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Medium-Term Rentals

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Kelly Ward
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1/3 Year in Colorado, 1/3 in STL, 1/3 Travelling

Kelly Ward
Posted Dec 9 2022, 14:28

Hi there, my name's Kelley and I'm new to the BiggerPockets Forum, but I'm hoping for some insight on MTRs!

My husband and I currently manage a rafting company in Colorado between May and September and then take a few months off to travel before returning to STL to spend time with my family. That said, I recently became super intrigued with the idea of purchasing our first home in St Louis and then using it for mid-term rentals (specifically for travel nurses) during the ~6ish months that we're out of state. 

I've been searching through furnished finder to get an idea of MTR rates, and I was surprised to see just how many listings were available throughout the city. I'd love advice on how to stand out amongst so many options! 

What is the average length of stay you're seeing for nurses? 60 or 90 days?

Also curious as to whether anyone has noticed any trends with travel nursing demand increasing/decreasing? 


Thanks everybody!

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Conner Olsen
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  • Real Estate Agent
  • Austin, TX
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Conner Olsen
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Austin, TX
Replied Dec 12 2022, 08:53
Quote from @Kelly Ward:

Hi there, my name's Kelley and I'm new to the BiggerPockets Forum, but I'm hoping for some insight on MTRs!

My husband and I currently manage a rafting company in Colorado between May and September and then take a few months off to travel before returning to STL to spend time with my family. That said, I recently became super intrigued with the idea of purchasing our first home in St Louis and then using it for mid-term rentals (specifically for travel nurses) during the ~6ish months that we're out of state. 

I've been searching through furnished finder to get an idea of MTR rates, and I was surprised to see just how many listings were available throughout the city. I'd love advice on how to stand out amongst so many options! 

What is the average length of stay you're seeing for nurses? 60 or 90 days?

Also curious as to whether anyone has noticed any trends with travel nursing demand increasing/decreasing? 


Thanks everybody!


 I own 2 MTR units and help manage another 4 MTR units. Average length of stay in Austin, TX is 60 days. Rarely do we have traveling nurses. Our best marketing channel is Airbnb even after all the fees. Airbnb is the best way to determine demand for the rentals and the rental rates.

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Ryan Thomson#1 House Hacking Contributor
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Colorado Springs, CO
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Ryan Thomson#1 House Hacking Contributor
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Colorado Springs, CO
Replied Dec 13 2022, 10:18

@Kelly Ward what rafting company?! I want to come raft :) 

MTR will do better than LTR and allow you stay there when you visit home. I like that idea. Nurses usually have 3 month contracts. But putting it on airbnb for only 30+ stays is also a good way to go. 


On furnished finder its pretty easy to be the best as people seem to not take that site as seriously. Also you can message all of the people looking in that area and actively market to it. 

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Allen Duan
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#3 Medium-Term Rentals Contributor
  • Property Manager
  • Los Angeles, CA
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Allen Duan
Pro Member
#3 Medium-Term Rentals Contributor
  • Property Manager
  • Los Angeles, CA
Replied Dec 19 2022, 14:01

Hi Kelly, that's a great idea! 

As Ryan said, it's not hard to stand out on Furnished Finder. Get professional photos for your property. Write a good description. And tailor it to your target demographic. Also, how quickly you respond will help you stand out.

It's definitely worth listing on Airbnb as well. You'll have more competition with other professional hosts who have well crafted listings, but there are many more eyes on Airbnb than Furnished Finder. With our 18 MTRs in Los Angeles, we get almost all our bookings through Airbnb and Furnished Finder. 

Not sure if its the same as STL, but our travel nurse booking range from 1-3 months. I'm not noticing any large trends of changing demand, but there's definitely some seasonality as I'm experiencing now with slower booking this November and December. I'm expecting a wave of new contracts/bookings after the holidays.

Happy to share more about mid term rentals anytime =)

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Easton Hill
  • Phoenix Arizona
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Easton Hill
  • Phoenix Arizona
Replied Dec 19 2022, 14:19

@Kelly Ward

In addition to the great comments above, I recommend that you look at Zillow. You can see who is doing furnished 30+ day rentals and can find clients that way as well! 

Your strategy should be to get your "product"( Your 3-month listing) in front of as many eyeballs as possible, generate as many leads as you need, qualify the leads, then pick the highest-paying, lowest-risk tenant you can find. 

Regardless of the channel that you find this tenant through make sure you sign an airtight lease (remember that any stay over 30 days will trigger "tenant rights" laws in most stays). What you don't want is to have someone pay for 3 months and stay for 6 months! 

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Martha M.
  • New Hampshire
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Martha M.
  • New Hampshire
Replied Jan 6 2023, 10:52
Quote from @Easton Hill:

@Kelly Ward

In addition to the great comments above, I recommend that you look at Zillow. You can see who is doing furnished 30+ day rentals and can find clients that way as well! 

Your strategy should be to get your "product"( Your 3-month listing) in front of as many eyeballs as possible, generate as many leads as you need, qualify the leads, then pick the highest-paying, lowest-risk tenant you can find. 

Regardless of the channel that you find this tenant through make sure you sign an airtight lease (remember that any stay over 30 days will trigger "tenant rights" laws in most stays). What you don't want is to have someone pay for 3 months and stay for 6 months! 

@Easton Hill 

I’m just starting out in this as well.  Any recommendations of where I could find a sample lease that leans toward the type of airtight wording you recommend?  Thanks in advance for any info! 

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Regan Sellers Coté
  • Real Estate Agent
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Regan Sellers Coté
  • Real Estate Agent
Replied Jan 6 2023, 11:20
Quote from @Allen Duan:

Hi Kelly, that's a great idea! 

As Ryan said, it's not hard to stand out on Furnished Finder. Get professional photos for your property. Write a good description. And tailor it to your target demographic. Also, how quickly you respond will help you stand out.

It's definitely worth listing on Airbnb as well. You'll have more competition with other professional hosts who have well crafted listings, but there are many more eyes on Airbnb than Furnished Finder. With our 18 MTRs in Los Angeles, we get almost all our bookings through Airbnb and Furnished Finder. 

Not sure if its the same as STL, but our travel nurse booking range from 1-3 months. I'm not noticing any large trends of changing demand, but there's definitely some seasonality as I'm experiencing now with slower booking this November and December. I'm expecting a wave of new contracts/bookings after the holidays.

Happy to share more about mid term rentals anytime =)


 Professional pictures are a big one! It will really help you market your property and give it an upper hand. A average travel nursing contract duration is about 13 weeks!

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Regan Sellers Coté
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Regan Sellers Coté
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Replied Jan 6 2023, 11:22
Quote from @Martha M.:
Quote from @Easton Hill:

@Kelly Ward

In addition to the great comments above, I recommend that you look at Zillow. You can see who is doing furnished 30+ day rentals and can find clients that way as well! 

Your strategy should be to get your "product"( Your 3-month listing) in front of as many eyeballs as possible, generate as many leads as you need, qualify the leads, then pick the highest-paying, lowest-risk tenant you can find. 

Regardless of the channel that you find this tenant through make sure you sign an airtight lease (remember that any stay over 30 days will trigger "tenant rights" laws in most stays). What you don't want is to have someone pay for 3 months and stay for 6 months! 

@Easton Hill 

I’m just starting out in this as well.  Any recommendations of where I could find a sample lease that leans toward the type of airtight wording you recommend?  Thanks in advance for any info! 


 Bigger Pockets has a rental agreement file that you can utilize! I attached the link below. I hope this helps:)

https://get.biggerpockets.com/...

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Don Konipol
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  • Lender
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Don Konipol
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  • Lender
  • The Woodlands, TX
Replied Jan 6 2023, 14:01
Quote from @Kelly Ward:

Hi there, my name's Kelley and I'm new to the BiggerPockets Forum, but I'm hoping for some insight on MTRs!

My husband and I currently manage a rafting company in Colorado between May and September and then take a few months off to travel before returning to STL to spend time with my family. That said, I recently became super intrigued with the idea of purchasing our first home in St Louis and then using it for mid-term rentals (specifically for travel nurses) during the ~6ish months that we're out of state. 

I've been searching through furnished finder to get an idea of MTR rates, and I was surprised to see just how many listings were available throughout the city. I'd love advice on how to stand out amongst so many options! 

What is the average length of stay you're seeing for nurses? 60 or 90 days?

Also curious as to whether anyone has noticed any trends with travel nursing demand increasing/decreasing? 


Thanks everybody!

You may want to have a market study done for MTR in St Louis.  City markets, unlike vacation markets, are location specific, so just because MTR market is strong in say Houston, because of out of town patients receiving care at the Medical Center, and strong in NYC due to temporary jobs, doesn’t mean that demand is there in St Louis.  You would need to know the IMBALANCE between supply of MTR and demand for MTR in your specific market. 
A study of such can be performed by a number of real estate professionals, or, a study for your city may already exist.  You can start by seeing if any of the major commercial real estate brokers/ property managers have studies already available.  If not you can pay for a study performed by a holder of the CRE designation or the MAI designation.

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Drew C Grossman
  • Investor
  • Jacksonville, FL
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Drew C Grossman
  • Investor
  • Jacksonville, FL
Replied Jan 6 2023, 14:09

I need to get on your travel schedule…! Sounds fun….lol

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Kelly Ward
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Kelly Ward
Replied Jan 8 2023, 09:31

Thank you everybody for the tips!

We'll definitely use both Airbnb and Furnished Finder. We found tenants, and they move in 10 days after closing, wish us luck :)