Does anyone have experience with renting with Furnished Finder?

[Amber Welsch]

I'm analyzing properties that can be used as a long-short rental for 30-90 days at a time. Mainly for travel nurses but for anyone looking for the same kind of rental. Does anyone have experience with this? I've been looking at Furnished Finder and Travel Nurse Housing online but would love to hear from anyone with this experience. Thanks!

Amber Welsch, Realtor

[Don Konipol]

@Amber Welsch

We financed a project where the borrower retrofitted a property with two very large (8,000 square feet each) houses in a exurban area into luxury room rental, each with a large bedroom and attached private living room. Common area kitchen, game room, library, and living room. This property is on about four wooded acres, and includes fishing pond.

His target was traveling nurses, through local hospital contacts as well as furnished finder. Once completed he’s been near 95% occupancy, at rates 15% above projections.

Whenever I read someone say that these potential tenants are all unrealistic, they demand low prices or huge amenities, etc., it gives me pause. All real estate transactions, whether purchase, sale or rental, prices are determined by market supply and demand. If your property offers an individual the best deal for the price, she will rent from you. Now, different properties meet different peoples needs best; some want lowest price, some want closest proximately to work, some want largest accommodations, everyone has different evaluation to arrive at what will work and what rental they’re willing to pay. In this case, where they NEED to secure a new rental vs a case where they merely WANT to move, they’re expectations will become realistic VERY quickly.

If a property owner could net the same amount of money doing a long term rental, then that’s what they’d do so to avoid the more work and less uncertainty of 30-90 day rentals. So, there is a premium demanded by the property owner to lease his property short term rather than long term. This is of course market driven. Again, it doesn’t matter what a tenant “wants”; the market will determine what’s available and at what price.