Residential Real Estate Broker · El Dorado Hills, CA · Member since 2011 · 101 posts · 40 votes
I have a 6 bedroom house that I want to prepare for corporate housing, or short term housing as I believe that will create the highest short term return. A little about the house:
It is walking distance to the Apple Campus west of De Anza Blvd. The house is 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, .25 acre lot with parking on the side and on the street. I know it will need to be furnished and modified to optimize the rental potential for corporate housing.
Questions: 1. What should be done to the house to prepare for corporate housing. (furnishing, locks, permitting, rules etc)?
2. What are the best ways to find short term/ corporate tenants in the San Francisco Bay Area? Who would I contact at Apple to offer this as corporate housing?
3. Any other advise or pitfalls that we should be aware of??
Homeowner · Studio City, CA · Member since 2014 · 7 posts · 1 vote
10y
James,
I am curious if you made any progress getting answers to your questions because I am contemplating doing the same thing in Los Angeles. I have a great house conveniently located near the film studios.
I have a client with a house in Malibu who has had success with corporate housing. She got the idea from her brother, who lives in Pacifica in SF and has had success doing it in that market.
It's essentially like Air BNB, VRBO, Homeaway, etc... except they market to corporate clients.
You're responsible for your lease contract, policy and procedures, but the site takes care of exposure and booking.
The customer service at CHBO gave us a lot of helpful info, so I suggest speaking with them and asking any question that comes to mind.
She fully furnished her house with everything down to towels, linens, flatware, and lifestyle appliances (blender, grill, etc...). High-speed internet and cable is a must.
One challenge has been utilities. In her case, the tenants are responsible for this cost (except internet and cable), but they don't want to transfer utilities into their names since, so far, they all have wanted only 1-2 month terms. So she pays utilities and then tries to get reimbursed by the tenants, which has only become an issue once, but she was able to deduct from their security deposit.
Buy & Hold Owner · Redlands, CA · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
Interesting. W A Y back in the '90s, my SRF was rented and guaranteed by a Corp in Silicon Valley - - and it wasn't event furnished. Tenant stayed 2 years w/family.
Having the opportunity again, I would:
fully furnish at 1.5 X FMR
have Corporate HR sign the lease and vouch for utilities
set some minimum stay like 21 days
and NOT provide any maid or linen service
Obviously you need some cleaning service between 'tenants'.
Mail your availability to the HR Dept, xxx Corp, city state and provide email + phone contact info.
Will not work everywhere, but in dynamic, high growth areas, this is a viable business plan IMO.
Homeowner · Studio City, CA · Member since 2014 · 7 posts · 1 vote
10y
Both are great suggestions. This is my first time renting my house. So I am nervous of doing intermediate term rentals instead of a simpler one year lease. But it seems the increased increased rental income is worth the increased vacancy risk.