Does anyone have experience with corporate housing?

Question

I recently read some info about corporate houses and was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this area of investment? Would love to learn more and see if it’s something worth going after.

Paul Sandhu · Answer

Most companies give their travelling workers a per diem.  They don't give a fap where they stay.  They are not going to try and find a place that the worker may or may not like.  So they give them a per diem and let them find a place on their own.  I should know.  I've rented to over 1500 travelling workers in my 23 STRs.  I've also sent my promo material to the H.R. dept of many companies that do work in my town.  They don't give a fap.

Now, if you can get ahold of the project manager, that's a whole different story.  I met a PM a few years ago and gave him my info.  Nothing happened for a few months.  One day the fluid catalytic cracking unit went down at the refinery (It helped us achieve air superiority during WW2 over Germany, but that's another story).  I had 30 boilermakers rent places from me in about 6 hours.  They stayed a month.  The cat unit generates about $13,000.00 worth of product a minute, it is supposed to run non-stop.  Several months later the PM called me and wanted a place to stay, I gave him an address.  He said "Get ready for your phone to start ringing, the cat is going down again and I'm bringing in the same crew."  I was on a short vacation and cut it short to come back home before the boilermakers showed up.

Pat L. · Answer

We have a big old home that a local company rented from us for about 8-9 years. They had various execs from the UK & Europe stay. They took great care of the place, re-did the entire kitchen at their expense & maintained it immaculately. It was just luck that we fell into it & as each exec left we scored the odd Bose system/TV etc that they couldn't take back. They even had their company carpentry guys completely rebuild the large screened in porch that had started to rot.The company eventually moved their entire operation to China & we took the place back assuming it would revert back to an everyday PITA rental.

So, we decided to sell the home to a contractor acquaintance & we held the note @ 10%. He & his wife literally re-built the entire home stripping it back to the studs. Windows, doors, all new hardwood flooring, (most of it in a herringbone design), new roof, new siding & all the electrical & plumbing was completely updated. Then they blew out the old double garage making it into a massive kitchen, added a 3.5 car coach house & made the original tired old kitchen/dining room/1/2bath/hallway into a ground floor master bedroom with an ensuite. After 6 years they divorced so we took it back deed-in-lieu of.

Now the Coast Guard rents it from us & have done for the last 12 years. The new Chief just moved in for his 4 year tour. The previous Chief literally walked through the home doing a face-time for the incoming Chief who was still in CA. So we had a Lease signed 5 months ahead & the 1st/last/security deposits in hand 3 months before the transition. On all previous occasions when the new family came in we have coincidentally been on vacation but we've never had an issue. All rents are simply a direct deposit.

You should see how well they take care of it & if there is a problem they usually just tell us, after they have dealt with it. Their guys have serviced the HVAC systems, washer/dryer repairs & done most of the required everyday maintenance, including cleaning the gutters. Last year we had a 50 ft tree come down & I only found out about it after they had their own crew cut it up & I found it split/stacked for the fire pit. They had even repaired the neighbors fence where it hit.

For us it's been an amazing ride!!!

Good luck in your endeavors.

Caryn Zallnick · Answer

@Matt Singley

Thank you! I knew I’d have to research it more but was just curious if anyone had been successful with it. Might be a good plan for places that have big businesses moving into a town and bringing lots of people

Matt Singley · Answer

Seems this thread got hijacked with STR commentary.  Corporate housing is different (30+ day stays).  You can build an entire business around it and there is an association that governs it nationwide.  The turnover and finding clients is difficult with just a single unit without a robust marketing platform.  CHBO can work well for individual owners looking for 30+ day stay clients.

Ken Latchers · Answer

We had somebody who decided to open a bed-and-breakfast nearby because it was a permitted zoning. Didn't bother to ask anyone, thinking that meant they didn't have to ask.

of course that's not what it means. It means you don't have to go before the zoning board are you still have to talk to the zoning officer!

2 months later, their sign came down and it magically became a vacation rental.

Karen Chenaille · Answer

@Caryn Zallnick

Hi Caryn. Don’t assume anything with regard to STR regs. The best source of info is to call city hall or search through the meeting minutes of the city council meetings. I have lost big $ by going on an assumption STR was allowed solely based on many properties being listed on popular STR platforms.

I have a lot of colleagues who are into the corporate rental game and they are doing well. They get high quality low risk tenants and because the rentals are frequently longer than 30 days, they fall outside of normal STR restrictions on rentals of 30 days or less.

Best of luck to you!

Karen

Paul Sandhu · Answer

@Caryn Zallnick well, it's more than the state or municipality. Each HOA could have rules and regs.  Make sure you check the HOA if you are in one before signing on the dotten line.

Michael Baum · Answer

@Caryn Zallnick well, it's more than the state. Each municipality could have rules and regs. Make sure you check the area you are in before signing on the dotted line.

Caryn Zallnick · Answer

@Michael Baum I assume STRs are allowed here in AZ. Yes I had that idea that if there were more homey feel type of short term rentals for corporate housing then it might be a huge hit. I feel that extended stay, in my mind, doesn’t feel very nice. If it could be more like a small apartment complex or something of that nature but then still have the amenities of an extended stay.

Michael Baum · Answer

Hi @Caryn Zallnick! @Paul Sandhu is a great resource. Where are you planning on doing it? In AZ? Did you check the area to see if STR's are allowed?

If so, I would try visiting the HR departments of large, local employers. Intel has a huge campus in Chandler which is about 35 miles away. Pretty far for a commuter IMHO, but you could buy in that area. I visited the campus several times to train people on our latest technology when I worked there.

A lot of HR departments would love to have a resource for short term, furnished rentals that aren't a Extended Stay America.

Does anyone have experience with corporate housing?

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