How do you target tenants for MTR?

Question

Hello,

I am new to MTR so don't know much about it. I am listening to Zeona Mcintyre and Sarah Weaver audiobook "30 Day Stay: A Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Mastering the Medium-Term Rental". Getting a lot of info there and started going to a regular meetup, here locally, that happens once a month regarding STR and MTR house hacking meetup but I was wondering, how do you target clientele for MTR specifically? I understand that Furnished Finder is targeting leads and not necessarily for listing your MTR? Like traveling nurses, executives, digital nomads, professors. My worry is getting into a property that we like and not being able to find tenants for MTR and end up in a financial burden. Any suggestions/experiences with that? Primarily in suburban areas around Denver like Littleton, Lakewood, etc. I do know for nurses, you need to look for nearest hospital withing 5-10 miles range to make your property more attractive to nurses

Ginger Pruitt · Answer

Hi, @Roman Puzey. We recently interviewed 5 serial travel nurses for their perspective on what matters, what doesn't and where they look to ensure we're supporting our travel nurse listings effectively. What we heard:
A) Two real segments of travel nurses - i) the cost conscious just about the buck (making as much on each contract and spending less than 1/3 of a month's gross income on their housing and ii) those wanting the experience to be comfortable because they're less concerned about optimizing their earnings
B) We heard that the anecdotal feeling is that most travel nurses (quote was >75%) travel with a pet - so make sure you have appropriate deposits and terms in your leases for this. I'd be cautious about excluding pets if you're concerned about vacancy.
C) While much better tenants (very little wear and tear on your property, good for rent, pass background checks), there is a need for many STR amenities (security conscious with parking spaces and the home, have nice bed/sheets/cooking supplies/coffee maker, high speed internet a plus - having great TV wasn't a deal breaker for those we surveyed)
D) Mixed input on the proximity. Some were willing to travel 10-15 miles and others wanted very close access to their facility.
E) The cost conscious nurses were much more willing to rent by the room. Others preferred whole units for safety and privacy reasons.

Hope this helps.  Good luck!

Chris Allen · Answer

I this this is great! I am a travel nurse as well and can attest to all of these. I had once put a poll to vote for what type of housing travel nurses look for (shared housing vs 1-2 bed vs 3-4 bed). Out of the 95 that voted

80 Voted private 1-2 bed

10 Voted Nice Shared Space

5 Voted 3+ bedroom

Amanda Williams · Answer

I only market to relocation clients. If you are plugged into the realtor community this works well because they always have clients needing housing.  If you are a realtor this works SUPER Well because its a lead source for you!

Bonnie Low · Answer

@Roman Puzey I personally wouldn't buy a property that only works at MTR rates. I'd make sure it could support itself and whatever your goals are as an LTR so you're not underwater, ESPECIALLY if this is your first property. If it will work as an LTR, you're in good shape. I know multi-family properties are hard to come by in Denver but if you could get your hands on a duplex and house hack it with one side being used as an MTR that's another way to create a little security potentially while you break into this business. You will have the expense of properly furnishing a property if you go the MTR route but you can always sell any furnishings and recoup some of that cost if it doesn't work out.

Ben Rhodin · Answer

Hey @Roman Puzey! Glad to see you entering the MTR Space here in Denver, Zeona and Sarah's book is fantastic, and they are both very knowledgeable, I work with Zeona quite a bit here in Denver. I have quite a few clients in this space currently and are doing very well. You are on the right track with most of your thinking. If you are going fully into the MTR space being closer to a hospital or large source of traveling professionals is key, as providing a space that is accommodating for them (dedicated workspace, black-out blinds, high-quality beds, quiet etc...). There are a few hot spots in and around Denver that we look at for these types of properties, and happy to walk you through it. The other way you can approach it is to be in an STR-friendly area, so that you can fill any MTR vacancies with STR clients, or have the option to flip it if it's not booking. It will be less attractive to both MTR and STR but you are spreading your exit strategies further. As for finding and booking Tenants FurnishedFinder is the big one, but Airbnb is also a great source, and you just make a 30-day minimum. If you want to get more involved, you can get in with the agencies that place these professionals and get on their lists. Or go direct to the hospital. After a while, it also becomes a lot of word of mouth and providing referral fees to past guests if they bring someone to your property. Just remember that MTR and STR are a business and unlike normal rentals. It also requires a different property type than a normal rental.Happy to connect and chat more to get you comfortable with the whole market!

Kayla Givens · Answer

Hey @Roman Puzey! I'm sure that if you find a nice property, furnish it well and price it right, you will have no trouble finding a great MTR tenant. In terms of finding one, it would be a good idea to join some Facebook groups that are specific to medium-term type tenants. There are a lot of traveling nurse groups that you can join and I would see if there's a way for you to network with someone at a hospital near your target area.

Ginger Pruitt · Answer

Thanks for sharing!  Great info, Chris.  Didn't expect that overwhelming a response for private spaces given our previous interviews.  Super helpful.  Any chance this is regionally specific or would change based on prices for spaces?  Expect in lower cost areas, the smaller differential to get a private space would make that more attractive...perhaps less so if rents are much higher?

How do you target tenants for MTR?

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