Furnished Finder – Market to traveling medical professionals

[Kathleen Osborne]

If you’ve been looking at getting into the rental business, the most well known types are long-term rentals and short term rentals. But there is another sometime overlooked, yet financially rewarding, market – Furnished extended stays. They work well in cities that restrict the number of short-term Airbnb’s but consider lease of 30 days or longer as long-term.

Furnished extended stays are at least 30 days and average 12 weeks. Why 12 weeks? Traveling medical professionals often sign 12 week contracts with the hospitals they work at while traveling to see the world and use their skills in different locations.

Why should you consider listing on Furnished Finder for traveling medical professionals? The top reasons:

• Medical professionals are just that – professional.
• They are background checked for every new contract, hospitals are not going to hire high risk individuals.
• Most contracts are at least 12 weeks so you have predictable income for 12 weeks.
• You might only need to clean your rental 4 times a year rather than 4 times a month if you are rent via Air BNB.
• Traveling medical professionals are generally getting a housing stipend, so they can afford to pay the higher rate for a furnished rental.
• Predictable listing fees – Furnish Finder charges $99/year for each listing. You can edit the listing as often as needed.

What types of things are must haves in Furnished Finder listings?

• Furniture – invest in comfy couch and mattresses
• Bed and bath linens
• hairdryer
• Cooking and baking essentials pans/utensils/measuring cups and bowls
• Dishes, glassware, flatware
• Appliances (stove, oven, microwave, washer and dryer – dishwasher would be nice too)
• Toaster
• Handheld mixer
• Coffee pot or Keurig
• Vacuum Cleaner
• Broom
• Smart TV with streaming tool (Amazon Fire stick works well)
• WiFi
• Toaster
• Coffee pot or Keurig

Furnished Finder provides some basic demographic information on Traveling Medical Professional demand for most cities. Below is an example report pulled from Furnished Finder on January 19, 2022 for Charlotte, NC. As you can see, it reports the number of searches for that city in the last 12 months.

If you scroll through the report, you will also see how much competition exists. Those numbers are broken down by rooms in private homes, whole house rentals and hotel listings. 50 whole house units within 10 mile of Charlotte doesn’t sound like a lot. If 31% of those houses are getting at least $2,500 per month in rent with at least an 80% occupancy rate, they are pulling in at least $24,000 in rent each year.

Let’s assume the houses in that higher price point are paying $1,500 per month for mortgage, taxes and insurance and an additional $400 per month for water, sewage, electric and internet. That still leaves $600 per month cashflow. That sounds pretty good to me.

Now image you buy a duplex with 4 units that rent for $2,500 per month with the same mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities per unit. Each only turns over about 4 times a year and you have $2400 a month in cash flow. Sign me up!