Mid term renting question

Ali Nichols

Investor · Member since 2022 · 235 posts · 127 votes

3y

Hey Patty,

A few ways you could approach this.

1. Airbnb minimum 30 night stay

2. Furnished Finder (most common platform for traveling nurses)

Both of which will help provide you some protection and you can vet based on requiring approval, a quick chat, etc.

From a pricing perspective, look at comparables in your area or on furnished finder.

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Conner Olsen

Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 941 votes

3y

Quote from @Patty Nisbet:

We bought a house in March with the intentions to rent our basment for Short term. We did and it was decent! November and December took a nose dive. We get most bookings on Airbnb. Not many at all on VRBO. Anyway I am thinking to try mid term to traveling nurses for a bit as we are 5 mins away from University and Childrens.

I don't know why but having mid term scares me a bit. What if we choose the wrong person and they don't take care of it? Also, I gave no idea on how to charge!

The basement has 2 bedrooms. one with a queen size bed and the other with two twin beds. It has a small kitchen with no stove. I have a ninja foodie with 20 plus cook settings, a toaster oven and microwave. I can get a electruc burner too. There just isn't ventalation that cooking may not be the best. I saw lityle ventalation fans I could look into.

The other thing is the laundry room is down there and it is our storage. Can we negotiate laundry time? We can't move laundry upstairs.

So questions

1. what ways can we verify this person or two?

2. Do you think they would rent with cooking gadgets and no stove?

3. How do I create a lease? I hear they are expensive?

4. How do I figure out a good rental price? Is there a site I can do a background check? I have a child so want to be safe. What references do I ask for?

5. is the paper work different with the county and home insurance for midterm than short term?

I know a ton of questions! I hope someone can help!

Just keep it on Airbnb and VRBO and change minimum nights to 30. 99% of my MTR guests are on Airbnb.

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Jake AndronicoBusiness Member

Realtor · Reno, NV · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 938 votes

3y

@Patty Nisbet

Congrats on the house!! House hacking is a super powerful strategy.

To me, it seems like you're getting closer and closer to just renting it long term. You can certainly make a killing with an STR and an MTR, but we always use that analysis as a "secondary" analysis, with a long term analysis being at the forefront.

1. Turbotenant is phenomenal if you're self managing. Rent collection is easy, they vet tenants and do background checks, credit checks, etc., and after trying 4 different online rent collection platforms this was by far my favorite.

2. A stove would definitely be be ideal. Those vent fans sound interesting.

3. There are template leases online (Turbotenant has them as well), and they're not super expensive. You can also ask your RE agent (if you have one) for an MLS template lease agreement and just adjust the time frame.

4. For an MTR, try to find others that are doing it in your area and having success. For me I looked pretty hard into MTR's, but LTR's just make more sense in multiple ways (at least in my area). Vacancy kills cash flow. If you rent it for $3,000 per month for 12 months OR $4,000 per month for 9 months, you end up in the same place... $36K per year. Not to mention the cost of having to furnish, clean during turns, etc. For me, annual leases for students was a nice middle ground for me where it was still a year lease and there is turn over, but not at the frequency of a true MTR. It sounds like you're very close to the University, so this may work for you.

5. This is something a local property manager or your agent will likely know.

Hope this helps, and best of luck to you!!

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J J MoodyPro Member

Member since 2022 · 23 posts · 18 votes

2y

I am also researching this topic and all of the advice I have read so far is to treat your vetting of any MTR tenant the same as a long term/traditional tenant if you are not using a booking platform. Meaning, they will enter into a lease agreement with you that spells out the terms and conditions of their stay. I would perform a background check or have your property management site do that thru the application process. Keeping in mind that a lot of licensed professionals must go through a background check as part of the hiring processes. This is true for travel nurses, for example.

Now, if you're booking through a site like AirBnB the process outlined above may not be necessary. However, if you're using sites like Zillow or Furnished Finder to get leads on possible tenants then you will need to vet them on your own or through your PMS (property management software) and sign a lease. I ask for personal and professional references as well as any prior landlord references and the PMS I use includes a background check in the application process. Again if you're using a site like AirBnB or VRBO then you have the reviews from other hosts and some of the protections offered via the booking platform.

When I travel for work I bring certain kitchen necessities with me. It is so helpful to be able to cook meals in the place I am staying for weeks or months at a time.

Great wifi is also important!

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Joey BanasihanPro Member

Investor · Boise, ID · Member since 2019 · 238 posts · 189 votes

2y

Hi @Patty Nisbet! Looks like folks have provided some good information and you are trying to do your due diligence before jumping into a different/new strategy. I will try my best to provide concise insights without reiterating what others have stated.

1. I use Furnish Finder for my MTR's and I use a management software called Avail which allows me to screen tenants/background checks, create leases, and collect rental money; on top of that I ask for 3 references from previous landlords/property owners. Create a process to be thorough and communicate this process with prospective tenants.

2. You definitely need to figure out a cooking solution becuase folks staying for 30 days or more will need to cook their own food. Electric stove tops could work, investing into a ventilation solution and getting an opinion from a professional would help as well. Lots of different solutions but cooking would be a necessity with the MTR strategy.

3. With MTR, what I have seen is looking at comparables from AirBnB and furnish finder with similar sizes and amentities and location. If look at your current market rate for LTR (still considering location and amentities and size) and your rental is furnished, you can add an additional 12-20% on top of LTR rate. This is my personal approach but there are many nuanaces to this as well.

4. Home insurance, I have an umbrella policy and worked with my insurance agent to have other liabilities and coverages added for furniture and appliances. This is a simple conversations with an insurance company.

5. I do not think there needs to be a dedicated time slots for laundry, but this is something you can communicate around having shared laundry area and talking about preferences around times and days. Just additional communication to ensure you both have a pleasant experience.

Hope this helps!

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Michael SmytheBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Metro Detroit · Member since 2023 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes

2y

Always sign a lease with an MTR!

If they steal something, you'll find you have no protections without a lease.

Get a government picture ID too.

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Bonnie LowPro Member

Lender · Asheville, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

2y

It sounds like your intention is to target traveling medical professionals since you mentioned your proximity to hospitals. If that's the case, I wouldn't worry about the guest quality. I've rented to plenty of medical professionals and had no problems. I also know many travel nurses and they're hands down great people who pay their bills and generally use very little wear and tear on your property. I would be more concerned about the suitability of the unit given the configuration you described. You probably will get some renters who are ok with a kitchenette rather than a full kitchen but it's likely to hurt your occupancy. The other issue is you going into their space to use the laundry. Guests definitely don't like this. Is there any way to partition off the laundry room so you can both access it but you don't have to go into their space? Both of these features will hurt you if not addressed. You didn't mention a bathroom in the basement, but I assume there is one? If you're listing your property on Furnished Finder, go to their affiliate link KeyCheck and find a state-specific lease. You can use their free lease for the first few before you have to start paying for the service. It's a good starting point. You can also use Keycheck for the background check, which the guest pays for. You need to talk to your insurance agent about insurance and make sure they know exactly how you intend to use the property to ensure you're covered.

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Patty Nisbet

OP

Denver · Member since 2020 · 15 posts · 10 votes

2y

Hi Bonnie,

Thank you! Yes, We may just go to the laundry mat instead as much as I will hate that. Thanks for the other tips! Ues, It is a two bedroom 1 queen size and 2 twin beds. I added an image what we have for the kitchen. We can add a few things to do some cooking.

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Ryan ThomsonBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

2y

@Patty Nisbet great questions and great idea.

1. You can use background checks. I use apartments.com

2. The right person will. The person who would get a hotel or eat out every night. I would certainly have a fridge and microwave.

3. You could find one on the Bigger Pockets site or find an investor that is using one in your area. Or pay a lawyer. I can't imagine its more than $400

4. Rental price - look at the market and what's out there on furnished finder. Try a price and adjust if there is no interest. Make sure you market it really well with great pictures.

5. Not sure in Aurora. usually30+ is considered longterm by the law and you won't need STR permits.

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Mid term renting question

Mid term renting question

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