Corporate Housing opportunity legit or not?

Question

Hello!  My husband and I just bought a second home - planning to rent the other.  We’ve never done this before so we are learning as we go.  We posted the rental and one of the inquiries I received was from a company that claims they do corporate rentals.  I say claims because it all sounds too good to be true!  The name is Metis Properties and I cannot find much info on them other than the website they provided, which doesn’t immediately come up if you do a Google search.  The person I spoke to has provided credit score, previous tax forms, and account statements.  But I also can’t find a whole lot of info on her either (I even did a linkedin search and a page with not a lot of info comes up.  Based on some advice I found here I looked them up on the CA Secretary of State website (where the business is based, I’m in AZ though) and it was registered Dec 3rd this year, with one previous business registered in the same name but suspended.  The company will lead for 12 month minimum, has insurance and will be responsible for maintenance and cleaning, etc between tenants.  But I mean if this is a scam or not legit what do they get out of it?  Any advice? Help!  Thanks so much!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I see companies trying to rent houses all the time, usually construction crews brought in for a large commercial project, WYDOT, etc. They come in with a crew of eight guys and want to rent a house for $2,500. It would cost the company $12,000 a month to stuff eight men into four hotel rooms during the cheapest month of the year. In spring/summer, when they are most likely to come to town for work, the same hotel would cost $24,000 or more. It's not affordable.

What I do is offer to rent them a home at a premium. Here's how I structure it:

• Add the base rent, utilities, lawncare, and even TV/Internet
• Double the price
• Charge a deposit equal to one month of rent at the doubled rate
• Charge a non-refundable cleaning fee based on $100 per bathroom and $100 per bedroom

Most recent example is a house that rents for $2,000 a month. I added TV and Internet for $100, then an average cost of utilities (with a 20% increase because I expect excess use). The property is zero-scaped so I didn't have to add any other costs. This totaled $2,500 a month, so I doubled it to $5,000 a month rent. I charged a $5,000 deposit and an $800 non-refundable cleaning fee (home is a 5bed/3bath) that will pay for cleaning when they leave. The company looked at the place and didn't bat an eye. My Landlord is earning more than double what he normally would, the place will be professionally cleaned when the crew is gone, and everyone is happy.

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

Corporate rentals comes in many forms many of them shady and no real value proposition. Always do what you are doing to check them out. If you have any doubts at all forget it. Some have no money and will try to re-rent your property at a profit; most of the time it just does not work out.

Other times it is a company offering housing to an employee. That can be legit but always verify.

Andres Andrade · Answer

@Nataly Valenzuela

Hi Nataly! Okay this is super helpful and I think going with your gut is so true. I am glad to hear you ended up finding a good tenant. Thank you Nataly.

Nataly Valenzuela · Answer

Hi @Andres Andrade the more research we did the weirder it all sounded.  We looked up the names of the people reaching out, credit scores, etc anything we could find.  We even looked at when the company was established.  And we found such little info, and what we did find felt odd.  So we decided to pass on it.  I also didn’t like that when we questioned in an email the person on the other end (who had originally reached out to us for the opportunity) got really defensive and almost rude.  So we passed.  We ended up finding a tenant who lived there for 2 years & was great!   good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Andres Andrade · Answer

Hi Nataly

I am going through this right now and it is the exact same explanation you gave. Did this end up being legitimate?

Lisa Ginter · Answer

Great job doing your research! I would ask them what’s their intent of use with the property to better understand and that should help you with legitimacy and if you would want to proceed. Depending on that then ask for references from other landlords, find out if those folks actually own the property they say they do to verify the recommendation is viable. Being such a new company that may not go anywhere but with another company same name suspended then possibly. No matter how much research you do you may need to just go with your gut on your vesting process.

Corporate rentals could mean many things so you need to make sure your lease agreement clarifies your stance on subleasing and you can communicate that asap.

Mike Dymski · Answer

There are lots companies and individuals who manage STR and MTR for owners...or you can do it yourself using Airbnb, VRBO, etc.

Corporate Housing opportunity legit or not?

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