All Forum Posts by: Jamie Banks

Utilities are included in MTRs. I recommend setting a utility cap in your lease.

I would spend time looking at comps on Furnished Finder and Airbnb, see which properties are current vacant vs properties that have availability in the future. Traveling medical professionals generally don’t need 3 BR homes and they aren’t traveling as much as previous years so make sure there’s enough demand. 

 I only use Furnished Finder for marketing my rooms 

Security deposit regulations vary by market so I suggest doing research on local security deposit rules. Generally speaking, collect a small deposit from each tenant. I have a property that I rent by the room and I collect ~25% of the monthly rent as a security deposit. I collect fees and rent with Baselane and tag each security deposit in the bookkeeping software and leave a note on which tenant it's for to avoid having separate accounts for each deposit. 

I've operated MTRs in several markets and have seen 75-80% occupancy on MTRs that can't be rented as STRs due to regulations (ie we don't rent them as a hybrid MTR / STR strategy). I generally rent my properties B2B so my vacancy is higher than average

I also recommend @Allen Duan!

I generally buy furniture from Wayfair Pro if I'm on a budget or through Host GPO. Look at comps in your area to get an idea of the level of furnishings. I also house hack and rent a room as a MTR and I've gone with high quality items to ensure durability. Through Host GPO you can get high quality items for an affordable price. 

 My property in Philly is doing well. Its about 80% occupied by insurance relocation tenants and I’m currently getting 3 times long term rent

I collect rent via Baselane. My tenants sign up for a Baselane account and they can pay via ACH, debit card, or credit card through the online software. My rent payments go into my Baselane bank account but rent can also be collected in a third party bank account

List the property on insurance relocation companies like CRS Temporary Housing