Corporate Rental? Getting STR run-around and no long-term options

[Andrea E.]

Hello all,

So I bought a duplex uptown (good side of Leonidas area, to be exact) in June 2018. I renovated it and listed one side for long-term rental, but missed the wave of Tulane/Loyola students (I live on the other side). I decided to pull the listing, furnished it, and applied for an STR license to airbnb. Needless to say, the city has dropped my application twice now, for reasons beyond my control. While I wait to get that sorted out, I will not rent short term illegally, so my only options are renting for a minimum of 30 days or more.

I was looking into doing corporate rentals. There's a site called "corporate housing by owner." You pay a yearly fee and, depending on the package, you get so many photos, they'll take photos, video, and guarantee a booking in your first 30 days. 

My question is, does anyone have experience with corporate rentals in NOLA? Is it a profitable business? I have a 2bd/1ba shotgun. One covered parking spot, one off-street parking spot (I have no car), dishwasher, washer/dryer, gas and electric, high-speed internet, keyless entry, etc. Similar houses I've seen listed range from $2100-3000+/mo. If I can get $2000, my mortgage would be paid, which helps me out a lot. 

I'm really at a loss right now as to how to start making money on my rental side. The other option I'm considering is offering month-to-month or 3-6 month leases furnished and all bills paid for about $2000/mo. 

Whatever the solution, I can't keep paying this full mortgage by myself for much longer. If you have personal experience with any of these things or have website recommendations or other advice, I am all ears. 

Thanks!

[Jennifer T.]

I own a personal duplex in the Fairgrounds Mid-City area. My tenant rents the other side out on Airbnb under his own license. Which he got just in the nick of time before the moratorium shut those down. With that said, he had a lot of trouble with getting the license...for no reason at all...until he went down in person to the STR office at City Hall.

If you haven't tried going in personally to get your STR license, I'd highly recommend that before giving up. Right now, it also might temporarily be a total nightmare because they did just change all their rules about STRs. But assuming you have a Homestead Exemption, you should be golden on this. I'd never try to predict local government but, once things die down, you should be able to get one. It might just take a lot of perseverance and cutting through red tape.

I'm actually a bit surprised you haven't been able to find tenants.  Uptown is so popular and in demand, even for non-students.  But, with that said, I've never owned property Uptown so that's just more my impression and not based on experience. 

It's a bit of a long shot, but also check the "Housing Wanted" section of Craig's List.  It tends to be more people looking for roommates, but you never know what you'll find.  I've seen travel nurses advertise on there and other people looking for temporary housing.  I've also seen long-term tenants, often specifically looking for Uptown, who just prefer landlords contacting them.  In fact, I found a great tenant that way.

My only tangential experience with corporate housing is I used to work for a company that put some of our employees up in it.  They didn't use any kind of service to find those rentals.  They called open listings for the area they wanted to put people in, like any other potential tenant would.  They rented the units unfurnished and then paid beau-coup bucks, on a monthly basis, to some company that rented out everything the units needed.  Right down to the towels and silverware (eye roll).  Yet couldn't "afford" to give their employees more than a 3% raise each year.  But I digress, lol.

Maybe list with a real estate agent?  I've never done it and I know they'll take a cut of the first month's rent.  But it might be worth it for a higher end listing.