All Forum Posts by: Chris Allen

 Hey there, I am a travel nurse as well. It can be difficult to get financing if you have not been doing travel nursing for 2+ years, but not impossible. When I do travel contracts, I am considered a w2 employee of the travel agency, not a 1099, so she might be as well. Call around to multiple lenders and don't take no as an answer. Here are a few tips that I did to get financing. 

- Write out a detailed letter/email explaining your time in the industry as a whole; including how much you have made each year as a nurse, how your contracts work, how you get paid, and job outlook. 

- Provide all of your Tax Returns for the last several years as a nurse. 

- Ask your recruiter to write an email to the lenders stating your contract terms and length, and outlook for employment. 

Has anyone done STR or MTR with a camper? I have a buddy who is open to me taking over payments for his camper. Other than doing travel nursing, I have no use for a camper. Anyone have any luck renting out a spot at a park and placing the camper on AirBNB? I dont own any land, so would need to rent a spot.

Is it better to move places depending on demand, rent out just the camper and make the renter pay the lot rent, or find one spot to set up camp?

I also recommend getting on some of the travel nurse FB groups (furnished finder is a great one). You can ask nurses what they are looking for and post availability 

 I have not rented to travel nurses yet, but I am a travel nurse. From the renter point of view, here are things that I personally look for. 

- Ideally within 15 min of the hospital I am working at. If things are expensive, I will go up to 30 min away. 

- Clean, well put together unit. Comfortable bed with nice bedding, room darkening/blackout curtains in bedroom, decent shower, in unit washer/dryer, decent kitchen with all the necessities, good wifi, and a decent smart TV, iron, etc..

- I travel with my wife, baby, and dog. So I look for a good size, fenced in back yard, as well as enough space in the property for all of us, but not so much we are paying for space we don't need. Most travel nurses look for 1-2 bedroom properties that are affordable but nice. 3 bed would be the next most common, and 4+ is less desirable. Shared spaces is also less common for travel nurses unless it is a group of nurses that already know each other or you are in a very expensive market. 

- I typically look for middle of the line type properties to rent, willing to pay a little extra for a nicer place, but also I try to save as much as I can on rent so I can keep the difference in my stipend. Other than looking at comparable properties in your area, a rough idea for what nurses would want to spend is go find out your GSA rate for your area, and just stay below that. Nurses get a tax free stipend for housing and meals, but that is also where a bulk of our pay comes from. So most assignments we want to pocket the difference because if we don't, we really are not making any more than we could to just be full time somewhere. 

 Hey there Calvin, where are you all located at? I looked into Broken Bow for a while after I got my cabin in the Smoky Mountains and know a few people investing in that market. I am a travel nurse as well and got a 2nd home loan a few years ago. I know some things changed with the 2nd home loan program so it might make it a little more difficult. I would definitely talk with multiple lenders as well as maybe consider a different loan option if you really want the property. I also recommend your wife do the following

- Write out a letter/email explaining in detail her job, income, stability, and outlook. 

- Provide current and previous contracts she has taken to show pay history, employment gaps, etc...  

- Talk with her recruiter about speaking with the lender or providing something in writing showing an outlook for future income and job stability. 

Love to connect. 

 So this changes according to what they are actually getting paid. My example was just what I personally would be looking for, not an actual rule of thumb. If they are actually getting $4,740/mo for housing, I would imagine they would likely be willing to pay upwards of $4k+/mo if comparable properties are renting at that. Breaking it down to a rule of thumb of 50-70% is a little more difficult to do. Also, just because the GSA says the per diem is $158/ day, does not mean that they are actually getting that. The closest job I could find that shows pay was in Alexandria. The housing allowance for that job was $2,940/ mo, while the GSA shows a rate of $3,255. If you are wanting to see what travel jobs in your area are paying nurses, I would recommend looking at travel nurse job boards and Facebook groups. The GSA can give you a general idea, but it does not show what they are actually getting paid. 

I have not been able to attend in a while, so I'm not even sure if they are still meeting at the moment. But @Jeremy Fay had started a meetup that we were meeting at Billy Bob's Burgers in Killeen every month. 

 Is it just a nurse or is it a NP? A regular nurse wouldn't be able to give that type of letter. If she lives in Texas, go to the Board of Nursing website and look for her if you are unsure. 

Also, you might check the rules of a MTR, I know with STR's there is some leniency with support animals/service animals if they pose a health risk. Since your family who stays at the property have severe allergens, it might be enough to ask her to leave if you need to. But I would say depending on how long her lease is and if she seems like a good tenant otherwise, I would maybe consider letting this slide. I think the headache and risk of calling her out on it is more than just not renewing her lease and having a deep clean done. The security deposit should still cover any damages or extra cleanings needed because of the cat.
Welcome to the Texas Board of Nursing Website

 Are those MTR that you are looking at furnished? A general rule-of-thumb I have seen, furnished MTR's are usually at least 1.5-2x the monthly LTR. So I can't imagine people renting out furnished MTR's that are basically the same price as a LTR. But I can see an Unfurnished month-month or even a 3 mo lease being maybe only $100/mo more than a 12 month lease. 

 If I were you I would 

1) Consider not using an owner occupied loan

2) If you have a place you call "Home"  Mayne keep a PRN job there. 

3) Maybe rent a place ir a room just to show residency so you might qualify?