MTR Saturation Tips, Avoiding Scams, Bed Bugs, Shared Yards & Insurance Tips w/ Theresa Barton

After losing her son in 2016, Theresa Barton of Longwood, Florida, a small town north of Orlando, discovered that remodeling her home was a very cathartic experience that led to better financial and emotional health. Theresa has been hosting through Furnished Finder for about five years, and she has a lot of excellent landlording advice to share.

Theresa's Portfolio

Theresa had a 3 bed, 2 bath single family home, a guest house on the same property, and a rental arbitraged lakefront home in a nearby city in her portfolio before Covid. She was aware that her properties, which were at the time short-term rentals, would be impacted as Covid began to have an effect on the world. She gave up on her rental arbitrage property as a result and started looking for a property rental strategy that could withstand the upcoming effects that Covid would have on the short-term and vacation rental markets. She eventually learned about Furnished Finder and the market for mid-term rentals.

A Difficult Time in Her Life

Theresa endured excruciating grief after losing her son in 2016. By chance, the house next to where they were living became available, and she bought it. She invested all of herself in the remodeling project because she couldn't sleep from her grief. Her coping mechanisms for the intense energy and emotions of her trauma included caulking, painting, fixing and upgrading light fixtures, cleaning stoves, and—possibly the most therapeutic—demolishing and rebuilding parts of the house.

Avoiding Scams and Making Tenants Feel Secure

Theresa is aware of the large number of con artists operating in the short-term rental market under the guise of landlords. By first advising those interested in her property to check her county's website to confirm she is the real owner of the property they're interested in, she allays the fears of her potential tenants. To show them how difficult it would be to fake this kind of online presence, she then directs them to the numerous other websites where she has listed her property. The next thing she does is offer to start a quick video chat on her phone and walk through the house (or maybe just around it if a tenant is already there) to show the house in person, so to speak.

Another layer of safety and security she offers is if her new tenants will be paying rent or deposit through Venmo or Cashapp that she insists they first send only $1 (rather than the whole amount, which is what scammers typically do). This way, once she receives the $1, she can reply, showing that she's a real person, and allow the tenant to send the rest of the money feeling secure. Even more reliable with tenant repor is Furnished Finder’s sister company, KeyCheck , designed with mid-term rental landlords in mind offering tenant screenings , state specific leases & rent payments .

Theresa also makes sure her tenants are safe and secure during their stay by adhering to the state, county, and city laws regarding short- and mid-term rentals, which are constantly changing. She does this because short-term rental property owners frequently fail to take the necessary measures to comply with the various layers of regulations, especially those pertaining to short-term rentals, putting tenants at these properties at risk of having their reservations prematurely canceled and possibly even being evicted by local authorities. She mentions that at a recent city meeting, of all the short-term rentals in her city, only three were properly registered; two of those properties were hers.

As a side note, you are ultimately protected by making sure that every facet of your property rental business complies with regulations. Insurance companies are more than willing to reject a claim on the grounds that the property was not compliant with regulations if one were to arise, whether for liability or damage to the property.

A fire extinguisher and a landline phone are two particular conditions she mentions that her county required in order to obtain compliance and approval. The landline is an intriguing feature that landlords might want to implement even if there is no emergency services requirement for one. The fire extinguisher is obviously advantageous to the tenant. The majority of people are unaware that dialing 911 from a landline automatically transmits the caller's address. Mid-term and particularly short-term renters are unlikely to have the address written down or be able to recall it in an urgent situation, but a call to 911 on a landline would get emergency services dispatched that much faster.

Staying Competitive

Theresa notes that one easy way to differentiate your rental property from others is to make it pet-friendly as the short- and mid-term rental markets become more competitive. She points out that many landlords may be reluctant to allow pets for fear that the animal will damage the property, but in her experience, tenants with pets, especially in Florida where it gets very hot, must be conscious and considerate simply because it is necessary to keep the pet alive. She is more than happy to welcome guests with pets because these are the types of visitors she hopes to draw.

One of her tenants even went so far as to bring her own sheets to cover any upholstered furniture there. The tenant wanted to make sure Theresa's property was respected and taken care of despite training her two dogs not to climb on any furniture. In light of this incident, it might be a good idea to provide furniture covers or extra sheets for this particular use when housing tenants who have pets.

Remember, as a landlord, you can charge whatever you'd like as a pet deposit. That deposit can be refundable or even non-refundable. Tenants will understand a non-refundable deposit as they know a deeper cleaning will be required when they move out.

In order to vet her potential tenants who have pets, Theresa has a long phone conversation with them before they sign the contract to learn all she can about the pet. She's looking to make sure dogs aren't inclined to bark all the time, if it is calm, sweet, non-aggressive, if it can handle lightning and thunder which is common in Florida and if their dog or cat has ever clawed, chewed or sprayed on anything.

If there is a good fit between the tenant and the pets, Theresa makes sure the tenant is aware that for the first few weeks, their pet must be kept on a leash whenever it is outside. Since the other house on the property is also pet-friendly, this initial period is intended to help the tenants and their pets become accustomed to one another and prevent any unneeded bad behavior between the animals.

Insurance

Having worked in liability insurance in the past, Theresa understands there are a lot of risks that come with short- and mid-term rentals. She notes that if you're talking with an insurance company about insuring your short- and mid-term rental, and they do not ask you anything about bunk beds, swimming pool and pool fencing, trampolines or anything else that might pose a liability risk, they're probably not the company for you.

She ultimately decided on Proper Insurance , which offers comprehensive coverage designed especially for short- and mid-term rentals. In addition to the typical liability and property damage protection that you would find in a typical long-term renter's policy, Proper also offers pet liability insurance, bed bug protection, squatter protection, liquor liability to cover welcome baskets for visitors that frequently include a bottle of wine, and more. Theresa says it is her preferred insurance provider despite being fairly pricey.

Decor and Functionality Tips

Theresa emphasizes how incredibly fast the internet service is at her properties to distinguish them from the competition. Fast internet is especially useful for digital nomads, remote workers, and other traveling professionals who work exclusively on a laptop and may have homeschooled children. Her property may have a husband, a wife, and several children who all depend on the internet for work and education, so having that service available is undoubtedly appealing. Another way to attract potential buyers to your property is to post a screenshot of the speed test results to your Furnished Finder listing. Be sure to also highlight if you have a dedicated workstation, even if it’s as simple as just a small desk and lamp; it makes a big difference for anyone who works from home.

Bed Bugs

For any landlord, bed bugs are an expensive headache. If bed bugs are discovered, you'll have to buy a new mattress and box spring (possibly one for each room), hire bed bug pest control services, and probably pay for your guests to stay somewhere else while the problem is being fixed, not to mention the unpleasant experience they'll have to endure. Theresa uses two bed bug protection covers on each mattress to ward off bed bugs. Since these mattress protectors are waterproof, they also protect your mattress from guests with small children who might wet the bed or otherwise damage it.

Sheets

While everyone can appreciate white sheets, Theresa avoids them like the plague in her properties. Keeping white sheets from eventually looking dingy and/or stained is a never ending battle. Her simple solution is to never use white sheets. She keeps three sets of sheets in each property, all of different colors and materials, so her guests can change them out to fit their preferences.

Furniture

Theresa discusses how certain tenants are drawn to your furniture. She chose a farmhouse-style aesthetic for all of her furnishings for two reasons: first, this type of furniture is diverse and frequently includes older pieces that are incredibly well-built and solid and have a very low chance of breaking (since it was made decades ago). Estate sales abound in Florida, making it simple to find older, well-made furniture. The second reason is that it's typically very affordable since it's used.

Furnished Finder Use Tips

Theresa advises landlords using Furnished Finder to diligently check their unmatched leads and follow up with them. She reaches out to every single unmatched lead and secures new tenants all the time as a result. Sometimes potential tenants input incorrect information regarding what they're looking for in a property. Perhaps they selected too many rooms, too many occupants, too low of a budget, and as a result received few if any property messages from tenants that fit what they're actually looking for. Since Theresa follows up with her unmatched leads, she's able to speak with that lead, show them exactly what she has to offer, create a great first impression and is much more likely to secure them as a tenant.

5 Star Reviews

Getting in touch with her tenants one month before their lease ends allows her to lay the groundwork in a non-pushy way regarding the importance of reviews. She details how she needs the reviews as a landlord, as does the tenant to easily secure future leases in the future.