they make the most out of their space that they have.
And I also, uh, wanted to make sure that they had a cleaning supply, uh, you know, like a. Hold on. What do you call those? Cleaning closets. Wow. I couldn't brain fart. So when you walk tile in towards the left, I made sure to get a utility closet. And when you open it, uh, I have hardwood floors and tile, so I love to vacuum that with, you know, like a Dyson cleanup.
So I made sure to get them one. And I also put the mop in there. I also put a swivel sweeper and I also put all the cleaning supplies and even fragrances. I like to put, you know, Fabrice plugins if they wanted to add some, I added a few of 'em and if they wanted to purchase more, that's on them. But I made sure to supply them with the, their initial, you know, couple weeks, uh, worth of things and cleaning supplies, at least for the three months that they do stay.
'cause that's my minimum requirement. See guys, you can totally fit a ton of stuff into your tiny spaces. It's worth it. Add your a dus, your cottages, your guest houses, get 'em on Furnished Finder. Um, you know, 95% occupancy. Uh, for both of my units. We've already heard that. Uh. Well, Yesenia and I have had a previous conversation that hers are fully occupied as well.
So I think the last part to really emphasize, uh, before we move on to, uh, a new section about, you know, the importance of marketing your tiny spaces well on Furnished Finder would be the idea of outdoor spaces. One of the most valuable things about a tiny space is when you have natural lighting and.
Outdoor space, enjoy as well. And that's something that Yesenia worked on in her remodeling process. Also adding the fence. But what you don't know is she has a pool on her property and she is not pet friendly. So let's hear what led you to those decisions, even though you do have, I think, a dog of your own.
I made sure that they know who Enzo is. My dog. He's a little Shitzu mix. I send them a message and I do let them know upfront as well, but I always tell them that he's on my side. Um, but just in case they, you know, they're walking to their property. He's on the other side of the gate. He likes to bark. You know, he thinks he's a big dog, so I may give them a heads up.
I. Definitely haven't seen anybody complain about it. If anything, they're obsessed with, you know, the kind of dog he that he is. Um, he's very friendly if they do catch a glimpse of him. And you did mention I have a pool. I do. I actually was contemplating, should I put it on? I've been noticing a lot of people on, when they stay here for the summer, they put the key word pool.
There's been many times that I don't qualify for that tenant. Although, you know, I still reach out, let them know, Hey, um, I'm interested in hosting you, but I don't have a pool, but just in case I'm here for you. But I think about it, but I also think about the liability that there is to it. So you have a pool, but you don't share it with your guest houses?
I don't. Correct. When I blocked off, yeah, when I blocked off the house with the gate. When they come in, they're not able to see my backyard at all. But their guest, the guest house. Is all the way to the back, to the back of my property. Okay? And so what they do is they can park up front and they have access through two gates, and they have the clip, uh, the remote.
That they clip on their car, and so they park in and they can just walk to their property and they have their own private entrance and it's all blocked off. But on the other side, there's grass area and then my pool. So I made sure that while we're in the pool, they can't see us because also I have kids.
And so I know kids can be loud, but I also know it's just a protection thing as a mom, I guess. But I, I just wanted to make sure that there's. How do I say? A distance between us? Privacy, of course, for them and for me, because if I wanted it to work out, I definitely needed that barrier in between. But my husband and I did think we can probably tell them they can come through the side gate, you know, for that one guy who put pool on his keyword, we're like, how can we make this work for him?
What can we do? Because we honestly wanted, he actually said he would do a lot more. He said one grand more for that option. So you're making some really good points here. Uh, that Furnished Finder has tools for, we've got our docks and leases, uh, with e-signature. And there's a ton. It's not just leases available, uh, through your Furnished Finder landlord tools.
And I think this is a great transition into, uh, you know, marketing your property through Furnished Finder. And I love Yesenia. You're in your. First year, and one of the things you mentioned is how great Furnished Finder's been on all the tools that you have found on the website and resources, the Furnished Finder community that really help help you make the decision to move forward and feel like you weren't alone, that you were part of this.
Bigger space of monthly rentals. So what were some of those, uh, let's, let's discuss some of those, uh, Furnished Finder tools that you really loved getting started. And one of them I think is there's, that we have a tab on the homepage that's about monthly rentals. What was it that led you to that versus, you know, long-term, uh, renter or a short term renter?
Yes. I wanted to make sure I did my study and I'm so thankful that Furnished Finder not only has all the answers to. Frequently asked questions, but they also have a free ebook, and so I downloaded that and I wanted to make sure I grabbed all the information I could because I was leaning more to short-term rental.
There is so much more to read and research about short-term rentals, and I wanted to do something that can provide more of an income and flexibility. I do have a long-term rental. I love it. I honestly don't even talk to my, uh, guests there, my tenants, and if they do, it's just a quick check-in that they do.
But I give them the privacy because that's their home. And I really wanted something that I can be involved in, like, like I mentioned, decorating. Decorating, providing a service to them, hosting them, really making a connection. And so when I read about midterm rentals, how there's. So, so much more that you can profit off of compared to long-term rentals, but you also have shorter, uh, turnover than short-term rentals.
You guys actually have a little que like a little area on your about. Monthly rentals there and it tells you exactly what A STR is, MTR is, LTR is, and the differences between it and why more people are going to MTRs. And I love what you guys put, that you guys can be, we can be personable, we can provide a service while still having less turnover and still experiencing freedom.
So. Yep, that, that we have, honestly, we have so many eBooks that we're creating now because our goal is to be as Furnished Finder. We want to be your go-to place for monthly rentals and. Everything you need to get started to find your guest, book, your guest, uh, and, you know, continue to grow in the monthly rental space.
So, uh, we've created multiple eBooks and most of our, uh, very important resources. Most of our resources that we deem most beneficial for you guys, you can find under the resource tab on the homepage, uh, landlord resources. So one I wanted to, uh, really have you share about that we don't get to talk about as much on the show is the.
Listing Performance Panel. I'd love to hear how you utilize the listing performance panel for growth, uh, in, in your, uh, you know, when you're looking for your next guest or in getting started. Nope, it was not. Yeah. When you're looking for your next guess.
When I initially started Furnished Finder, I just took the risk, but I didn't have the pictures yet. It wasn't completed, but I was upfront and I made sure that they knew that it was going to be available starting, um, the month of, uh, I think it was March. And so I put that on the. On the listing and I only put pictures of what I had, so it was under construction, but I still uploaded the pictures and I realized I got in one week, I got 54 views and two phone numbers, showings.
You know how it has that, I love that part 'cause I wanna know who's actually committed and it's not even furnished yet. At this point. It's not. So that's when I mute, knew. I need to make sure that I update as soon as possible. So as soon as I started getting more pictures, I would upload it. And then when I uploaded all the pictures, it was completely done.
I got over 150 views that week, and that's when I realized, okay, this is something. This is something. And I got a few people messaging me right away. As soon as it was done, I had a few perspective. Potential, um, guests while it was still under construction, but they weren't willing to wait till the, the time it was done.
And so with this person who, my first person who took it upon themselves to, you know, come and believe in us, we actually finished that week that the day that they came to do a walkthrough, I finished everything. You guys are using your guest house as a way that you can spend more time with your family.
You can spend more time with your kid or kids, right? Do you have multiple? Yes, I have two. One that's gonna be three next week and a five month old. I love that so much, and it just makes me think, did you. Did you guys intend from the beginning? Like what, whether you, you built the guest house or you bought the property and it came with the guest house of like, this is gonna be an income property for us.
Or did you more stumble upon that and realize it? Because I feel like more and more, especially regionally, right, like guest houses, 'cause SA Ds are so, like, they're not really big in Colorado where I'm at. I think they will be just with the shortage of housing. But, um. I feel like so many people are just sitting on top of what could be an amazing midterm rental and they just haven't realized it.
So I'm really curious if we, if we rewind, if this was like the plan from the beginning or if you were like, Hey, let's give this a shot. Let's see what this does. Because you seem like the person who's been very intentional with their planning, but also not afraid to take a little bit of a risk and say, Hey, let's give it a shot.
Like, let's try furnishing, like, Liz, let's try to do this or this and, and, and you, you seem to take those signals, right? Like using that listing performance panel, you're listening to those signals and doing things with it, which is like music to my heart. I'm glad. I'm glad you guys actually have something else that you can put your zip code in and see how many people are looking for housing in that area and what's number one.
And our area was one bedroom. One bedroom took up 75% of the area. So when I saw, you know, I have a guest house, I. Purchased it with the intent of making it a rental. Um, of course. And in the future, our main house will also be a rental and we would move on to the next one. But you know, I've been seeing just an amazing turnout on Furnished Finder.
You guys popped up on my feed. I read into you guys. It didn't take. Something like overnight for me to jump on. Honestly, for me to convince my husband and convince myself it took about a year and we finally said this, this year in January, we, we have to do it. And if we can't rent it out, I don't know how we're gonna do it.
We're gonna have to sell all the furniture and just do long term, but let's take the risk. And it's been impressive. My family actually comes from a long line of long-term rentals. And so when I told them what I was doing, they were a little skeptical. I'm not gonna lie, but even my father, he actually helps people.
'cause he is a contractor, he helps somebody with their A DU and he actually called me and he said, can you give him the spiel? Tell him what you're doing. Because, you know, it's so different. It's not, it's not something that even people really know about. I tell them in my community, at least my, you know, in person community, uh, yeah, I'm looking into Furnished Finder.
What's that? What are you even talking about? I'm like, midterm rentals, what? What's that? Is it Airbnb? That's the only thing that they know, the platform, and so I have to really explain to them, and I was even doubting myself because if people are doubting it, people aren't aware of it. Is it really a big thing?
But I believed in your guys' stats. Honestly, I'm not going to lie. That's what held, I held onto that. Oh, people are looking for one bedrooms. I'm gonna hold onto that and I'm seeing it. Honestly, I've even got my brother-in-law to do it. And he's been able to have constant, um, people also from Furnished Finder in the aerospace industry, which is great.
And so it's awesome to know that. It's something that's not really talked about. It's something very new. Midterm rentals, even though it's been around for you guys are gonna be 10 years, if I'm not mistaken or already completed 10 years this year. Yeah, we're 10. Yeah. But I mean, midterm rentals have been a thing, but they don't, it's a, yeah, it's not a new thing.
It's like a, a thing that people are finally realizing. Right. But there you, I'm with you. I think there's, there's so much power behind all this, obviously. Like I started working at Furnished Finder, had one long-term rental and within about a year and a half I was in the double digit. Thanks to, you know, arbitrage and lower cost properties because once you believe in it, and once you understand how simplistic it can be and you're like, it doesn't have to be hard, this is not exactly some huge equation, it's not as overwhelming as short term rentals.
Right. Then you're like. Yeah, I can do this. I can replicate this. And I just, I think it's so amazing that you guys have been able to take it and, and make it so that you get to spend more time with your family. I think that's such an incredible theme and. You know that, that it is doable and you're not having to handle short term rentals coming in and out every day or worrying about partier in your backyard or seasonal rates or this or that, right?
But like you're able to really maximize that while providing really good housing for these professionals who are coming into your area, right? Like not only is it a great investment for you and it's helping you and your family, but like. You're an incredible value for these travelers, so it, it really is something that is so mutually beneficial.
We've got our tenant, like for your midterm rental, uh, booking process. We've got the tenant screening state specific. Leases that are fully customizable with e-signature. Uh, we've got the rent, payments, uh, renter's insurance if you wanna require, enter renter's insurance and provide that option.
So we are trying to give you all those tools, but just like Yesenia uses it in a way that we haven't discussed, I'm sure a lot of you guys are using our tools in ways we'd love to hear about as well. Please put it in the comments. Uh, we're all in this together and would love to encourage each other in our monthly rental journey.
Um, I think I'll wrap us up with Yesenia. You are a little nervous about, uh, you know, just jumping into the Landlording game, uh, from the monthly rental side. At first, what have you learned over your first. Year of operations that you'd like to give others advice on to help them get started, uh, with their tiny space or their, all the way up to your four bedroom homes?
We have a large range of inventory on Furnished Finder. The number one advice I would say is just, it's gonna sound like that brand Nike. Right? Just do it. Yeah, just, just do it. Take the risk. Honestly, I was already thinking backup plan is sell all my furniture. I'm gonna put it, you know, on Facebook marketplace or something if I had to, but I'm going to make sure I do everything in, in my capability to rent it out.
And honestly, again, even before I furnished it, it was already getting people hooked. And so knowing that, that's amazing. Knowing that your guys' insights work, I would definitely recommend them to use those first, first and foremost and see, you know, what kind of bedrooms our people are looking for so you can maximize your potential.
But to be honest, just do it and don't be scared because you'd be surprised. I am actually looking into my long turning, my long-term rental into a Furnished Finder. It's a four bedroom, so I would definitely do it a little different, but I'm noticing there's so much more potential guests. They're not just the regular travel nurses or military, it's actually even insurance agencies.
There's so many doors that are opening for people, and you definitely need to market yourself out there for that. I think Yesenia has done a great job wrapping us up. That is so true. You can, in larger spaces, you could have room rentals on Furnished Finder. You could use it as an entire space for families relocating or insurance needs remodeling, et cetera.
So thanks for sharing all these valuable insights today with us. Yesenia, about your 600 square foot guest cottage. If you wanna connect with the Yesenia as. Always you can see, uh, her space, uh, and her Furnished Finder profile in the show notes. Uh, but guys, we just want to bring you all things midterm rentals.
If you're interested in being a guest. Uh, if you'd like more information on specific topics, reach out to us. We would love to hear from you through our customer service. You can put it in the comments. Um, there's so many ways that you can connect with us. Thanks for being here, and we'll catch you again next time.