All Forum Posts by: Matthew Masoud

which are your favorite websites to list your mid-term rentals on?

What do mid-term renters prefer when it comes to security deposit? I'm leaning towards a smaller non-refundable deposit vs a full month rent that is refundable. I would love to hear what others have experienced with it. 

Secondly, is it common to do a normal application fee for background and credit? My current platform charges $55. Should I keep doing this or is there something better for mid-term stays?

Lastly, what is the preferred method for collecting rent with mid-term stays? I'm currently using Avail.co for my long-term rentals. 

TIA!

 That's awesome! It sounds exactly like what I'm planning to do! Nice to know there are other people doing this, though I am hoping to have a two bedroom apartment for myself, so I can have one room for a home office. I am also intrigued in doing a furnished medium term rental in one of the units, and if it goes well, maybe do all of the units (except the one I'm in) like that.

Is there any property management company specializing in Mid Term rental you would recommend in the Ohio area?

That's a lot of scaling in 2 years - congratulations! Are you doing the rental arbitrage method? Between the 3 cities you mentioned: Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus which do you see performing best for MTRs and who are your target guests?

 I guess those are the pros and cons of incorporating. Mixing personal and business money sounds like a bad idea, I wasn't going to, but now that I know mixing funds can open me up to liability, that's another good reason to incorporate and keep funds separate. I should incorporate right away (or when I'm getting close to buying my first building), for a few reasons:
- liability protection
- establish the business (and its creditworthiness)
- looks professional, as it should be if I'm going to own a quadplex, and then maybe more buildings later (presumably all buildings can be under the same corporate name)

As for financing, hopefully by the time I need to apply for it, I will have established a good credit reputation and have solid financial statement to qualify for financing or even a business credit card. For my first purchase, I want to buy with cash and be debt free, then I'll see about borrowing to buy another building. I'd rather not personally guarantee anything, but I've heard of that being done.

There are a couple great podcast episodes on asset protection, the main show ep. 595, and BP Rookie ep. 105 & 106, that give a ton of great information on what LLC's can and can't do for you.

For me, I personally use an umbrella policy for my protection but did setup an LLC immediately more so for financing later on down the road. I believe you need to show consistent income for two years before you can get financing through the business. I am working towards investing full-time and leaving my W-2 behind. So, I wanted to start the 2yr clock as soon as possible. I also keep my personal funds and business funds completely seperate. The corporate veil of an LLC can get pierced very easily if funds aren't managed correctly. It may seem complicated but it really isn't if you create a business bank account and credit card. You always can add a cash infusion into your business and repay yourself of that loan. I've been told that when you start pulling out business income (money exceeding the "personal loan" you gave to your business) for personal use is when things get dicey.

I am by no means an expert, but more so relaying advice that I have recieved. Hope this helps @Charles Lambert

Cheers! 

Nice! Do you think medium term rentals are the way to go? I suppose it depends on the city and neighborhood. I'm going to sell my SFH and move to an area with a lower cost of living and buy a quadplex (which I'll be able to afford, all cash and probably have a decent amount of money left over). I want to buy in a mid sized city, maybe with a college, and in an urban, downtown area if possible.

My thought was to house hack and live in one unit. Then, maybe rent out one of the others (or maybe all of them, eventually as tenants move out), convert them to medium term rentals. I have enough furniture to furnish one or two additional apartments, in addition to my own.

Or, for a newbie, would it be better to just focus on LTR? I like the idea of collecting more rent, but that means more turnover, but on the bright side, if I get a bad tenant, I know that in a few months they will be moving.

What sort of market research did you do prior to investing in OH specifically when trying to capture the insurance market? I'm located in Atlanta and I'm curious to know what things I should be considering when purchasing.