Mid term rentals specifically targeting traveling nurses

[Ryan Duphorn]

Just recently listened to a podcast on mid-term rentals specifically for traveling nurses but could also include corporate professionals or large-scale construction project workers. In addition to just posting your property on furnished finder, they were reaching out and building connections with hospital HR departments and recruiters to help place nurses in properties. Has anyone done this and have had success? The podcast also talked about insurance claim re-housing where families lose their homes to a tragedy and get replaced through their insurance. However I mainly wanted to ask about getting housing leases from traveling nurses.

I currently have a 5 bed 2 bath, 1920 sqft home in a great neighborhood located less than 1.5 miles from 2 large hospitals here outside of Richmond. How or would a 5 bedroom house work in terms of landing multiple nurses in a single home? For example, say it were a 2bd/1ba property, I would just list it for 1 nurse to stay and I would hit my cash flow goal. But with 5 bedrooms I'll need at least 2-3 nurses to stay there at a time. If I just make a single listing on FF for this 5/2 and say list it for $4000 / month (market in this area), how would I get 2-3 random nurses to commit to the property? Would I have to find 1 nurse and tell him/her to find other coworkers to join? I'm assuming traveling nurses don't know many people in the area and would know someone to live with. There's not going to be a nurse who will pay $4000 themselves to rent a 5/2 and the property wouldn't cash flow if I rent to 1 nurse for lets say $1400 / month. 

[Miguel Del Mazo]

I would recommending looking at your property through the eyes of the NBA, or Next Best Alternative, to see if there is a market for you property as a mid-term rental. 

Go on furnishedfinder.com and airbnb.com to find what is available on those sites for a traveler. If there are plenty of studios or private single rooms at the same price or cheaper than a shared-space room at your place, you will definitely have a hard time filling up.

Are there extended-stay motels in your property's area? If so, what are they charging per week?  They are the most likely competitors for work crews passing through. Even with a shared bathroom and living room, your place is likely much nicer than the average extend-stay motel, so if your rents are competitive, then you can likely serve this avatar.

You may find that a 5/2 is an acceptable temporary housing solution for a family displaced after an insurable loss (fire, flood, etc.). Getting these listings ca be trickier, and there is no fast lane that takes you to this destination. Definitely list your property on ALE solutions, United Corporate Housing, Alacrity and similar websites for companies that place displaced homeowners.  

In our largest listing, we have a triplex with a total of 11 beds and 10 baths with each bedroom set up to be potentially rented by the room (electronic lock on each bedroom door, and most with a private bathroom). We have had much greater success renting a whole unit out that renting our individual rooms, though it has been nice to have some flexibilty to accomodate travelers who are coming as singlets and doublets.