Several years ago I owned multiple long-term rentals in Orlando. Today I run my own portfolio plus a co-hosting business, and most of the units are set up as a mid-term/short-term hybrid. I moved on from the Orlando long-term rentals because of the metrics. Orlando got so expensive to buy in and make rental-ready that the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. But a lot of how I operate now started with those leases.

What carried over

1. The long-term rent is still my floor. Before I furnish anything or set a rate, I want to know what the unit would rent for unfurnished on a 12-month lease. If a furnished stay can't beat that comfortably after utilities, furnishing, cleaning and empty days, the lease wins. Orlando taught me how hard it is to pin that number down. Market rent there could change from street to street and house to house, so you really have to zero in on the details. A general area number isn't good enough.

2. Screening is still screening. I learned this one the hard way. I ran a background check on a tenant whose background was only "OK." I was a little desperate for the rent, so I approved him anyway. He turned out to be a nightmare, and I ended up having to evict. Now screening on bookings is built into the systems I've set up, so it happens the same way every time. That includes an ID check and a signed agreement on 30+ night stays. Being desperate for the rent is never a reason to approve someone.

3. Turnover is where the money goes. My more stable properties turned over about once a year. My first two duplexes turned over a couple of times a year, and the turnover costs wiped out what little profit I'd made on them. With mid-term I plan around turnover from the start. I keep the 60 days after each stay open so a good guest can extend instead of leaving. One construction crew extended four times and stayed 90+ days. Every extension is a turnover that didn't happen.

What I had to unlearn

Pricing was the big one. A lease sets the rent once a year. Now I use PriceLabs and rates move with demand, and short stays only fill the gaps of a few days to two weeks between monthly guests.

For those of you running long-term rentals now: what's one habit from your landlording that you think would carry over if you ever tried furnished stays, and which one do you think wouldn't?