All Forum Posts by: Bonnie Low

Airbnb & Furnished Finder work so differently and I think people often struggle to adjust their expectations when toggling between the two platforms. What I hear again and again from hosts who are accustomed to Airbnb for their STRs and even some MTRs is that they expect FF to work the same way when, in reality, FF is just a lead generation platform. It requires a lot more work, follow up, and it's necessary to have systems in place to support the tenant vetting, rent collection and creating lease agreements. I personally use FF exclusively for MTRs. I won't list them on Airbnb because of Airbnb's arbitrary and guest-forward refund policies. I think both have their place, but what I'm really excited about is MiniStays. I know the founder and I know the company has been very intentional about taking the best features of both and expanding on them while leaving the problems (Airbnb) and wonkiness (FF) behind. I highly recommend you consider listing your property on MiniStays as well. I'm not a brand ambassador - I just really like what they're doing and I think it works for both guests and hosts. 

Couldn't agree with you more! I hate to see  new members being shot down when they dip their toes in the water. If you feel their questions are a waste of time then scroll on....and don't waste your own time answering. We all had to start somewhere.

 I can't think of anyone better than Erin Spradlin and @James Carlson to point you in the right direction. I don't think Erin is taking on new clients any longer but she probably knows someone who is.

 I didn't have any prior bookkeeping experience. This is something my husband used to manage and he had worked with our bookkeeper to set up QB. He'd also used it for years in a different business. However, when he got sick, this was one of the things I had to take over. I immediately struggled with QB and found it annoying that I constantly had to tag all the transactions for the bookkeeper AND pay her to manage it all. I felt the price tag was excessive for the 2 properties I had under property management and the 3 I managed myself. The transition was surprisingly easy, but I had sat through a few Baselane demos and had tried some other platforms as well so I was pretty certain it would work for me before I made the change.

Scott, I took a quick look at the property link. I can't speak to the location or the type of visitor who might be traveling to your area so I'm addressing the property itself only. This is a nice looking unit in what appears to be a well kept building. A lot of people assume the rent-by-room model works best for travel nurses. It can, but I find that the majority prefer their own space. Travel nurses have also seen drastically reduced per diem rates so they don't like paying for additional space they can't use. I would look for other types of travelers in addition to traveling medical professionals. The property configuration is nice and having in-unit washer and dryer will definitely be in your favor. Indoor parking will surely be a bonus. HOA's can be a negative so be sure to check the HOA regulations to see if they have any rules around 30+ day stays. Even if your town or jurisdiction has regulations, the HOA can choose to pass rules that are more restrictive. If pets are allowed by the HOA I would strongly recommend you consider allowing pets as more than 50% of travelers travel with their pets and that will make your priority more desirable. I personally allow pets and have never had a problem situation. If you haven't already, consider reading 30 Day Stay by Sarah D. Weaver and Zeona McIntyre. It's packed with great information about starting out in MTR. Best of luck to you!

 Hi, Karina. I don't enjoy bookkeeping either but I couldn't stomach paying a professional bookeeper and paying for a QB subscription either. I switched to Baselane for my banking and bookkeeping and it's been surprisingly simple to do it myself. Baselane was built by real estate investors for real estate investors so it's really tailored to this particular business. They get it and they've made a platform that speaks directly to what we, as investors need. It is very simple to set up bank accounts, assign virtual credit cards, and tag revenue and expenses so you can stay on top of it. I highly recommend you check out.

You can always start by looking on Furnished Finder. This site says it's for travel nurses, but their users come from all walks of life and it's growing daily. go to https://furnishedfinder.stats and enter the city information. This will show you how many furnished units are currently listed on FF, their size and monthly rate as well as the number of searches. Then look at some of the competition to see what your property needs to offer in order to be competitive. You can also search Airbnb & look for 30+ day stays and do the same. Checking their calendar helps you determine if there is strong demand. If the calendar is booked, there's demand. If it's wide open, that should be a red flag. Are there extended stay type hotels in your area? If so, that's a good indicator that there's demand for MTRs. I'd encourage you to think more broadly than just hospital travelers. They can be a great source for tenants, but the world of people traveling who need furnished rentals is much, much larger than just traveling medical professionals.

Hey, Scott. I'm sorry you got some unhelpful responses. I don't know why people take the time to NOT be helpful. I'm happy to take a look at your link and let you know some initial thoughts. You might find it helpful to join a group like THE MTR Connect, which I co-host with @Jamie Banks. It's a group that meets virtually every Friday from 9-10am PST and is specifically for MTR hosts. We have newbies and very seasoned investors in the group and the sole purpose is to help people with their properties, whether that is sourcing & qualifying markets, set up, trouble shooting or building a network of go-to resources. You can even share your link to the property or market you're considering and let folks weigh in in real time. We've helped a lot of our members trouble shoot and make minor tweaks to their properties to improve the performance. I'm sure our members would be happy to help you, too. PM me if you're interested - it's free - and I'll send you the link. Hang in there!

I'm using Baselane and I love it. It has really simplified my life on both the banking and bookkeeping fronts. I used to pay a professional bookkeeper to manage the books for our small portfolio. It was costing me $450/mo plus a $90 subscription to quickbooks online. It was ridiculous because it still required us to give her a lot of direction. Baselane is easy enough to use that I can do it myself so I'm now saving by not paying those expenses and I prefer to be more hands on anyway so I have a better understanding of my expenses and profitability.

Well, like I said this is a free virtual group for midterm rental hosts or those who are looking to start in this niche. It's a relatively small group - we try to keep active participants to around 25 during the calls so that people can speak up, engage and participate. We cover topics relevant to MTRs and often include guest speakers on topics ranging from financing your MTR to co-hosting to getting insurance placement bookings. We meet Fridays from 9-10am PST (noon EST). If you're interested in joining, just send me a PM with your email and phone.