House hacking & Medium term rental

[Joseph Mulero]

Hello all,

I am currently house hacking a 4 plex and have been attracted to the medium term rental model. I am a blue collar worker and Dad of 1.  I am saving about 3k a month and will have 45k by end of year.  Slow paced but I'm trying.    I have a 6 month lease and would like to take the jump and test the waters with the medium term rental.  what I was thinking I can do is move my family into the empty unit after the lease is up and attempt to furnish the unit I live in currently ... Rather than spending all the money to furnish the unit for it not to be successful... and have to sell or put all the furniture in storage and create another expense. 

I am very very new to all of this and am seeking advice on what you all would do.  Would you stay in current unit get a credit card and furnish the other unit?  any how, thank you all in advanced for your advise.  

[Bonnie Low]

Hi, Joseph. You're off to a great start between your 4-plex and what you've already saved. It's very impressive. Be wary taking advice on these forums from people who are not experienced in the niche you're trying to break into. I see people recommending things like buy cheap furniture or list it before it's furnished. Both are terrible advice for MTRs as this space is becoming hyper competitive in most markets and the bar has been raised significantly by STR owners pivoting to the MTR space. If you're going to do it, do it right. What market research have you done so far to test the waters for MTR demand? If you haven't done so already, look at Furnished Finder or search Airbnb for 30+ day stays to see how much competition there is in your area and what the competition's properties look like. This will give you a good idea of the supply and demand as well as the standards in your area. Also look to see how many are single family homes vs. multi-family. Multi-family can work out but if you're marketing to travel medical professionals, many of whom work nights and sleep days, you'd need to be able to provide a relatively quiet space and that can be hard to achieve in multi-family properties. Medical professionals are just one corner of the market, though. Make sure you have a good idea of who is traveling to your area and why and what their typical budget is. If you haven't already, I recommend you read 30 Day Stay to get a good intro to midterm rentals. Good luck to you!

[Jeremy Jareckyj]

I think furnishing the unit you are in (getting it all nice and tidy as well) in the mean time and then transferring over to the vacant unit once it is up is a great idea. 

I would even start marketing the MTR a month or 2 before you have to move that way when you move maybe youll have a MTR tenant coming in. 

[Wale Lawal]

@Joseph Mulero

To boost your rent plan and make more money in the medium-length rent market, think about these steps: slowly add furniture to the new place while you stay in your current home, pick cheap furniture, use a credit card with good terms, look into loan options like personal loans or home equity credit lines, try out the market by listing the place with few furniture pieces, aim for easy-to-change furniture for flexibility, and talk to pros like real estate agents or home decorators. By trying out the market and being able to change things, you can make your rent plan better and earn more in the medium-length rent market.

Good luck!

[Bonnie Low]

Hi, Joseph. You're off to a great start between your 4-plex and what you've already saved. It's very impressive. Be wary taking advice on these forums from people who are not experienced in the niche you're trying to break into. I see people recommending things like buy cheap furniture or list it before it's furnished. Both are terrible advice for MTRs as this space is becoming hyper competitive in most markets and the bar has been raised significantly by STR owners pivoting to the MTR space. If you're going to do it, do it right. What market research have you done so far to test the waters for MTR demand? If you haven't done so already, look at Furnished Finder or search Airbnb for 30+ day stays to see how much competition there is in your area and what the competition's properties look like. This will give you a good idea of the supply and demand as well as the standards in your area. Also look to see how many are single family homes vs. multi-family. Multi-family can work out but if you're marketing to travel medical professionals, many of whom work nights and sleep days, you'd need to be able to provide a relatively quiet space and that can be hard to achieve in multi-family properties. Medical professionals are just one corner of the market, though. Make sure you have a good idea of who is traveling to your area and why and what their typical budget is. If you haven't already, I recommend you read 30 Day Stay to get a good intro to midterm rentals. Good luck to you!

[Allen Duan]

Wouldn't you have to furnish the unit you're moving into anyway? I'm not following. It's easy to furnish a MTR with little to no cash out of pocket if you can qualify for zero percent financing credit cards. Amazon, IKEA, and other furniture stores offer these.

If the worst case scenario is you have to convert back to LTR and sell the furniture, take the leap! The more important question for you is have you don't research on the MTR demand for your property and market.