All Forum Posts by: Miguel Del Mazo

Knowing more about the area, it sounds like you'll have an ideal avatar of wealthy, young and trendy professionals that aren't ready for or looking for a home to own. This demographic is projected to keep increasing over time, so I would do whatever you can to hold onto this property (ie cash flow well).

Furnishing 700 sqft with PB or West Elm (you and my wife would get along great, Bonnie) won't be price-prohibitive and well worth the cost. After assembling a lot of bed frames, I prefer the Zinus brand, and I would recommend contract grade furniture.

Don't forget to sign up for pest control and both a renter's and landlord policy on your insurance.

There are a lot of options with a 6 unit building, and I agree without more details that it will be hard to offer any specific advice. 

Using Rentometer or BP rent estimator to get an idea of the LTR rent makes a lot of sense. I'd try to fill at least a few spots to get some income coming in, and then do a rolling conversion to MTR as you have the cash to outfit a unit with everything an MTR needs. Most folks overestimate the cost to prepare a space for MTR, but you'll figure out cost-savings and improvements with every iteration. Doing 6 at once will deny yourself that improved learning curve. I don't know much about STR, so I'll hold off on any advice there.

If you do MTR, really think about who you are trying to serve. Who would come through the area as a singlet and want to stay at your place? Focus on giving them a great experience. You don't have to be all things to all avatars... Just be the best for those who would want to come to your space. 

Om rrandom bit of advice: you might be able to get by with 1 high-speed internet account if you use aseries of good Wi-Fi extenders, like Eero. 

So, it's the season of Advent with Christmas around the corner. Hopefully all of your residents are feeling merry.

While Santa does need to give 24 hours notice before going down a chimney into a resident's space, does he have any plans to leave a present at your properties?

Even though we try to get to know our residents during their stay, it is probably impossible to truly personalize a gift for each of them. However, everyone's gotta eat, so we'll be giving restaurant gift cards as a "thank you".

Do y'all have any plans? (Maybe something bette rthan a gift card that i can steal...err...borrow?)

I agree there is some risk with the PadSplit model. Zoning, insurance and the Fire Marshall are areas of MTR where it is much better to ask permission than forgiveness.

With that said, PadSplit should have someone who can guide you in what is allowed in the area if they serve it. Don't take their unofficial advice as gospel, so do appropriate due diligence prior to making changes to the property.

Yes, but that's our whole business model, so it's not terribly surprising to us. :)

You're in the right forum to learn about MTRs. While a lot of STRs, and properties in general, can work as an MTR, really nailing down who you'd like to serve can absolutely help guide your purchase decision on your next property. 

Best of luck!

Quote from @Itay Heled:

Thanks so much for the feedback

are there any other insurance placement companies other than ALE ?

 We have been fortunate to host families for Alacrity and United Corporate Housing. Both companies have been wonderful to work with, and the families were also great.

Always make sure to reach out to the company before placing new residents as they have a high liklihood of needing to extend. That's a good policy across the board, actually.

It's worth remembering that insurance companies, construction companies and nursing staffing agencies do not find places for their folks to stay. People that work for those companies do. :)

While I am being a bit snarky, there is some seriousness in my comment. If you want to fill your property with residents sourced from the companies above, imagine being the overworked, relatively low-level employee tasked with finding the appropriate housing ASAP. They will likely first check their own company's database (that's why you register at ALE Solutions), then they will move on to all of the usual platforms you (and they) have heard of.

Just like with all MTR,  you want to be on AirBnB and Furnishedfinder.com (and Vrbo or FB Marketplace, if you have success there). What is different is *how* you advertise.

When appealing to a business to business lead, you are appealing to a third party who will probably never see the inside of your unit, so all the usual real estate puffery is wasted. Present the pertinent property details efficiently (bullet points, not paragraphs), highlight amenities (in-suite washer and dryer or reserved parking), and include your company name ("professionally managed by..."). Respect their time by giving them the information they need to include or exclude your listing quickly, and then earn their respect by answering all correspondence quickly.

Making life easier for the frazzled person trying to do their job is its own reward. Oh, and that person is probably authorizing checks from a business account with much deeper pockets than any traveling medical professional. That is a reward too. :)

Quote from @Colleen F.:

@Vivian Yip  We just use a very generous utility cap.  It is really targeted at gross overuse.

 Agreed. We have a clause that serves two purposes: 1. To have something to waive at folks who grossly overuse and 2. To dissuade folks from crypto mining or growing, uh, plants.

It basically says that if the electric bill is twice what the same month's bill from last year was, the overage will be charged as a fine.

Your post brings up a lot of interesting points/questions about MTRs.

1. Can you mix and match tenants to fill a larger space? Yes, but. Its certainly allowable on FF, but I'd make it crystal clear in your advertising that you are filling rooms in the unit rather than listing the whole space once you've filled a room (or 2 or 3). You will likely be annoyed if you get a request for 4 rooms when you have just filled a single room, so be prepared for that.

2. How does one handle requests for housing on FF that are way below your target rent? Reach out to them. We've gotten great residents who we met despite their original search on FF being way below market. You may even be able to fill additional rooms if the potential resident knows others who are traveling to your area.

3. When renting by the room, what amenities are most important? Our rent-by-the room residents appreciate a lockable bedroom door, a private bathroom, sufficient on-site parking, a large refrigerator and a large washer and dryer (in order of most to least important). You may also want to get the fastest internet possible and to set up individual networks by the room.

4. Because FF is not a booking platform, make sure you follow all applicable fair housing laws when talking to potential residents.

5. Renting by the room makes it a lot, lot harder to allow pets. This can dramatically decrease your applicant pool and revenue.

Can you do a rent by the room strategy of FF? Absolutely, but just like with everything in MTR, you need to put a little more thought into it than you would with another rental strategy. :)

In my state, you must be a licensed real estate agent to property manage. For many, the hassle isn't worth it, but with a properly written lease, an MTR operator can have sub-leasing rights that allow for MTR arbitrage. Different states are, uh, different :)