Midterm rental tenants

[Braeden Warg]

is it common for midterm tenants to request to see the inside of the property before they book it? some say they dont want to fill out the screening until they view the inside? ive never midterm rented but id assume its the same as short term. On the other hand does it affect the current tenants comfort to the property potentionally resulting in a lower review?

[Taylor Dasch]

Good question — I've been digging into this myself as I spin up a mid-term near the hospital district in my market (Temple, TX — lots of traveling nurses and relocating physicians).

From what I've gathered talking to operators who've been doing it longer than me: it's more common in MTR than STR, but it's still not the norm. The reason is the guest profile. Mid-term tenants are often traveling nurses, corporate relocations, insurance displacement, or people moving for a job — so they're treating it closer to a lease than a vacation. They're going to live there for 30 to 90+ days, and they want to know it's not a disaster before they commit. That's a reasonable ask.

That said, I'd push back on letting them tour before screening. Flip the order. Make them fill out the screening first (or at minimum submit ID and proof of employment/assignment letter), and then offer a video walkthrough or a FaceTime tour. A real in-person showing with a current tenant inside is where you run into exactly the problem you're describing — the current tenant didn't sign up to have strangers walking through their space, and that absolutely shows up in reviews. I'd protect that at all costs, im sure a bad review can really mess with your chances on furnished finder or airbnb.