All Forum Posts by: Heather Loyal

Quote from @Alex Suarez:

Hey Heather,

We’ve had a one-year lease come up for our mid-term rental in St. Pete.

Furniture Wear: Florida law (83.49) says you can’t deduct for normal wear (like faded upholstery). Do a walk-through with photos and a signed move-in inventory to track conditions. Deduct only for major damage (e.g., broken chairs).

Deposits: For a one-year lease, we charge one month’s rent as a security deposit ($2,000 ish). Pets are a hard no for us, faster furniture damage, but if you allow them I’d add an additional deposit.

Early Termination: We ask for 60 days’ notice and charge a one-month rent penalty.

Other Tips:

• Clear lease: rent, utilities (we include them), no subletting, pet rules.

• Screen tenants: 3x rent income, ask why they want a year-long furnished stay.

Hope some of that helps. Is your mid term in Saint Pete as well? I’ll send you a connect! Would be nice to know other investors in the area. 

Thanks Alex.  

Anyone ever accepted a one year lease on your midterm rental? If so, how did you work wear and tear on furniture and household goods, insurance, deposits, and language regarding termination of agreement before agreed-upon end date?. Any insight is greatly appreciated.  And any other things to think about are appreciated

Quote from @Waylon Bruce Moore:

We normally have a system to furnish mid-term rentals but recently acquired a property that we were going to do LTR and now have decided to do MTR. What is a fast way to furnish 3 beds, end tables, two couches, linens, 2 coffee tables quickly. Does anyone have a list from ikea or wayfair or some go to place?

Waylon, if you're still looking to source furniture and you are local to your rental, always check the discount retailers like Ross, TJ Max, Marshalls, At Home, Tuesday Morning, and HomeGoods.  They are great resources for end tables, console tables, small shelving units, benches, dining chairs, side seating, ottomans, pillows, bedding, lamps, artwork, and of course household goods and accessories at decent rates and bonus, the furniture is pre-built so your not spending time building the furniture.  

I have a direct message on FF from a tenative guest from out of the U.S. I’ve never had one before so I’m looking for advice. Wondering how others are handling them. How would a background check work or ID verification? Not sure if they speak english because their response was written in spanish. I use Keycheck for background and SuperHog(Truvi) for ID verification & damage protection.

Thank you Lauren :-) I'll grab those products for sure!

Morning MTR Community. Linens....who else has trouble with keeping your white linens & bath towels long term? I feel like I have to toss 10% of my white linens and towels after each guest. My cleaners and laundry service seem to not be able to get stains out. I have tried spraying with stain remover, but most times it does nothing. Has anyone overcome this challenge? I am considering supplying my units with darker color bath towels to avoid the need to toss the stained ones. Or are most of you overlooking this issue and reusing them anyway? Any input is appreciated.

Hi Group.  I'm looking for property management and potentially booking management for my tri-plex mid-terms in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Any guidance is greatly appreciated.  

@Timothy B. Dunn I think this is a great topic!  I'm actually going to post a similar question about stain removal & replacement :-).

Anyway, my cleaners do run a load of laundry during the turnover cleaning.  They are always there long enough that one load can be accomplished.  Although, they are only washing the duvet covers, throw blankets, and kitchen towels.  I take the bed sheets and bath towels to a laundry service that has a one-day turnaround.  With that said, each unit has three sets of bed sheets.  The cleaners are able to make the beds right before they leave and the extra set stays in the unit for guests.  This strategy also allows for ordering replacement sheets in case they are stained.  Hope this helps.  

I’d be more along the lines of $10K-$12K. 
Good mattresses and a good couch is expensive. You’ll need a dining set that will accommodate your max guest occupancy. Multiple sets of sheets, multiple sets of bath towels, at least (4) pillows per bed, kitchenware, accessories, rugs, artwork and outdoor furniture. It adds up in a hurry! 

Our first MTR experience was a 4-plex, feet-to-the-fire style.  We use one of the units for ourselves and rent the other (3) for 30+ day stays.  We've been up and running since around October last year.  It is really important for us to keep the units booked to cover the monthly overhead (higher monthly rates to cover the 4th unit not being rented).  Be sure you keep this in mind.  I often wonder if it would have been better to have started with a single family as our first, to learn the ropes, and then graduated to the 4-plex model.  It is a lot to juggle.  We have a normal REI business with this 4-plex on the side and it takes some juggling.  As a MTR newbie, I'm learning how important it is to constantly be updating your listings and keeping track of which platform your guest comes from, all the while mixing in STR stays to cover the gaps between the mid-term guests.