All Forum Posts by: Erin Spradlin

 @Marci Stein @Mary Ainsworth - You could also ask for previous landlord reviews, and/or to have them fill out a background check. It's not a perfect system, but past behavior is a great indicator of future behavior. 

 @Mary Ainsworth - You know, this is kind of how Airbnb Long-Term stays work. You don't know if they have income, you only know that they can pay the full amount. You background check them differently. You are protected by Airbnb, but the reason why I mention it is because it probably happens on Airbnb all the time and you don't know it. For this reason, I think I would be open to someone that can pay the full rent even if they are without a job. 

 @Ruben Helo @James Carlson
Thanks for the mention, James. 

Ruben- I'm encouraging people to learn how to property manage their own long-term and medium term rentals. The reason I recommend self property management is because it is really not that hard and a lot of my consulting clients that are unhappy (or unbooked) have property management. Once they take off property management, they tend to find it's much easier, they are occupied for a longer period of time AND they save 8-12%. 

 @Travis Timmons Yes, I actually was up for renewal and just let it expire for the same reason. It's not a lot of money, but after awhile, it begs the question: why am I paying for this? 

@Quiana Berry - I have a lot more success with MTRs on Airbnb and Zillow Rental Manager. Furnished Finder was more effective for me about 18 months ago, and has been less so since it became more popular. Also, there's a lot of confusion from the tenant side as far as who can book on Furnished Finder. So many people think that you have to be a nurse or a medical professional to be on Furnished Finder, but that's not true... However, that stereotype limits the tenant pool which limits your ability to fill your place. 

@Thessa Washington - Furnished Finder is becoming less and less effective for midterm rentals. Many of my consulting clients complain that they get no hits and when they do get interest, the offers are far below the rate (like 50%). I am only on two siteS: Airbnb and Zillow Rental Manager, and we've stayed rented.

I think being flexible on your rental rate for midterm rentals and paying attention to MTR vacancy should be prioritized. 

 @Kathy Kifer - I have both had people happily pay this and also had others push back. I always present it as a business issue and me not wanting to carry that costs. Some people really respond and others do not. That said, a reasonable tenant should understand why you can't just keep it open for them. 

@James Carlson @Atlas Blake - Agree with James Carlson on this one. Keep it simple and keep it small for the first investment. Get your feet wet and then decide if you want to move into other projects or if you want to stick with the easier properties. 

@Account Closed - I have had better success doing midterm/short-term hybrid seasonally versus intermixed. So, STRs during your hottest months and midterms during your less hot months, but not intermixing them. The reason for this is that you end up taking a short-term rental to pull in a few bucks and that ends up preventing someone that would have wanted the place longer. It usually works against you. 

@Kathy Kifer - I would add additional platforms: Airbnb and Zillow to get more traffic on your medium-term rental. We do not take tenants that want to rent more than two weeks out from our next availability date, unless they want to close the gap (money wise) between when they arrive and the two week threshold. This strategy has worked pretty well for us since 2017. 

As a new midterm host, I do think the biggest issue is vacancy and being mindful of that. Being on more platforms should help.