Several years ago I owned multiple long-term rentals in Orlando. Today I run my own portfolio and co-host short-term rentals for other owners, mostly as a mid-term/short-term hybrid. People sometimes talk about LTR and STR as two different businesses. In my experience, most of what makes a furnished rental work, I learned as a landlord first.

A few lessons that carried over:

1. Vacancy is the expense nobody budgets for honestly. With my long-term rentals, turnover costs varied a lot depending on the property and the tenant it was aimed at. A single turnover ran anywhere from about 35% to 100% of a month's rent. That's a big reason my calendars are set for 30+ day stays with 30-60 day minimums. Short stays only fill gaps of a few days to two weeks. Monthly guests carry the occupancy, and nightly guests fill the holes.

2. The tenant you keep beats the tenant you find. As a landlord, a good renewal was usually worth more than a small rent bump. The same is true in mid-term. After each stay I leave a 60-day window open so the guest can extend. One construction crew extended four times and stayed 90+ days. That's a lease renewal by another name.

3. Price against the market, not against your mortgage. One of my long-term rentals was a property I bought and then sold on a lease option. Because of the option, the monthly payment was slightly above market rent. When that tenant had to be evicted, I couldn't get the same rate on a regular lease. Rent went back to market, and I was fortunate to break even. Lesson learned: a rent that only works because of a special arrangement isn't your real rent. Now I use PriceLabs, and I set monthly rates between the long-term rent (my floor) and what the unit could gross nightly (my ceiling).

4. Know which costs are yours and which are the guest's. Landlording taught me to keep those lines clear. On my listings, cleaning fees are a pass-through, not a profit line, so my revenue numbers stay honest.

Why I moved on: For me, mid-term and short-term turned out to be easier to manage, and they made more money. That's after covering the extra overhead that comes with furnished units: cleaning, maintenance, utilities, furnishings, internet and some empty days between stays. It only works where there's real demand nearby, so check that before you convert anything.

To be fair to long-term rentals: I think of an LTR kind of like a mutual fund. The returns aren't high, but they're consistent, and the longer you hold it, the better it gets. If I bought in an area that made sense but limited STR and MTR enough to be a major challenge, I'd stay long-term for the cash flow and appreciation, and use that equity down the road.

For landlords who've been at it a while: what's one habit from long-term renting you'd keep no matter what strategy you moved to? And if you've gone the other way, from STR or MTR back to LTR, what made you switch?