Utter newbie here - first post.

We own a small, appealing SFH in a desirable area of SE Portland.

We're looking for our first deal - aiming to house hack/BRRRR a larger SFH or duplex - and were planning to Airbnb our current residence.

With Portland's crackdown on licensing short term rentals and Airbnb's very recent cooperation with the city on actually enforcing those rules (de-listing those who are unpermitted/not in compliance), it appears that we will have to go LTR instead of STR with our current house.

That makes for a much dicier situation in terms of attaining positive cashflow on the rental.

So my question is... best resources or advice for how to absolutely max out the upper ceiling of what we can get for this house as a LTR. Furnished? Unfurnished? Which utilities if any to cover/not cover? What adds or amenities can we incorporate now to give ourselves every possible advantage when the house finally hits the rental market?

Thanks in advance - already learning a ton from the forums. Special thanks to those folks discussing the specifics of our tricky PDX market.

@Scott Pennington This isn’t necessarily something you do to add value but more to protect yourself in light of current rental regulations but it’s a good idea to make your first lease less than a year because as soon as your tenant has occupied the property for a year or more, it becomes drastically harder to move them out if you ever have any issues with them. @Mike Nuss is much more well-versed in the Portland rental regs though and can provide more insight.

Why not do furnished short term of over 30 days?

@Caleb Webster great advice - we certainly don't want to get encumbered with that kind of a tenant situation. Appreciate the nod to Mike - this article doesn't necessarily solve my problem but reassures me that many others are dealing with similar issues: 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/5953/41266-5-ways-to-cash-flow-in-appreciation-markets

@Mary M. I hadn't even considered that - thank you. I'm aware that niche exists, but I know next to nothing about it. Are there other platforms like 2nd Address that cater specifically to furnished 30+? Can anyone speak to experiences listing on 2nd Address?

You can use airbnb etc. also try craigslist. I have been living in 30 days + STRs for over a year..... it is a viable choice so look into it! 

@Scott Pennington you're in Portland, so length of lease isn't really that big of an issue. You'll have to pay relocation if you do not offer a renewed lease with "substantially same terms" anyway, so screening is where it's at. I don't have a ton of experience with furnished 30+ day rentals, but I do know vacancy is higher so I would think deep and hard about going that route. You may get more rent, but how much will you lose in vacancy, how much start up $ will it take to furnish and how often will you need to maintain/replace those furnishings? Since you're in a desirable area of SE....I'd suggest setting your screening criteria high. I'd imagine that SFR in your area (assuming desirable SE is like Richmond, Sellwood, Colonial Heights, etc..) are hard to come by so you can probably get a premium for that. Asking a premium price and having high screening standards will help ensure you minimize your downside (poor tenant selection) and maximize your upside (highest rent possible). Since it's SFR you can have the tenant pay all utilities. The garbage must be in your name, but you can then bill that back to the tenant to be paid by the 1st of the following month.

I hope this helps!

@Mike Nuss really appreciate this great, specific advice. I hadn't realized until I looked up new code that any type/duration of lease will require relo $ (with a few exceptions). 

We're on a quiet Sunnyside street literally around corner from great Hawthorne shops, restaurants, bus stop, etc, so we will certainly look to leverage that and do robust screening.

Hey Scott, 

Some great advice already on this thread. Another option to increase cash flow, that definitely comes with more work/risk, would be to rent the house by the room. I am only recommending this because of your location. You would have to manage more tenants but likely see a better return.