Why Midterm Rentals Are the Sweet Spot Right Now

Question

I’ve noticed more investors quietly moving into midterm rentals (30–90 days) lately.

Why? STRs are more regulated, LTRs are predictable but slow, and MTRs hit the sweet spot:

• -Steady cash flow without daily turnover
• -Professional tenants (corporates, nurses, relocations)
• -Flexibility for scaling

That said, it only works if you:

• -Know your tenant type
• -Furnish for function, not style
• -Price monthly, not nightly

For those running MTRs: are you seeing the same benefits? What’s been your biggest challenge?

Jaron Walling · Answer

@Jay Hinrichs Yeah we have no experience with STR or MTR other than vacationing in them! Indy has a blossoming health care industry and a $5B hospital going up in downtown, but it's two years from being finished.

At $8 per square foot (hunting deals) I'm looking at $8500 to furnish the unit. I'd probably replace a fence and add a parking spot in the backyard which would be another $5k. That's about $14k invested to gain $700 per month in additional CF over a LTR. It doesn't seem worth it given the responses above.

Jaron Walling · Answer

@Nick Copland We might be in a similar situation in the spring.

What is a realistic furnishing budget for a 1100 sqft, 2-bed, 1-bath, single family, MTR? As a LTR we could get get $1400 per month. As MTR would be $1800-2000 per month. I'm trying to justify the jump into a new strategy for us. It's next to a park and 10mins from downtown.

Some investors do both STR and MTR strategies at the same time, but that seems like a lot of work. Thoughts?

Kenneth Garrett · Answer

@Jaron Walling

The Cost to furnish a unit is somewhere between $10-$12 a square foot.  Of course this can vary depending on your area.

I use the hybrid method of MTR and STR.

If LTR rents are $1400 and MTR is $1800-$2000 that is not much of a better spread.  MTR rents should be 1.5-2.0 of LTR.  You should be at $2100-$2800.  The time of year can make a difference.

I think if you look at competition there are definitely wide spread comps.  I tend to stick to higher rents even if it’s vacant 30-60 days at a time.  I use furnished Finder to use comps as well as Airbnb.

At the end of the day I can match 6 months of MTR to LTR for a year.  Even with vacancy I’m definitely ahead of the game.

Steven Destine · Answer

I just converted my Denver loft to MTR and you're spot on about the reduced operational burden compared to STR. No more cleaning every 3 days, less guest communication at 11pm, way less platform dependency. The cash flow is lower than peak STR months but way more predictable, which matters when you're trying to scale or just not burn out.

The challenge I'm seeing is tenant sourcing. Corporate housing and travel nurses sound great in theory, but actually filling consistent 30-90 day slots without gaps takes more work than people think. Furnished Finder helps but it's not magic - and I've experienced a TON of fake/spam respondents there. I'm curious how you're handling the gap periods between tenants since that's where MTR profitability can fall apart quickly.

Also finding that furnishing for function is harder than it sounds. What looks "professional" to a corporate relocator vs a travel nurse vs a digital nomad is pretty different, and you can't be everything to everyone without the place feeling generic. How are you deciding who your primary tenant type is before you furnish?

Why Midterm Rentals Are the Sweet Spot Right Now

Most Popular Reply