Medium Term Rental Guidance

[Ryan Kramer]

I live in a suburb East of Cleveland (Wickliffe). I am considering turning my primary residence into a medium term rental within the next 6-8 months, since it is already furnished. My house is a 1,000 sq. ft. 3 bed, 1 bath, with a detached 1-1/2 car garage, partially finished basement with washer & dryer, updated kitchen, and deck off of the rear. One of the bedrooms on the ground level is currently my office, and I was considering keeping the desk, and buying a monitor & docking station. I also plan on moving the master bedroom (currently upstairs) to the other ground floor bedroom, and making the upstairs bedroom a "guest room."

I am relatively close to hospitals on the East side of Cleveland, as well as other hospitals in other surrounding cities, so I think that I am in a good location for this. Am I on the right track? I have already read 30-day stay, but would like some input from others in the area who have experience. TIA!

Edit: Also, trying to figure out how much to ask for rent. As a long-term, it looks like I could rent for $1,400/month. Looking at Furnished Finder, and I'm seeing comparable properties in the area from $2,500/month up to $3,500/month. I'm thinking of asking for $3,000/month? I could also use some help with finding a cleaner. Any references for that are appreciated!

[Bob Stevens]

Quote from @Ryan Kramer:

I live in a suburb East of Cleveland (Wickliffe). I am considering turning my primary residence into a medium term rental within the next 6-8 months, since it is already furnished. My house is a 1,000 sq. ft. 3 bed, 1 bath, with a detached 1-1/2 car garage, partially finished basement with washer & dryer, updated kitchen, and deck off of the rear. One of the bedrooms on the ground level is currently my office, and I was considering keeping the desk, and buying a monitor & docking station. I also plan on moving the master bedroom (currently upstairs) to the other ground floor bedroom, and making the upstairs bedroom a "guest room."

I am relatively close to hospitals on the East side of Cleveland, as well as other hospitals in other surrounding cities, so I think that I am in a good location for this. Am I on the right track? I have already read 30-day stay, but would like some input from others in the area who have experience. TIA!

Edit: Also, trying to figure out how much to ask for rent. As a long-term, it looks like I could rent for $1,400/month. Looking at Furnished Finder, and I'm seeing comparable properties in the area from $2,500/month up to $3,500/month. I'm thinking of asking for $3,000/month? I could also use some help with finding a cleaner. Any references for that are appreciated!

 How much is will the rent be, look at others. Cleaners, google is your best bet 

[Regina Blake]

Hi, as you discussed, I would look up how much rent is in the area where your property is and compare your home to the other homes that are rented for in the area. As you know, honestly you want to stay comparable in order to keep great people renting your nice home. You do not want to entertain short term renters. You got this wishing you the best of luck!

[Zachary Deal]

You could try posting in the classifieds sections of BP for a cleaner but google may be the best bet.

I think $3,000 sounds like a reasonable starting point given the range on Furnished Finder. Have you check Airbnb/VRBO and Zillow?

[Jamie Banks]

I would spend time looking at comps on Furnished Finder and Airbnb, see which properties are current vacant vs properties that have availability in the future. Traveling medical professionals generally don’t need 3 BR homes and they aren’t traveling as much as previous years so make sure there’s enough demand. 

[Nicole Heasley Beitenman]

I'm getting $1,500 a month for a 1BR/1BA in Youngstown. I'd expect Cleveland to fetch a bit more even with more saturation. When I first started about a year ago, Furnished Finder recommended pricing $300-500 a month above LTR rates. I took that advice and priced $500 over LTR rates. Then I bumped rents up $50 between each tenant until I felt like I hit the ceiling. 

[Miguel Del Mazo]

Great advice above from the GOATs of the MTR forums.

I would add that you should also try to get on the lists of corporate housing and temporary housing for insurance companies. Our 2/1.5s seem to go to traveling professionals (medical or otherwise), but our larger units attract the insurance company's attention. Some of those have come by FF, but AirBnB greater than 30 day stays also generates leads.

Best of luck with your endeavor.

[Alex DeNigris]

Quote from @Ryan Kramer:

I live in a suburb East of Cleveland (Wickliffe). I am considering turning my primary residence into a medium term rental within the next 6-8 months, since it is already furnished. My house is a 1,000 sq. ft. 3 bed, 1 bath, with a detached 1-1/2 car garage, partially finished basement with washer & dryer, updated kitchen, and deck off of the rear. One of the bedrooms on the ground level is currently my office, and I was considering keeping the desk, and buying a monitor & docking station. I also plan on moving the master bedroom (currently upstairs) to the other ground floor bedroom, and making the upstairs bedroom a "guest room."

I am relatively close to hospitals on the East side of Cleveland, as well as other hospitals in other surrounding cities, so I think that I am in a good location for this. Am I on the right track? I have already read 30-day stay, but would like some input from others in the area who have experience. TIA!

Edit: Also, trying to figure out how much to ask for rent. As a long-term, it looks like I could rent for $1,400/month. Looking at Furnished Finder, and I'm seeing comparable properties in the area from $2,500/month up to $3,500/month. I'm thinking of asking for $3,000/month? I could also use some help with finding a cleaner. Any references for that are appreciated!

 I have an MTR in Parma Hts. (west side) and it absolutely kills it.  It is a duplex and I only MTR the one side - 750 SF, 2bd/1ba.  I might switch a majority of my LTR's in Cleveland to MTR's.  I get a little over 2.5k a month without even trying, all thru AirBNB.  I have not had any luck with Furnished Finders!  I found our cleaner thru Google.

[Bonnie Low]

You will almost always see a higher nightly rate on Airbnb than on Furnished Finder so I recommend you use both sources to price your property. When researching the competition, you must compare like to like properties. This is far more important than looking at averages. Location, property layout and amenities are the key to determining how well your property will rent out and for what price. Your achilles heel with that property is going to be the one bathroom for a 3-bedroom home. It's going to be difficult to rent it by the room if everyone has to share one bathroom, especially if they are strangers. This may impact your nightly rate.

When searching for cleaners, post your property on Turno. You'll get all kinds of responses to help you understand the average cost and you can then follow up by interviewing cleaners and asking for references. Local facebook groups for owners can be a good source, too. 

[KiKi Wood]

Hi Ryan! Looks like mid-term could be a good option for you. Best of luck!! :)