All Forum Posts by: Julie Gates

Medium term rentals are the new darling of short term rentals. As a large chunk of the American workforce can now work from anywhere, investors are scrambling to provide great places for these digital nomads to explore a new city. As a property manager in Savannah, GA who has been hosting these guests for longer than 7 years, I’ve spoken publicly many times on the lack of concern about guests becoming squatters. Guests are paying for an entire month up front, not an easy task. Guests are rarely coming to party. They are working or they are retirees looking to have some fun. For years paying the bill wasn’t an issue.

However, as inventory has ballooned, prices have decreased. The increased frequency of these longer stays has brought with it increased issues. One of the biggest concerns for both the owner and the property manager like myself, is getting paid.

Many guests book for much longer than 30 nights. A travel nurse, for example, would typically stay 90 nights on a single contract. It is a great advantage to the guest and also the host to split the stay into several payments. Guests rarely have the entire amount ready to put down. Also, the home owner most likely has a mortgage and receiving a large amount of cash and then not spending it for 3 months can be more challenging than you’d think. I’ve been in this situation and with a growing portfolio and expenses, it’s hard to put money aside for two mortgage payments.

At Sid Was Here, my management company, we’ve always offered to let guests pay into the future for longer stays. This is very non traditional in the short term rental space, as all stays are paid in advance. The host knows they will get paid. Airbnb was the first of the OTA’s (Outside Travel Agents) to offer payments into the future for guests. This ballooned the amount of guests booking longer stays on their platform, and pushed them into being an industry leader in the medium term rental space.

My company has had a few struggles with payments, both with direct bookings and also for guests staying through AirBNB. When you have an AirBNB guest who hasn’t paid, you wake up one morning to a terrible message saying that AirBNB has failed to capture payment from guest Mr. X. They will continue trying to reach the guest for payment, but the host now has the right to cancel the stay without penalty and may remove the guest from the home. This is a nice way of saying, “Good morning, Julie. We tried, but you’re on your own with this Mr. X.” Thanks, AirBNB! These are dark moments for hosts and property managers alike. In AirBNB’s defense, I also get the same drop in blood pressure when someone on my team tells me that a direct booking guest, Mr. X’s card was declined and he is now late on a payment for his medium term rental. At the end of the day, the problems are the same, just on different platforms. If you think that bad guests are only on one platform, you are dead wrong and that’s the truth.

Enter in the evictions. I want to say truthfully that these are extremely rare. We have hosted thousands of medium term rental guests and we have completed the eviction on all of 1 guest. That statistic isn’t bad in my opinion. The second one that I would call half of an eviction was a guest who kept blowing us off on making the payment that was getting later by the day. I was having nightmares about calling the owner. No one wants to hear this and I don’t want him to ever think that we haven’t done everything in our power to get the money out of the guest. In Georgia, we send what’s called a Quit or Pay notice of eviction. This is an official letter that the eviction process has begun and they need to either pay or leave the property. This happens on day 7 after the payment is due, and notifies the guest that we will be filing an eviction in the court system on day 30. Our best leverage is that this will place the word eviction onto their credit history, which is huge as you can imagine. The second time around, the Quit or Pay notice worked and the guest was able to produce a credit card that would take the payment. The first guest that I mentioned went through the full eviction process and left before being removed by the sheriff.

Since I’m telling stories here, I’ll also tell you that I am one of the rare hosts who has successfully evicted a short term rental guest as well. We had a guest stay for a few nights, then cancel the stay early through AirBNB. For short term rental booking that is cancelled early, the guest is to leave on the day of cancellation and the host will not get paid for any additional nights. In this case, the guest refused to leave. He had some colorful language and quite a few magical reasons that he didn’t have to leave. I knew the law and used it to my advantage. A short term rental is technically a hotel and falls under hotel laws. I called the City of Savannah Police Department and explained who I was. I told them that I had a guest in a licensed short term rental who was refusing to leave. Two deputies were there within 30 minutes and removed the guest for me. I had a front row seat to some drama and learned a few new words that day, but the guest was removed with no damage to the home. The best thing that I did that day was let the officers do their job and they came through for me beautifully. I showed them all paperwork and explained the situation and they took it from there. Was it fun? Absolutely not. Did I get a great story out of it? Unequivocally yes.

These situations weren’t fun, but keep in mind that I have successfully hosted thousands of guests in these homes with great success. Like the review system that we all despise, most guests are great and you’ll never hear about them. It’s only the crazy ones that make for great stories. Short term and medium term rentals have been a huge part of my portfolio growth and I have no intention of stopping my work in this space, despite these situations. Real estate is a business and bad things are going to happen when you are going big. Put your head down and get through them. Know that people like me will be here to support you on platforms like Bigger Pockets whenever you do hit an issue like these.

That's awesome!!! Same here!

I posted an article under general property management yesterday about using virtual assistants. I am a property manager and short term rental investor in Savannah, GA. I will repost the article here if you are interested.

I received a message from a fellow BP member. She is a virtual assistant looking for co-hosting work. I'm not hiring now, but would any of you be needing help? Please reach out to Ibienne if you do. It sounds like she has a good bit of experience with short term rentals.

Here is the article for you on virtual assistants. They have been a game changer for me.

I agree. Take great care of your VA's and they will be very loyal and work hard for you. Great discussion!

Being successful in real estate investing is no easy thing – it's not just about mastering facts; it demands a toll on physical, emotional, and philosophical levels. Amid the chaos of decision-making around buying, selling, renting, or rehabbing, investors often find themselves seeking ways to simplify their operations. While employees can be a valuable asset, they also come with a hefty price tag.

In my journey as a real estate investor, I discovered a game-changer – virtual assistants. These remote workers, scattered across the globe from the Philippines to Egypt, offer diverse skills and language proficiencies. Some business owners have found success hiring assistants from South America, benefiting from similar time zones and language capabilities.

The turning point for me was enrolling in a course on hiring and managing virtual assistants, created by Anna Li. Li began hiring virtual assistants to scale a thriving wholesaling company in Philadelphia. At the time, she was living and working full time in Switzerland. She later leveraged her experience to teach others how to harness the potential of virtual assistants globally.

One crucial lesson I learned was the importance of timing. My initial hire, working from 5 pm to 3 am, was aimed to provide me with more family time. Unfortunately, having a new employee during these hours forced me to also train during family time. I also realized that if I didn’t leave my assistant with enough tasks, they ended up sitting around for hours with nothing to do and no one to ask for help. My next hire worked during business hours, aligning with peak activity times and supporting other team members who were also balancing growing responsibilities.

I have spoken with many entrepreneurs who are opposed to using virtual assistants on many levels. As someone who has hired and worked with many, I’ll tell you that these employment opportunities are great for both sides, just as every business transaction should be. Many of the virtual assistants that I have hired have told me stories about getting yelled at constantly (one worked at Comcast, if you can imagine) and almost all of them have had stories of either not getting paid, or not ever knowing when they would get paid. Like you and me, they want to do a good job and be rewarded for it. They want to take care of their families and better themselves.

Over the years, my virtual assistants have become an integral part of my team, very much like family. Despite skepticism from some entrepreneurs, my experience emphasizes the mutual benefits of these employment opportunities, which every business transaction should be based on. Virtual assistants, like any employee, seek fair treatment, timely payment, and a chance to excel.

As your business expands, consider virtual assistants as an option. Virtual assistants can handle calls, texts, appointment scheduling, and more, contributing to increased efficiency. My advice is to hire thoughtfully, offering a full-time position even if the workload is initially light. Guaranteeing steady pay attracts top candidates, and services like those provided by professionals such as Li can enhance your success.

Consistency is key – create a work environment that you would want to show up to every day. Virtual assistants can be a valuable asset, streamlining your real estate investments and contributing to the growth of your business.

Please join us for speed networking! 100% free and everyone welcome! Come meet and network with other real estate investors in Savannah.

Hello, we have a meetup next week! Please search Cashflow Savannah Meetup on Facebook and you'll see details. I should probably post it to this web site now that I think about it....

Many factors go into the decision on which house to buy, and I’m not referring to number of bedrooms. Read below for my top factors in choosing where to place a medium term rental.

1. Find a location where medium term rental guests need to stay. Homes near hospitals, industry and universities do very well in this space.
2. The neighborhood is as important as the house itself. Photos are by far the most important aspect of attracting guests to your medium term rental. However, if your house is surrounded by boarded up houses and old cars in the lawn, your medium term rental will definitely suffer. Don’t even run numbers on a property until you “walk” it on Google.
3. Safety is in the eye of your guest. You might have wonderful memories of grandma’s house and know it’s incredibly safe based on fond memories of playing cops and robbers with your friends at night, but guests have their own point of view. Keep in mind that when you are putting a furnished rental out into the world, it needs to be in a location where a single female can check in alone at night and feel safe getting from her car to the front door. Is the home in a neighborhood where you would allow your mother to go alone at night had she never been there? If the answer is yes, you probably have the right street. If you cringe even a little at this thought, you probably need to keep looking.
4. Is there off street parking? I’ve seen many clients and property owners ignore this small detail, but it’s important. Most guests will bring a car, unless you are in a giant metropolis with amazing public transportation. Be aware that this is a big deal to guests. If the weather gets excessively hot or cold, covered parking is even more valuable, especially for men who tend to baby their automobiles. If the property you are looking at doesn’t have off street parking, are there free options nearby? A paid option is rarely desirable to a medium term rental guest unless the location is exceedingly desirable and homes are hard to come by there. Be prepared to solve the parking situation for your guests if the home doesn’t have it.
5. How tight are the neighbors? Neighbors can be your greatest asset and your biggest source of irritation. I own and manage medium term rentals with neighbors who will call us if there is ever an issue and have even helped my guests when they needed it. I also own and manage medium term rentals where the neighbors don’t like the changing guests and call the authorities to complain. In Savannah, GA where I invest, we have a home that has never been rented for less than 30 nights, but one angry neighbor keeps turning us into the city as an illegal short term rental. My team keeps having to explain to a neighbor the definition of a short term rental (29 days or less) and send bookings to the city to prove that we have never operated this home illegally. It’s hard to know much about your neighbors before moving in, but if you can get any information on them before you make an offer I strongly advise you to do so.
6. Is the home in an HOA? If the answer is yes, buyer beware. Never put in an offer on a home in an HOA without reading the documents yourself. These should be available in the MLS, simply ask your agent for them. My clients had a home under contract in a HOA last year and they wanted to have the medium term rental strategy as a backup for the home. I provided them with the documents and we quickly discovered that the minimum rental term in this neighborhood was 6 months. My clients did close on the home, but with all of the information in hand. I know of a condo facility here in Savannah that requires all tenants to be approved by the HOA board before being given a lease. This would never work for a medium term rental. I was the buyer on this transaction and quickly exited.
7. Will you be purchasing a nice home or rehabbing a home up to a high standard? The furnished rental market is incredibly competitive nowadays. Unless you can afford to have the house look nice, don’t do it. This includes landscaping and outdoor space if possible.
8. Use an agent that understands the investment strategy. Pretty agents who like to sell pretty houses don’t necessarily understand the investment strategy that you are employing. I went to a house once needing management and found a beautifully decorated home owned by out of state investors who bought it based on the photos only. What they didn’t realize (and their agent failed to communicate) was that the home was surrounded by Section 8 housing and neighbors were walking through the property multiple times per day. This home struggled as a medium term rental and we had to keep the price below what the owner wanted in order to keep guests inside. Sadly, the owner finally had to make the home into a long term rental. Had the investors used an agent who understood the ins and outs of medium term rentals, they would have avoided a very expensive lesson.

When placed in great neighborhoods, medium term rentals are excellent investments. Investors should always keep these items in mind as they search for their next investment. Please be aware that investing in medium term rentals involves a lot more than running numbers and buying furniture.

@Richard Elvin if you decide to purchase an STR in the outskirts, I have a 3 minute YouTube video I can send to you. It's a quick and easy way to know if the property is located outside the city limits. I had posted it here originally, but BP doesn't allow outside links so it was removed. I think I can send it to you in a private message, though. Just please let me know if you want it.

 Savannah has had these regulations for decades. Tourism is a huge part of the economy here. These are not new rules, they are just confusing. The market here is solid and growing every year.