Real estate investors are always looking for ways to maximize returns while minimizing risk—and if you’re not already exploring midterm rentals, now’s the time to dive in. Combining the stability of long-term leases with the higher yields of short-term rentals, midterm rentals offer an incredible opportunity for landlords looking to expand their portfolios and optimize their returns. Let’s break down why midterm rentals might just be the golden opportunity you've been waiting for.
What Are Midterm Rentals?
Midterm rentals are leases that typically span from one to twelve months, filling the gap between the security of long-term rentals and the flexibility of short-term vacation rentals. These rentals are particularly popular with traveling professionals—think healthcare workers, corporate employees on temporary assignments, or individuals relocating for work.
What makes midterm rentals so appealing for real estate investors is that they offer higher profitability than long-term rentals, but with far less volatility than short-term rentals. Essentially, you get the best of both worlds: the financial stability of a longer commitment with the higher rental rates typically associated with shorter-term stays.
From Long-Term to Midterm: A Real-Life Investor Success Story
Many landlords, like Jesus Jimenez from our latest podcast episode (opens in new tab), are making the shift from traditional long-term rental strategies to the more lucrative midterm rental market. Jesus started out with long-term townhouse rentals but began to notice a growing demand for midterm options, particularly among traveling nurses and other professionals who needed housing for extended stays.
However, as with any major business decision, convincing a partner to take a leap of faith into a new investment strategy can be tricky. In Jesus's case, his wife, an accountant, was hesitant to embrace the midterm rental approach, preferring the more predictable nature of long-term leases. So, how did Jesus handle this? He came up with a creative, low-risk solution to test the waters.
Jesus proposed an innovative form of arbitrage (opens in new tab)—not by renting someone else's property, but by treating one of their existing townhouse properties as a midterm rental while continuing to pay themselves the usual long-term rent. This way, they maintained the financial stability his wife craved while also testing the more profitable midterm rental model.
This clever approach worked. By running the numbers and showing their own property’s success as a midterm rental, Jesus was able to ease his wife’s concerns, and together they saw the potential for even greater financial rewards. His story is a perfect example of how creative thinking and testing new strategies on a small scale can open up new avenues for growth.
The Steps to Transition into Midterm Rentals
If you’re interested in following in Jesus’s footsteps and making the shift to midterm rentals, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
Conduct Market Research: Understanding your local market is essential when exploring midterm rentals. You’ll need to identify periods of higher demand (such as during the winter months or when traveling professionals are in town) and tailor your strategy accordingly. Websites like FurnishedFinder.com/stats (opens in new tab) provide valuable data and resources to help you pinpoint the best opportunities in your area.
Embrace Flexibility: One of the key benefits of midterm rentals is the ability to switch between different types of rental strategies. Jesus employs a hybrid strategy, where he rents properties as midterm rentals during the winter months and switches to short-term rentals during the summer (May to October) to take advantage of peak demand. This flexible approach helps ensure consistent revenue year-round.
Partner with Experienced Co-Hosts or Property Managers: If you’re just starting out and don’t have the time to manage the day-to-day operations, consider partnering with a co-host or property manager. This is a great way to ease the burden of managing multiple properties. Jesus, for example, found success by collaborating with local superhosts who helped manage the properties when he was unable to handle the tasks himself.
Leverage Technology for Efficiency: Modern technology can make the process of managing midterm rentals more streamlined and less time-consuming. From tools like KeyCheck for tenant screenings and lease agreements, to property management platforms that allow for virtual operations, tech solutions can save you time and reduce the risk of operational errors.
Key Advantages of Midterm Rentals
So, why should you consider midterm rentals? Here are some of the key advantages:
Higher Yields: Midterm rentals can often yield returns up to twice as high as long-term leases, making them an attractive option for landlords looking to maximize their investment potential.
Consistent Occupancy: With the longer duration of leases, you’re less likely to experience vacancies compared to short-term rentals, where tenants might only stay a few nights or weeks.
Predictable Income: Midterm rentals offer more stability and predictability compared to short-term rentals, whose income can fluctuate due to seasonal demand or changes in the market.
Tips for Success in Midterm Rentals
If you're ready to jump into the midterm rental market, here are some essential tips for ensuring success:
Effective Marketing: Professional staging and high-quality virtual tours can help your property stand out. Highlight key amenities that appeal to your target market, such as proximity to hospitals, public transportation, or corporate offices. Remember, the clearer and more appealing your listing, the higher your chances of securing quality tenants.
Detailed Financial Planning: As Jesus’s story highlights, a solid financial plan is crucial. Use detailed spreadsheets to forecast income, expenses, and potential ROI. This will not only help you manage your finances but will also help you make informed decisions when it comes to scaling your investments.
Utilize Technology: Employ tools like KeyCheck (opens in new tab) for tenant screenings and lease agreements. This simplifies operations, offering seamless management without geographical constraints.
Multi-channel Listing: Mirror Jesus’s strategy to list properties across multiple platforms like Furnished Finder and Airbnb, ensuring maximum visibility and occupancy.
Why Now is the Time to Invest in Midterm Rentals
With the rise of remote work and an increase in temporary relocations for both work and leisure, the demand for midterm rentals is growing. This trend shows no signs of slowing down, which means now is an excellent time for investors to tap into this niche.
Whether you’re an experienced investor looking for new opportunities or a first-time landlord exploring different rental strategies, midterm rentals offer a unique opportunity to build a sustainable and profitable portfolio.
Ready to Dive In?
If you’re ready to explore the world of midterm rentals, start by checking out FurnishedFinder.com (opens in new tab) for listings, data insights, and resources. And don’t forget to listen to episodes of The Landlord Diaries Podcast (opens in new tab), where you can learn more from experienced landlords who have successfully navigated the world of midterm rentals.
By embracing this unique rental strategy, you can maximize your investment potential, reduce vacancy rates, and increase your profitability. Happy investing!
Episode 120 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, it's your fabulous host team of the landlord diaries, Kelly Bailey, and Katie Lyon coming to you from the furnished front end marketing team and midterm rental hosts ourselves. One thing that you guys have been asking for that we're excited about is, uh, you know, what type of hosts you want to hear from.
So today is one of those hosts that just has a few. A few listings, uh, and is getting, has started recently in the midterm rental space. So Katie, what did you really learn from Jesus today? Yeah. Jesus is, is really a very interesting guy. He's exploring transitioning his longterm rentals into midterm short term hybrid.
So he is really becoming like the expert of all of the different strategies of renting out a property. But he's found this sweet spot. spot within midterms, and then he'll seasonally switch them over to short terms when it's really beneficial for his market. Um, but he's really enjoying these, these midterms and now he's going to be transitioning more of his longterms into the midterm space.
So it's really interesting to hear about how he tested it out, what kinds of things he thought about before. His accountant wife and everything she wanted to know and how he really arbitrage from himself and his wife to test out this whole midterm investment strategy. So this is a really great one.
He's very intuitive, but I feel like also knows the right things to look at when you're testing out a new strategy or trying something new.
Getting started in the short term midterm base can be intimidating, but Doesn't need to be with long term rental investments and limited time to learn the furnished rental business Jesus Jimenez took a couple unique approaches to get started. He began his journey with a co host And arbitraged a long term rental from his wife What a fun story i'm excited to jump in.
How are you today? Jesus? I'm doing pretty good. Thank you How are you doing? Well, well, we met through, um, uh, connection with, with our president and CEO, Jeff Hurst, you said, I said, how'd y'all meet? He said, I was very impressed by an email that he sent out, uh, and that the CEO would actually respond. And you love our, uh, Furnished Finder customer service team as well.
So, uh, what would that, what would you like to share about that interaction? Yeah, it was, uh, it was a great conversation. Um, I mean, at first when I saw the email, um, and I believe the email was sent to all landlords on furnished finder, um, you know, that Jeff was just looking for feedback, you know, how's the platform from different landlords.
And, and I thought it was unique. I was like, this is something I haven't seen before. And I've used multiple platforms. Uh, so I sent an email and took them up on the offer. We had a great conversation, uh, shared some of the things that I love. About the platform, uh, key check the customer service. I'm always going to say I will rave about it.
Um, I'll call, I'll send a submit a case and, um, get quick responses. And what I found is that the customer service team, they really try to help you. They really try to, to go above and beyond to, to find a solution or give you the answer, uh, and hope for the best outcome. So I, I do appreciate that. Um, and I enjoy the platform.
I've used it for. About a year and a half now. Um, and I really enjoy the platform. So I, I took them up on the offer. Awesome. Well, if you want to hear more from our CEO and president Jeff Hearst, don't forget to circle back in catch episode 100 and 109 of the landlord diaries podcast. Um, so I think your first challenge in the midterm rental industry was overcoming your wife's hesitation.
Let's hear the story and how it played out. So we have a, a townhouse, which has always been long term. Um, and, uh, we did some major renovations. Um, and, and we, I was in between, you know, do we just do another long term rental? I was hearing about this midterm space, travel nurses, and I wanted to sort of just try something different.
I did some numbers, listen to some YouTube videos. Everything sounded great. I think the location of where the townhouse is, it's near some hospitals. So everything was sort of checking out. And, um, yeah, I read the numbers by my wife and she was just on the fence, you know, and what is your wife's profession?
Because she's not just your average investor. That is the thing. So my wife is an accountant, uh, so, so everything had to be pretty, pretty much perfect. I would show her certain things and I mean, it would take her 30 seconds to look at a spreadsheet and say, yeah, there's something not right here. This doesn't look right.
This number is off. Like it was just quick, uh, pretty brutal. Yeah, so you said your numbers really had to be buttoned up and eventually you came to a solution. So how did you get through all that? Correct. So, um, it was good. I'm glad that my wife helped me as far as, um, making sure the numbers were correct.
Um, and then the more I went back to the drawing board, the more I dug in, um, the more I felt, you know, what, this sounds like, like a really good strategy. This sounds like something that I want to try. Um, at the end of the day, my wife still didn't feel comfortable. Uh, so the approach was, okay, let me arbitrage from my wife and myself.
And, and that was basically the, uh, the solution that, that we came with. Um, I basically paid the regular long term rent, uh, to us. And, and then I was able to try this midterm strategy and see how it worked. And the idea was, Hey, let's try this for one year and, and see what happens. And when I think about that, I think, okay, you're dipping into the same funds.
Like a lot of married couples, while, while maybe you have your different investments, a lot of times it comes from the same source and the same shared income, but y'all do things a little differently, which is why it worked out for you. So how did, how do y'all do your finances that opened this door for you?
Correct. So, uh, some of the finances are together, but then we also have our own separate accounts, um, and basically it was 100 percent my risk, uh, the, the money that I use for furnishing, um, I was responsible for rent utility. I was responsible for everything, right? So if things, uh, didn't work out, Uh, they was going to come out of my savings and you know, she was, she was okay with it.
I I think that's so great because a couple things you said here that I want to just highlight first That you ran the numbers and then ran them and ran them and ran them and looked for holes in your numbers I think sometimes as investors or landlords, you know, we might Run the numbers and guys, when you're quote unquote running the numbers for a midterm rental, it doesn't have to be insanely complicated.
It can be very simple. You can do it in an Excel sheet. Heck you can do it in the notes app of your phone, right? It doesn't have to be super complicated because you're all these numbers are a lot more basic when you're coming to midterm rentals. You're not going to change the price of, of your property every night or every week, right?
You might adjust it seasonally, but just everything gets a lot simpler. Um, But I love that your wife was able to help you look for holes in that, right? And to say, okay, Hey, and I'm making some assumptions here. Tell me if I'm right. But like, do you have enough reserves set aside? Are you calculating enough for furnishings?
Are your utility bills high enough? What about if something breaks? Like all of these, what ifs, sometimes I see people who are like, Oh, I have this property. I think I could charge X amount and then I'd be cash flowing and be great. And it's like, well, what if something breaks? What if you do have a little bit of vacancy because their vacancies are much smaller with midterm rentals because you have these longer stays, right?
Um, but you still have to. Calculate for them. You still have to calculate for if it takes you some time to get off the ground. Um, so if you have really solid numbers, even after being conservative with all of those estimates, you're in a really good place because midterms are just, they're so much more steady.
There's so much more predictable than something super volatile, like a short term rental. Hi, Katie. So you're absolutely right. Um, I think for me, the, the two biggest concerns Utilities for sure. Um, and the vacancy, uh, the utilities, because it's a big unit. It's only a 2 bedroom, but it's around, it's around 1200 square feet.
Um, and it's something that I don't control and that was my, my biggest concern. Um, I've, I've seen stories where people would leave the AC on and just do different things because technically they're not paying for it. Uh, so, so I was concerned about how do I control that. Um, and as well with the vacancy, right?
Just how do we, we have a few months, uh, where we don't get it rented, then how am I going to cover, uh, the cost? Uh, so those were definitely some of the, the biggest areas of concerns. And you have some really, uh, solid numbers as far as like your furnished finder listing. You, you rent your listing for 4, 100.
It's a two bedroom, one and a half bath. Uh, you're all in furnishing costs was around 10, 000 and you paid off your rent to your wife in the first nine months and everything else has been profit. Uh, so as far as. You know, analyzing the numbers year one look good. Now you're jumping into year two. What do you want to say about the midterm rental strategy and how it compares to long term rentals?
Uh, just, you know, for those that maybe haven't made the jump yet. Yeah. Um, so what I'm seeing, it's about a two X difference. Um, so I, I think there's definitely a room to maximize, um, comparing longterm to midterm, um, year two, it's a little bit different year one. We had 100%. Uh, travel nurses, um, three months, six months contracts a year to it's a little bit different.
We started off with travel nursing, um, and now we're getting a different mix of people that are just coming into the area to work, uh, one month, three months, et cetera. So that, that's sort of what year two is looking like for us. And your very first booking you did one of those things that Katie and I love where you started marketing it with the unfurnished photos and happened to get someone, uh, to say yes and set up a contract for your first tenant before you ever even furnished the place, which, uh, I love, I personally love to do, and we've had many landlord diaries, stories confirming that yes, it's a real thing.
And it's not like we're trying to, you know, catching the one off guard. We're trying to market our property to the best of our ability and communicate well along the way. So you don't have to wait for it to be furnished to start advertising your property. as long as you stick to your deadline and well, what that furnishing is going to look like.
So what was the experience like for you going through that for your first midterm rental? Uh, yeah, so, um, the, the strategy was the same. So I decided to do this to build up the confidence level of switching over. Um, so I wanted to see, okay, what, what does my market look like? Um, is there going to be any interest?
Is the price too high? You know, so that was that was really the, uh, the main reason. And when I first did it, I did the, um, virtual staging and that didn't go over well for me. I did have the interest, but then when I spoke to the people about, hey, it's still vacant and, and, you know, we're working on this.
They got turned off, right? And, and it was fair. I think anyone would. Uh, so then I tried a different approach. I said, okay, you know, let me post the pictures, uh, just showing the, the vacant unit. And I did that for each room. Um, and then I also did like a look book and it showed, you know, Hey, this is, this is what we're going to furnish it with.
Right. Just to give people a good visual of, Hey, the living room looks like this. And these are the furnishings. And we did that throughout, uh, both bedrooms and, and in every room we did that, um, so that they knew right from the beginning. And we added the, uh, the details in the description. You know, this, this, you know, will be ready by X date.
Um, you know, here's the look book, here's the furnishings. And when we spoke to them on the phone, we reiterated the same just to make sure that, uh, they understood what we were doing. They understood the vision. Um, and, and that there was no, um, foul play. Guys, you could even upload a couple of those pictures of your lookbook into your photos and put in the caption that, you know, furnishing coming soon, here's a sampling of our furnishings or our inspiration, or, um, I always like to, when I, when I do this, I'll point them.
Um, once I get the inquiry, I'll say, Hey, you know, we're working on finishing. The furnishings for this apartment. Here's a couple of other ones we have. And I know not everybody has the chance to do that, especially if it's your first one. Um, but anything you can show them just to get that credibility, but I love that it gives you a deadline, right?
I think, I think a goal without a deadline is just a wish. So it's like, if you have some sort of goal, whether that's to get. Your first unit, your next unit, whatever it is, sign up, put that the furnishings are coming soon and put an availability date and that gives you, you know, some accountability and makes it so that you are going to be ready to start your mentor mental journey at a specific point.
And it's not just going to be a date that's floating in the cloud somewhere. Correct. So Jesus, you, your portfolio, you own two triplexes that are mainly used for long term rentals, uh, with the exception of a one bedroom or studio that you do use for the short term midterm rental combo. And I'd love for you to explain how the seasons work for short term and midterm.
Cause some of us. Combine, right? Like we do mainly midterm and fill the gaps with short term or, you know, we combine them and see what strategy wins out. Well, Jesus has a really, uh, great strategy where he, it's like a faucet. He turns on short term rentals in a certain season and turns on midterm rentals in a different season.
And then you also have your two bedroom townhouse that is midterm rental only. Only, uh, which worked out well because of HOA restrictions, because most of our midterm rentals don't have the restrictions that short term rentals have. So tell us about those seasons and how you're using the hybrid strategy, uh, for that one property that you short term and midterm.
Yeah. So, um, so the, the Airbnb, uh, we're seeing about three X, uh, compared to long term. Uh, so for us here in the Boston market. It's, um, May through October, plus or minus. Uh, so that's when we do STRs. Um, but then once the winter comes, you know, the, uh, the amount of travelers that are coming in for short term stays, uh, reduces drastically.
Uh, so there we switch over to the midterm. Uh, so I would say November through March, April is when we do STRs. Primarily, uh, midterm rentals. Uh, so it's easy for us to control the calendars that way. Um, if we're trying to do midterm and STRs in between, it just seems a little bit more complex. Uh, so for us here in this region, it just, it works out.
Um, and it's easy to manage. And in the midterm rental season, what percentage of your bookings would you say come from Furnished Finder? About 60 percent from Furnished Finder and about 40%, uh, from Airbnb. I think that's fantastic. You guys put your property everywhere, right? We're not, we're not ever going to say list your property on Furnished Finder and nowhere else.
Oh, we have a guest. Um, list your property everywhere. You can list it on Airbnb, listed on Furnished Finder, get it out there. And I think the way that you're doing the hybrid model with kind of the turning on and off different strategies is really the ideal way to do it. If you want to do. Short term rentals.
Um, if you wait for just your calendar availability to have, yeah, you know, three months or four months of availability and snag a midterm rental in between short term guests without having that strategy, it's not very likely to happen. Like you have to have some intention behind that calendar management.
And we've, we've talked about that on a lot of episodes. So I would encourage anybody who's interested in the hybrid method to dig into some of those. But that I think is, is, um, One of the very ideal ways to pull that off. And if you do, uh, if you listen to the show, then, you know, we create playlists for everything.
So if this STR MTR hybrid strategy is something you want to hear more about, go to YouTube, click on the playlists on the Landlord Diaries channel, and you will find the STR MTR hybrid strategy. Um, so you're mainly housing travel nurses. In your midterm rentals. And as far as the profit goes, you're seeing about two times the profit for a midterm rental, uh, based off longterm rental rates.
And during short term season, you're seeing about three times the profit. So is it, have you learned any tips, uh, about hosting travel nurses, what they, what they need and reminder, uh, while travel nurses are a fantastic source of tenants, uh, it is not. By any means, the only source of tenants in a furnished finder.
So we have over 300, 000 listings nationwide and travel nurses are around 30 percent of that traffic. So there is a wide variety of reasons someone uses a midterm rental. Uh, so tell us, is there anything, since you mainly house travel nurses, is there anything that you do specifically for. Uh, that type of, yeah, I think for, for my units, it's really the location.
Um, uh, so both units are relatively close to, um, it's called the Longwood medical area. So in Boston, we have one area where there's about three or four major hospitals. Um, so there are about 15, 20 minutes away from that area. Uh, so that, that's one of the unique things about, uh, our unit. Um, the. the townhouse, um, there's free transportation to that area and back.
Um, not something that we did specifically, but it's just, there are certain, um, buses that go to that area that they're just free. Uh, so that's something that I highlight in our listings as well, just to make it easy and convenient, uh, for people to, to get there, um, and back. Some people that decide to walk, right?
If the weather is great, they can walk. But, um, but it's very easy to get there, uh, via transportation. Yeah. And, and you, you do that well in your description. And I made note of that for later in the conversation. So we'll jump into that now. Uh, being in Boston, uh, with, uh, you know, a strong walk score, public transportation, how often are people coming without a vehicle for your properties?
Um, and do you have a parking spot that's included with your rental, or is that an extra? What, what have you found as a balance there? Um, I normally find people are coming in with their vehicle. Um, I find us in, in both of the, the, uh, the units, they are coming in with their vehicles. Um, for the townhouse, we have a dedicated, uh, parking garage.
So it's very convenient, especially during the winter time. Um, it's attached. So you just hit a button, you go in and walk right upstairs. Um, and then for my other unit, um, it's just street parking and there's, we have a, a close. parking lot right next by, right, right nearby. Um, that's, I think that's more for them to get around when they're commuting to work to the hospitals.
Um, for the most part, they're gonna take public transportation. Um, the parking is very expensive in those areas. So if you're going in five days a week or, you know, four days a week, um, it can be pretty, pretty expensive. Yeah. I never thought about it that way. That's very interesting. The idea of, I was thinking of, do they need a vehicle or do they not?
But you're right. Like to travel in a large city, parking can be very inconvenient. And so being close to public transportation, that's fantastic. I love that. Yeah. And it's amazing. And in the townhouse, it's a two bedroom. And we will find that both, uh, guests, both, both travel nurses will bring a vehicle, right?
So, so the vehicle is definitely a big thing. That's, uh, one of the questions that we get asked the most. Okay. You have a garage, but what about for a second vehicle? Um, and we have plenty of free street parking. Um, but awesome. Uh, Well, the, we had also mentioned in the very beginning that you, you do things a little unique where you didn't, a lot of us jump in and self manage, get used to it first.
And then we hire a cohost to figure out, you know, Hey, we already know how to do this. Now we can train someone to do it. And you took the opposite approach. You said, Hey, I don't have time to figure out the ins and out of all the operations. I'm going to start with a co host and I think that was for both short term and midterm.
So how is that going? How did you hire a co host and what's the process been like working with the co host? Yeah. So it started when I wanted to get into the STR space. Um, I had a lot of people around me talking to me about Airbnb, how it's great. Three X. It sounded unbelievable, but I mean, I had a lot of people, so it gets to a point where you're like, okay, I gotta try this thing.
Um, but time, right? I have a full time job. There's a lot of different things that I manage. Um, family, real estate agent, investor. So there's a lot of things going on. Um, I wanted to try it, but I knew that, um, I didn't have a lot of time and I didn't want to make mistakes as a first time, uh, host. So I thought, you know, let me, let me see if I can find someone, uh, that I can work with that we're compatible.
Uh, let me see what the commissions are. Let me look at, you know, let me see if everything fits. Um, and this may be an easier way for me to at least try it. And then once I'm in the space and I can figure out what, what makes the most sense from them. And, and it worked out great. I started my STR. I reached out to, uh, a few folks on Airbnb.
I did a search for my, for my market. I looked for a superhost. And I reached out to them and said, Hey, I'm, I'm not looking to rent your unit, but, uh, I'm a landlord, I'm in your area and I'm looking for someone to co host my unit. Are you interested? And I sent out, you know, probably about 10 or 12 of these messages.
Um, got a few responses. Some people kindly declined, which was fine. Um, got a few responses of people that were interested. Um, Matt. Showed them the space and, and just really saw who I connected with, um, and, and took it from there. Yeah. And if that's another playlist we have is we have a co host playlist.
So if you're like, you know what, I like this idea of passive more than self managing, then get on our playlist on YouTube and listen to the co host playlist. And you might choose someone that you want to work with all throughout the nation because many co hosts are virtual, uh, that just like all. As that's the really cool thing about midterm rentals and Sarah Weaver, BiggerPockets author of 30 Day Stay, uh, Ziana McIntyre.
One of the big things that they emphasize is it's Midterm rentals can be freedom in life. It's still work. It still takes time. You still need to build your systems, but Sarah travels all over the world and manages, uh, with her team, uh, midterm rentals from anywhere in the world. So that's the really cool thing about midterm rentals is it's easy to self manage.
But you don't have to, it, the numbers also work out to have a co host or a property manager as well at times. So back to that, you know, do your research. The data is not difficult, but it's good to at least have a basis. Furnishedfinder. com forward slash stats is a great spot to start. Um, you, so Jesus, after expenses, including your co host, I think you still profit 700 to a thousand.
Per month on your midterm rentals. Is that right? That's correct. Yes. Yes. Awesome. That's great. Um, anything else you want to add? Yes. Uh, so the operation side, the co host does most of the day to day operations with the guests, but as the business owner and property owner, I'm sure you're still heavily involved in, you know, what's being communicated, how it's being communicated.
being communicated. So what does that partnership look like with you guys? What does the co host do? What do you do? And, uh, you know, how are the furnished finder tools and key check tools helping with that? Yeah. So, um, I think everything just kind of came into play as, uh, we were both new to the MTR space, right?
So my, the co host that I use for S. T. R. Showed her the unit, talked to her about the idea. Obviously she had heard about travel nurses. She knew and I was like, okay, you know, that's, that's good. Let's give this thing a try. Um, so since we were both new into the space, um, it gave us a good, a good chance to, uh, collaborate, uh, to look at, okay, you know, what's the best way of designing, what's the best way of pricing.
Um, and at the very beginning, it was a very hands approach where we just came together, uh, to try to get this thing done. And then as we continue, then we looked for ways to. How do we streamline the process? Okay. Where can we need to make some adjustments here? Some efficiencies there. Um, what I found was that, um, it was easier for me to manage the Furnished Finder platform, um, reach out, uh, to the tenant, uh, reach out to the leads, um, whether it's a direct message, whether, um, they're, they're just a prospect, so going through.
the tenant leads and um, sending the communication. Um, I, I took over that piece. Um, it was a lot easier once I could qualify, uh, a guest. And, um, and it seemed like, okay, this is a hot lead. This is someone that's very interested. Uh, then I would transition that person to the co host and then she would take it from there.
Um, get on the phone with her, have a conversation. Okay. Just kind of reconfirm everything that we had communicated. Uh, via text or via email and, um, get a better idea for what they're looking for. How long is their stay, um, answer any questions, uh, you know, the neighborhood transportation, right? Obviously every person coming in has certain things that they want to, uh, verify and just make sure that it is a right.
Are the right place for them. Uh, so, so that's what the co host does. I think the other thing that we did was, um, we started to standardize our messaging. Um, at times we would receive interest from multiple, um, guests. And, and we had to decide, okay, how do we flush this out? Or how do we keep these leads active without losing all of them?
Um, so we started to add our process and then the, um, the amount of time that we expect to sign a contract. All right. So it went from, you know, we expect to do this within 48 hours and we broke everything down and we added the timelines to set that expectation so that, you know, we would have a better way of, um, Okay.
If this lead doesn't work out, then we, at least we have someone else and we're not waiting too long, um, to find the right.
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I think this is also interesting because you're showing that you don't have to have a co host and turnover. every part of the process. You can really make it how it works for you, right? You could even have a cohost or an assistant or whoever you want. Um, just help you out, manage things like the cleanings or manage the turnovers or manage, you know, whatever you want.
It, it, Furnished finder is really meant so that you can use the tool, however it works for you. And I think that's really, really important. Definitely. I think this is actually a good time for a round table discussion, Katie. Uh, so you mentioned the, the time targets with, you know, when someone says, Hey, I'd like to move forward in the process, but maybe you have multiple.
People interested at the same time, let's each go through what our processes are to encourage other hosts that, you know, maybe are, you know, looking for a new way to do it or getting started in the midterm rental space. So, Jesus, what are those timings of, you know, with your tenant screening your lease?
How do you communicate with your guests? Yeah, so we, we have a list that basically says the first thing that we do is a background check and we use key check for that. Um, and we set a time of, you know, we expect for you to complete this within 24 hours. Uh, the platform is very easy. It's easy on my end to set up and generate and it's easy for them to complete it and for us to get the, uh, the information back so that we can verify.
Um, so that that's really the first step once we're done with that, then we move over to creating the lease. Um, and we also use key check for that. We set another 24 hours. Um, for us, we also request the, um, if it's a traveling nurse, we'll request a copy of the contract. Uh, so that it gives us, you know, an extra level of security that.
You know, a this person is a traveling nurse, right? We can see what the housing stipend is. It's part of what we use, uh, to qualify whether, you know, we will move forward with this guest or not. Um, so, so that's sort of the process. Um, 1000 deposit for the most part is what we take. Um, and then if everything checks out within 48 hours, Uh, we should have everything signed, received the deposit, and now that person is, uh, is ready for, you know, that length of the term, and we'll update the, uh, Furnace Finder contract, uh, calendar.
So, very similar, we also use the tenant screening on KeyCheck, and I look at it as it is, that's them committing to that next step, right? It's like, hey, I would, I, when they're, when we're communicating, say, do you have any further questions? Questions, or would you like to move forward with the next steps in the process?
And then that is that next step is the tenant screening. And I don't kind of, I don't keep it, the, the information hidden along each step. It, once they say, yes, I'm ready to move forward. Then I send, here's all the next steps to complete the booking. And it starts with the tenant screening through key check.
Uh, it's 39 99, uh, basically 40. by the tenant. It's a soft pull, so it's not going to ding their credit card. Those are all really great things to communicate to your guests. Um, and then, you know, if someone inquires at the same time, the way I do it is first, We honor the first person that inquired typically.
So if someone already is started the tenant screening, then we're not going to, you know, switch and jump into a different contract that just honestly looks better for their length of stay. We'll go ahead and stay consistent with that person, take them through the booking process, and then I'll communicate with any other guests that express interest.
If for some reason, You know, this guest falls through, I'll save your contact information and I'll follow up with you. But it's also nice to kind of use that as a tool of, is, are you on the right price point? Um, are yours, is your marketing looking good? Because, you know, if you've got way too many people inquiring at the same time, then maybe your price is too low.
If you, if you're, you have, uh, you know, marketing or your pricing, you know, always, you can always spot check your competition throughout the year, uh, on Furnished Finder. So I just like to kind of flip over the map about 30 to 60 days prior to a vacancy, kind of check my competition around me, make sure I'm still on the right page.
And then what we do after the tenant screening is, um, You know, in the lease, we put within to make sure that the move in fees are paid within three days of signing the lease. Uh, and if for some reason they're not, well, then that's a broken part of the lease, right? Because it didn't happen. Uh, so it, It hopefully would cover us to be able to, uh, then rent it to someone else.
If they never follow through with those move in fees, we haven't had that experience, so it's always, uh, been successful. And then we just have them pay the first month's. Rent, uh, on or one, uh, you know, on or prior to move in day. And once that is paid, uh, with all the move in fees in the first three days and then the rent within, you know, you know, within move in day, then we provide the, uh, lockbox code, uh, and how to access the home house guidelines, et cetera.
Katie, what does your process look like? Yeah, I try to get prospective tenants through the process as soon as possible. I let them know right from the beginning. Um, and this is actually something I took from you, Kelly, is I like giving them an overview saying, okay, first things first, I'm, I want to know if you'd rather do a worry free waiver or a security deposit.
And I described that to them in a very, very basic sense. In my opinion, there's no reason to go into A hundred levels of detail with a worry free waiver for them. It's as simple as, would you like to give me a refundable deposit? Or would you like to pay 59, 69, 79, depending on the property that I'm talking about for up to the amount of coverage for damages, right?
So typically, like with my studios, it's, would you like to give me a 500 deposit? That's refundable. There's no damages. Or would you like me to add on Uh, a damage waiver for 59 a month. It's not refundable, but then you're covered for up to 1, 000 of accidental damage. Um, and I tell them, I said, especially if you have pets, this is nice because then you don't have to worry about if there's any small things when you move out.
So first I get the answer to that because that affects my workflow. And then I like telling them up front. We're going to do a tenant screening through Furnished Finder's Sister Company key check. Then I'm going to send you an online, um, lease agreement. And then from there, everything is online. So you can set up your payments online.
It's super easy, but nothing is final until we get to the stage where I've gotten your um, payment. Your, uh, lease signed. And for me, the cleaning fee, right? If they choose a deposit, it's cleaning fee and deposit is due immediately upon signing of the lease. If they're doing the worry free waiver, it's just the cleaning fee is due.
And for me, that means they have some skin in the game. Um, and then, so I tell them, I'm like, nothing is secure. Nothing is final until we get all of that done. So if you would like me to remove this from the marketplace and market as unavailable, we got to get to those stages. So I don't even like them. I don't even like to give 24 hours because I've a lot of the times for my properties in my market, and this is very market dependent.
My market. It's tends to, for some reason, move very quickly. I think there's a lot of last minute contracts coming through the hospital. I don't know if the hospital doesn't like to use travelers unless they don't, unless they have to, from my perspective, they're always going to have to, it's a huge hospital.
Um, but a lot of other workers are coming through as well and professionals and families. Um, but I just, I just tell them up front, you know, I'll let, you know, if I get any other interest, so you have kind of the 1st, right of refusal, but nothing is final until we get the least signed and those move in fees for lack of better word.
Um. Paid and complete. Cause I don't like you guys said, I don't want to get put in the point in the position where I, I lose another tenant by waiting for that first one to come through because things do happen. And I, I have had people get to the finish line and they say, Oh, my contract just fell through or this just fell through.
It's like. No big deal. It totally happens, right? But we have to put together processes that work for ourselves, that work for our own properties in our own markets. Cause they're all a little bit different. And that's how you get to know it guys is by trying different stuff out. Definitely. Well, Katie, I just have one more question.
Do you have any final questions before we wrap up with a, with a fun one? No, go for it. Okay. Back to that, uh, initial conversation. So your wife was hesitant at first about the space. How does she feel now about the furnished rental short term midterm space? She loves it. I mean, it's, it's, um, you can see this, uh, you can see the success.
Um, so this. Pilot that we tried for one year. Um, it's working out and, and we can definitely see how, um, we can see how we can continue to, to build off of this. Uh, so what we're looking into doing, uh, starting in 2025 is how do we convert other long terms into this STR slash MTR space? Uh, so yeah, it's, it's good.
I'm, I'm glad that we tried it so that, okay, this is the proof that this works. Yeah. Now, you know, rinse and repeat and continue to, um, to, to make efficiencies in the process. Kelly, what would we have done if he said my wife's, my wife hates this. This is terrible. Well, we would have had to decide, did we want to keep it or cut it from the episode?
If you've got a vote on that, put it in the, in the comments. He wants to leave that stuff or cut it. No, I think, because I think it's great. It's try it. And he didn't say try it for a month or two months. They gave it a year, right? Give it some time. Right. But in order to find out if this is going to work, you have to, you have to really, you have to give it some time and you've got to go, you got to go all in.
Right? It's kind of like you can't go to the gym once and expects to all of a sudden be like so swole that you're busting through your shirts. Like you have to give it a little bit of consistency and time. You have to know there's going to be hiccups, but that's why we have resources like this podcast, right?
Is so that we can help you to be successful. Yeah, for sure. I really like how Will Dotson said on episode one 11 of the landlord diaries, uh, he said, Absolutely. MTR midterm rentals are needs, short term rentals are wants. So you already answered your own question, Jesus. Uh, the way that you can get started is in when you know that next long term rental is coming available, start marketing it 60 days ahead of time, just like you do as a long term rental.
Added on Furnished Finder for right now, you know, it's one low annual cost, right? So it's like with all you need is one renter to say yes, and you have by far exceeded that annual cost of marketing the property on Furnished Finder and we have no booking fees. So other, other sites where you can sign up and list your property for free, well, they're taking that 10 to 15 percent or so on every.
booking where we're not taking any of that. It's you run your business your own way. So pay that low annual cost and you can just get in there and start marketing with that professional unfurnished photos. And if you get someone's that says, yes, well, now there's your ticket to convert it for a longterm.
To short term. And I love what Katie says because it's needs, not wants, you don't have to go straight to like high end furnishings. You could start with Ikea. You could start with, uh, you know, being thrifty at a marketplace or, you know, really searching for something that fits your budget. And then as you continue and you improve in the space, well then slowly upgrade those items.
Switch out the dining room tables, switch out the couch, things like that. Definitely always start with a comfortable bed. That's a must. Uh, but it doesn't have to be an expensive mattress. There are plenty comfortable mattresses out there. And, uh, Sarah Weaver's got one on her episode. I think it's episode 16.
Uh, that is a, like the Zinus. Everyone likes the Zinus, like 12, like the 12 inch plush mattress. And it's like 300 bucks. It's, it's not that expensive. Uh, so I have to look into that one. Yeah, exactly. Dave and I have bought one. We're like, you know what? Let's try this out. Yeah. They're very comfortable.
They're nice. Do make sure and measure your bed size before you order the mattress. We moved, we messed up there once. They told us it was a king. We ordered the mattress. It was not a King. It was a queen. That was a bit of a, of a challenge. So definitely measure, measure your bed first and make sure it's the right fit.
But, um, Jesus, if anyone wants to connect with you further, uh, they can always reach out to you through your furnished finder listing. Is there any other way that you'd like them to connect or, uh, are you active on social media anywhere? Instagram, that's the page that I'm usually there. I'm putting, uh, tips and tricks, um, just information that I've gathered.
Um, I usually share it there, um, at JesusJ661. I'm looking for a prettier name, but that's what I have right now, so that's what I'm going with. Yep. Doesn't have to be pretty. Just has to be, uh, approachable, right? Just got to be able to find it. That one's pretty easy to find. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story with us today.
Uh, one thing Jesus said is he didn't even know about our podcast until a couple months ago when it came out in one of our furnished printer emails. So if this content is super helpful to you, think of a business. Uh, colleagues or friends or family members that might benefit from the content as well.
And you know, the idea of a passive income opportunity to combine with their W 2. Uh, so, so think of someone that you might want to share this, uh, show with, uh, and we appreciate your five star reviews on Apple podcast, Spotify, your likes on YouTube, uh, your follows. Uh, and we'll see you next week. We bring you brand new episodes from Furnished Finder hosts all All around the country every week.