Renting to Traveling Nurses. Anyone Tried It?

[Matt M.]

I'm picking up a new property next week as a flip. But the more I look at it and the location, I'm thinking a rental would be a good idea. I've heard of renting to nurses, but I don't know the logistics of it and where to start. Anyone had any luck with it?

[Logan Badenhop]

If you can offer a furnished location in the general area of a hospital that employs travelers it can be beneficial for you as a landlord. My wife is a traveling nurse and we have been on the go for almost two years now. We started out renting unfurnished short term/month to month but for the last year now we have been lucky enough to rent furnished. How it works is depending on the company you have the choice between taking their provided housing or a reimburses weekely stipend for housing and cost of living which is determined by the county the hospital is located. The stipend is typically 1.5 - 2 times whatever the comps for a higher end one bedroom in the area to give you an idea. A contract is typically 13-15 weeks so it’s a high turnover rate but we have never been anywhere that hasn’t offered an extension. Typically traveling nurses are either alone or travel with a spouse and it is also common for two nurses to meet and then take assignments together so anything bigger than a two bedroom isn’t going to be on their radar. Our last three land lords have rented exclusively to traveling nurses with with 1-2 week gaps in between tenants. We typically pay a little more than your average one bedroom to get utilities/internet provided so we don’t have to set it up for such a short amount of time. Hope that’s helpful