All Forum Posts by: Anya Boisselle

It's a small sample size, but 5 out of the 6 travel nurses that we have rented to came with someone else. Our place is a 1 BR with a king bed, so naturally all but 1 was with a spouse/partner. The last was the tenant's sister. You'll also find probably 50-60% of the housing requests on furnished finder include pets. 

One of our first tenants allowed us to do a bit of a Q+A on what to expect and how we can optimize the listing. The first thing that she said was that most everyone travels with a buddy (human or pet). As we continue to get new tenants, her theory proves to be correct.

You'll get a slightly better return on a 2 bedroom single family home with a yard. My experience is that many travel nurses travel with a buddy - that is either spouse/partner, another nurse, or a pet. If you can accommodate those and have a 2nd bedroom and a home office space (can be a desk next to a bed...doesn't have to be it's own room), you will do well. If you want to allow pets and have a fenced in backyard, you'll be fully booked at a good number assuming the location and decor are good. If you do allow pets (we do not), take an intentional approach from day 1 with furnishing, floors , etc - no carpet, leather/faux leather furniture, solid surfaces everywhere. 

That depends on the price for the area. If you are tying to attract families then go for the 2 0r 3 bedroom size, but in my experience typically travelling nurses either travel alone or with their spouse, so the 1 bedroom can be more beneficial. I would reach out to some investors in your area to learn about what they are seeing. 

If you're hearing conflicting success, it's likely a market-dependent thing. You might want to ask around at your local meetup. I can't imagine there isn't demand for both. You'll have folks travelling with a partner or pet who might want the second bedroom for the extra closet space or a quiet, private "office." And then you'll have folks traveling solo with no need for the extra room. Since you always need multiple exit strategies, the two bedroom is probably the safer investment. But I'd put more focus on finding the best deal possible.

You should definitely list on homes.mil.  Those listings are accessible by EVERYONE in the military, so when they are looking to move for training or longer, they have access.  I currently rent to a Navy police officer.  Someone will come out to inspect your property, but it's not a big deal.

I would also make friends at the university's housing office and list on Furnished Finders.  My experience is many travel nurses have dogs and are a little "crazy", ha ha.  Just my $0.02.