Increase Rental Income on a Basic Duplex

[Thomas Shepard]

Hello all. I have a duplex that recently was renovated and located in a small town, Algood TN. Each unit is 2br 1ba and we had one unit rented at $950/mo on 12 month lease. We are considering strategies to maximize the cashflow from a similar 12 month lease. Mid-term lease sounds valuable but hesitant to use capital and effort to furnish it when we really don't know how well that will perform. What suggestions do you guys have for this?

[Thomas Shepard]

Thank you @Nicole Heasley Beitenman and @Bonnie Low!@Bonnie Low

Bonnie, your response is perfect. Here's what I'm getting in my area - subject city is *Cookeville. This does not have a crazy amount of demand, but still seems okay.

Area | Map Searches & Housing Requests | Map & Property Listing Page Views
-----------|---------------------------------|-----------------------------------
Nashville | 613,798 | 1,876,104
Knoxville | 182,326 | 447,325
Crossville | 4,930 | 11,724
*Cookeville | 11,662 | 26,486

Regarding Level 1 Trauma centers, most go out to Vanderbilt in Nashville or to UT Medical in Knoxville. We do have a number of hospitals nearby in Cookeville and Livingston - both really close to the property.

Good call on the extended stay hotels. In fact, we have 6 of them in Cookeville - all within 10-15  mins from the property. They include Comfort Inn, Country Inn, Extended Stay Suites, 2x Holiday Inns and Candlewood.

Here's the total view of employers based on my research so far:

- Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities: Some search results mention the high demand for traveling nurse housing in Cookeville, indicating that local hospitals and healthcare providers are a major source of furnished rental needs.
- Manufacturing Companies: The City-Data forum post lists several major manufacturing employers in Cookeville, such as Fleetguard, Ficosa, and Tenneco. These types of industrial employers often require short-term, furnished housing for contract workers.
- Tennessee Technological University: As a large university in Cookeville, TTU likely generates demand for furnished rentals from visiting professors, researchers, and other academic staff.
- Tourism and Hospitality Businesses: Some local forum post mention that Cookeville has a strong tourism and hospitality industry, which could drive demand for furnished short-term rentals and extended stay hotels

I also checked to see what other listings are available and found about 4 comparable listings ranging from $1300-1500/month. This seems compelling if we can furnish them without too much cost!