Anyone Here Converting Their Long-Term Rentals into Midterm Rentals?

Question

I’m seeing more landlords test the midterm model this year — especially those tired of stagnant rents or problem tenants.

If you’ve converted an LTR into an MTR, I’d love to hear your results.

Specifically:

-How big was the jump in monthly revenue?

-Did tenant quality improve?

-Did turnover increase or actually decrease?

-Any unexpected challenges (furniture, wear/tear, cleaning schedules)?

-Would you do it again?

It’s always helpful to hear firsthand experiences, especially from landlords who made the switch.

Shan Randall · Answer

We bought a townhome and immediately converted it into a mid-term rental.  We immediately got a great tenant for 6 months (traveling nurse with her husband who works in IT).  Rent was 50% higher.  After 6 months, it looks like a one-off as there has been zero inquiries for furnished rentals outside of our first one. We are converting back to LTR.  Demand seems really soft. We are located in Portland, OR metro area in a Class A/B neighborhood, higher end with nice amenities (pool, fitness center, trails, dog parks, great schools).  The demand seems to be centered on rooms/smaller units with much lower rent. I like the higher rents, but honestly it's more work and more stress.  We did the short term game for a couple of months and had good success and good reviews but much more work.

Give me a LTR all day long if it covers the expenses and build on it. That's my current take.

Nick Copland · Answer

Thanks for sharing this — super helpful perspective. It really shows how hyper-local MTR demand can be. That 50% bump is great, but I get why the lack of follow-up inquiries makes the model tough, especially in a higher-end area where the renter pool is smaller.

Your experience is a good reminder that not every market supports consistent MTR occupancy, and sometimes the stability of LTR just makes more sense. Appreciate the honest breakdown!

Colleen F. · Answer

@Nick Copland  mid-term was good in the areas I was in but one was a room.  In general for rooms, higher quality tenant, less hassle. That one was heavily dependent on one hospital which has potential issues if they stop using traveling health care but it was steady.  The thing is I never would have bought that MA property to rent. My son lives there too so it is a totally different situation.    The other is a high demand area in RI. It was a good fit but STR, LTR, MTR really depend on where you are in town. I have separate long term units there and considered converting at least one to mid-term but without onsite laundry it wouldn't work and that isn't possible. The long terms and mid-term are like apples and oranges. Studio midterms would be a great fit for that area but there is a huge STR market in summer so people go that direction instead. I do feel like the summer housing for workers is much needed and would be a good midterm niche.

Nick Copland · Answer

Totally agree — MTR demand is super location-specific. Rooms can work great with strong employer demand, but it’s fragile if that one source slows down. And yeah, without onsite laundry, converting to MTR gets tough. The summer worker housing niche you mentioned is a solid opportunity though. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Colleen F. · Answer

@Nick Copland  I do hear of people converting back to long term depending on the area because of demand slow down particularly in health care.  I have seen fewer inquiries and plan to stop midterm because of life circumstances not so much market.

Nick Copland · Answer

Thanks for sharing that perspective. I’ve also noticed some slowdown in certain markets, especially where healthcare demand isn’t as strong as last year. Totally fair that personal circumstances play a role too—sometimes it’s not even the numbers, it’s just bandwidth and timing.

Curious though, before you decided to step back, did you feel like the midterm model was worth trying, or do you think LTR was ultimately a better fit for your area overall?