All Forum Posts by: Allen Duan

Hi Keith! Start with the basics, list on all the sites travel nurses use to find housing. In Los Angeles, where we manage MTRs, Airbnb and Furnished Finder have been our top booking sources. Facebook groups have also worked well for us.

Some hospitals help their travel nurses with sourcing housing, some don't. So reaching out directly to hospitals may or may not be a useful strategy. There are travel nurse agencies like Aya Healthcare who provide housing for their nurses, but many nurses in my experience are looking for their own housing on the listing sites and Facebook.

On the property side of things, like Eliott said, you need a space that is attractive to nurses. Distance from hospitals, property size (studios and 1 bedrooms probably do best), amenities like black out curtains and other comforts of home.

Last thing I'll say is don't target just one MTR tenant type. Any property should be set up to market to as many tenant types as possible. The same properties nurses like should also attract other individuals or couples traveling for other reasons. Don't limit yourself =)

Quote from @Kyle Moffat:

Quote from @Allen Duan:

I can share what we do. We come from a background managing short term rentals, rather than long term.

We do a smaller refundable damage deposit of $500. Mid term stays are much shorter than long term so there should be less opportunity for damage. Of course, good screening will also help prevent bookings that are likely to cause damage.

We've never done application fees, but we also don't do credit and background checks. I think MTR tenants could be ok with this and it really depends on your business and how you plan to mitigate risk.

We collect rent through our property management system Hostfully. Again, this is a coming from the perspective of treating MTRs more like a STR rather than a LTR.

Hi Allen! I am in the exact same boat. STR owner and do a fair bit of MTR sprinkled in when I get inquiries. We also mirror the $500 refundable DD but are trying to figure out a cleaner way to handle it. Are you doing it via CC like your STR guests? If so, how do you secure the authorization on their card past 30 days?

 We're actually charging them the deposit along with their rent and we refund it after check out. We're transitioning to a different model with Waivo now, where the guests pay a small fee for $1500 of coverage for damages. 

@Alon A. Apologies for the late response. Yes, additional expenses for MTRs include utilities, wifi, landscaping, consumable supplies you provide for your tenants, additional insurance needed for a furnished home, and if you are hiring anyone to help with the property if you aren't self managing. The last one can be as simple as runners who are local and can help with simple errands to full service property managers.

Hi Alex! I own a MTR management business with 25 MTRs in Los Angeles. I would target 1 bedroom units and/or 3 bedroom and larger. Could be SFHs or small multi family. Over the last 4 years, 2 bedrooms have performed the worse than the 1 bedroom or larger homes. I believe it's because individual travelers will choose the 1 bedroom and families prefer 3 or more bedrooms. 

The right property pretty much anywhere in LA can work well as a MTR. You need to identify what kind of tenant the specific property will appeal to and make sure it makes sense for the location. 

Happy to be a resource or participate in the webinar if that's something that will help your audience. My company manages 27 MTRs, mostly in Los Angeles. 

Furnished Finder is a lead generator. Like any business, you'll have a certain percentage conversion rate for your leads. We get lots of bookings from FF in Los Angeles over 25 properties, but the response rate is low. We see 5-10 new leads every day that we review and decide if we have something that meets their needs.

Same as Jamie. We're not in the program, I wasn't even aware of it, but we work with them all the time and have relationships with some of their reps. I'd also like to know more if it's worthwhile to be a preferred partner.

Our "nice and affordable" strategy was a mix of IKEA, Amazon, and Target. IKEA and Amazon have 0% financing cards which are super helpful. You can make interest free payments from 6-12 months depending on how much you spend.

I'm happy to be a resource as well. I own a MTR management company in Los Angeles, currently managing 27 properties. What specific questions do you have? First thing I'd do is check comps to get an idea of the demand and rates you can charge for your condo as a MTR.

Quote from @Heather Loyal:

Quote from @Allen Duan:

This sounds very normal for a MTR stay. Just deduct it from the deposit and move on. I don't think that's nit picky at all. No reason for you to eat the cost.

Do you use an inventory software?  And is there verbiage in your contract about current replacement costs?  I bought most of my MTR material Black Friday 2022 and today's price is higher, of course.

We have checklists set up in Breezeway. No item costs detailed ahead of time, we just provide receipts for replacement items if needed. It doesn’t matter what you paid for the items, it’s the replacement cost that you would use.