A question I get asked often what makes a good mid-term rental market and how did I choose one to get started in.
The short answer to that is I didn’t! When I first got started with mid-term rentals, I simply turned long term rentals I already had into mid-term rentals. The only research I did was whether there were hospitals close by because my only goal at the time was to attract traveling nurses. Now I realize there’s a whole world out there of different types of renters needing mid-term rental housing, not just nurses.
What makes a good mid-term rental market?
So what makes for a good mid-term rental market? Well it’s any market where there’s a need for fully furnished apartments with all utilities included – especially TV and internet, and most mid-term renters prefer to have access to laundry facilities. A mid-term rental offers leases anywhere from one to eleven months at a time.
Who needs mid-term rentals?
So when determining if a market would be good for mid-term rentals, it’s not so much what makes the market good, but if there are companies in the area that utilize traveling professionals. The employers are what attract mid-term renters, not the area surrounding them – although a nice area can’t hurt.
For example, construction companies often use traveling contractors, factories and plants (like my local nuclear plant) often bring in “big wigs” from corporate to check on various locations for weeks or months at a time.
You’ll also find needs for mid-term housing from traveling project managers in the manufacturing or construction fields, contract workers on assignments in the IT or tech fields, military and government officials, and believe it or not, film crews are a large pool of potential mid-term renters!
And like I mentioned above, traveling nurses make up a huge percentage of the traveling professionals needing housing, especially post-pandemic. But they aren’t the only ones in the medical field that need housing… you also have medical researchers, interns, doctors, and patients and their families coming to hospitals for various treatments. With that being said, a good mid-term rental market is one that has access to at least one hospital. “Has access” is a broad term, but from my experience and research, hospitals should be within a 20-30 minute drive to be considered accessible for renters.
What size apartments are good for mid-term rentals?
Everything from small studio apartments to large 4 bedroom 2 bathroom homes make for good mid-term rentals. While you can imagine that plenty of traveling professionals move around solo, there are just as many traveling with their families in tow and therefore need larger accommodations. And there’s always the option of renting out larger homes “by the room” to single travelers if your large unit has some vacancy!
A very important factor I’ve found is that the unit, or at least the building, has laundry facilities. While short term renters don’t typically do laundry during their short stay, mid-term renters will do laundry multiple times during their stay and having to lug their laundry to and from a laundromat is not ideal and they’ll likely choose another apartment with washer and dryer access over yours.
Lastly, in order to determine if an area is good for mid-term rentals, do some research and see if other landlords are doing it. A great source of furnished apartment listings is FurnishedFinder.com – check it out and see if there are any listings in the area you’re considering. You can also go on the traditional apartment listing sites like Zillow and Apartments.com and read through descriptions and thumb through photos to see if landlords are offering furnished units and medium term leases.
It’s definitely a commitment to offer mid-term rentals and a hefty upfront cost to furnish the units but with the increase in the amount of rent you can charge, the income should outweigh the risks.
