Oct. 15, 2025

From Flip to Flow: How Midterm Rentals Doubled Cash Flow and Cut Headaches

What if your most profitable rentals aren’t beachfront bungalows or urban lofts—but clean, furnished homes in “ordinary” cities serving people who come to town to work? We sit down with Stacy, a self-managed investor in Cedar Rapids, to unpack how midterm rentals can out-earn long-term and out-calm short-term, all while serving a steady stream of traveling professionals, construction crews, insurers, and families between homes.

Stacy shares the exact moves that scaled her portfolio: buying multiple properties in a focused sprint, renovating like a flip to kill maintenance headaches, and setting simple, tenant-friendly standards—fast Wi‑Fi, utilities included, monthly light cleanings, and durable furnishings sourced from estate sales. We dig into pricing MTRs at 1.5x–2x long-term rents, when to put TVs in bedrooms, and why thoughtful touches preserve linens and reduce turn costs. She also explains the less-talked-about pitfalls, like the insurance gap for under‑31‑day stays, and how to protect yourself without doubling your premiums.

The engine behind consistent bookings is smart lead generation. Stacy registers with relocation firms, responds in minutes to Furnished Finder requests, markets to realtors for bridge housing, and taps union halls and Facebook groups to reach crews before they arrive. One lease was signed in 15 minutes with ID verification and digital signatures, a glimpse into how speed and simple systems win. We close with creative scaling—ADUs, basement conversions, multi-unit setups on a single mortgage—and a mindset shift: treat it like a business, tell everyone what you do, and solve problems with heart.

If you’re ready to build calmer cash flow without chasing nightly reviews, this conversation is your blueprint for midterm rentals that work in real markets, not just vacation hotspots. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s MTR-curious, and leave a review with your biggest question so we can tackle it next.

GOODIES

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The Flipsisters
Leaving people and places better than we find them.

00:00 - Welcome And Stacy’s Backstory

01:26 - What Midterm Rentals Really Are

03:25 - Finding The Niche In Any Market

05:12 - August Sprint: Acquisitions And Strategy

07:40 - Why MTR Tenants Are Easier

10:05 - Pricing, Utilities, And Furnishing Hacks

12:04 - Short-Term vs Midterm: Insurance Risks

14:05 - Who Uses MTRs Beyond Nurses

16:20 - Long Stays And Extensions

18:35 - Insurance Placements: Budget And Contracts

21:12 - Rehab Right To Reduce Headaches

23:10 - How To Win Insurance And Relocation Leads

25:21 - Fast Leasing And Light Automation

27:19 - MTR Works In “Non‑Vacation” Cities

29:10 - Transition Tenants And Realtor Outreach

31:05 - Creative Problem Solving With Tenants

33:27 - Systems, Supplies, And Scaling Up

35:28 - Tell People What You Do

37:15 - Multi‑Unit Thinking And ADUs

39:20 - Mindset Shifts And Final Takeaways

42:10 - Program Invite And Closing

WEBVTT

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You're listening to the Flip Houses like the Girl podcast, where we educate, empower, and celebrate everyday women who are facing their fears, doubling family and business, embracing their awesomeness, and wholeheartedly facing their dream of flipping houses.

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Each episode delivers honest to goodness tools, tips, and strategies you can implement today to get closer to your first or next successful house flip.

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All right, welcome back to the Flip Houses Like a Girl podcast.

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This is the show where we highlight real stories of everyday women who are learning to flip houses and create freedom for themselves and their families.

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I'm Blair, one of the coaches here with the Flip Sisters.

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I've been flipping houses for six years and I've done 30 flips.

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Today we are so excited to introduce you to Stacy.

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Stacy joined the Flip Sisters program in April of 2023.

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And since then, she's been making incredible strides in her local market and has found her niche in midterm rentals, otherwise known as MTRs.

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We can't wait for you to hear her story, the lessons she's learned along the way, and the advice she has for other women who are just getting started.

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Okay, so let's dive in.

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So first, a little point of education.

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I know I said the midterm rental earlier, sometimes also known as an MTR, but what exactly is that, right?

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There's all kinds of rentals out there.

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So a midterm rental is when someone rents a space that you provide.

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It's usually an entire house or a unit, like as a condo or townhome or an additional dwelling unit.

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And it's normally fully furnished.

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So it's set up for someone to just come in and live.

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They're not really bringing anything but like their personal stuff with them.

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The lease term can be anywhere from longer than 30 days to under a year.

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That's what considers it a midterm is the lease terms.

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These are usually utilized a lot by traveling healthcare workers, tradespeople, I think like plumbers, electricians, or specialized trades, where like you know, there's not a whole lot of them in the country and they travel all over to fix issues.

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Or others like did they become super popular with digital nomads.

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There's a lot of people who do all of their work from their laptop or a computer, and they have the freedom to kind of travel wherever in the country and they may want to go stay somewhere for a couple of months, enjoy the local culture, and then move on to a different city.

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Midterm rentals are really one of my personal favorite rental strategies as well.

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But I want you to hear more from Stacy and about her adventure because I really do.

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She's the MTR queen.

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She's just gotten so awesome at them.

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And I've loved watching her story and watching her maximize profit on a unit.

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Like so a house, you know, you can do long term, you can do short term, and you can do midterm.

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And she's really shown us through her story and her journey just how awesome midterm rentals can be.

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So we're gonna go ahead and jump in here.

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I've got Stacy.

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So, sis, if you can kind of start us out with like what first drew you to midterm rentals?

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Okay, great.

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Hi, Blair.

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Thanks for having me today.

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I have actually been a landlord since 2002.

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I started very slow.

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I had one property that I, it was my first house, and then I moved and it did sell, so I turned it into a rental, you know, and I did that a couple times, but I wasn't like looking at it as a profession or career, really income stream, just to pay the mortgage so I didn't have to, you know, and now looking back, I I kicked myself.

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I'm like, man, I wish I would have like really thought about this sooner.

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Um, in 2016, I started flipping houses, like I did one or two a year from like 2016 to 2022.

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So I was okay with that.

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I thought that was good, but then I found this program in April of 23, and it honestly changed my life.

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It really did.

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So I was going through some of the podcasts, and I was drive, I had a four-hour drive for work, and so I'm like, I'm just gonna go through some of Debbie's podcasts and see what see what I find.

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And I found one that was MTR.

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I'm like, what is MTR?

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So I was I started listening to her podcast, and all I remember thinking was, This is genius, I can do this.

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I'm like, this is so much better.

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So I'm like, okay, well, I live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, right?

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So like Midwest, middle country, nothing special, nothing, no reason to really vacation here.

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So then I was like, Well, is that gonna work here?

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So I started looking around, and Debbie had said, you know, um, furnish finders.

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So I got on furnish finders and I started looking, and yeah, there were places in Cedar Rapids, and I started just, you know, just Googling some stuff.

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And at that time I had one long-term rental here in town, and I was June, I was in the middle of finishing a flip, and all of a sudden it just blew up.

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So I started like, I can do this, and I was finishing a flip, and I found out that there was a house across the street that they were gonna put for sale.

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It was a rental, and they just wanted out of it.

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I found out there was a house behind that house that it was a landlord, an older landlord selling, and he had a he had like 187 houses he was selling.

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So I bought four from him, and I had sent a letter to the lady across the street, and I had an offer in through my bank on a foreclosure.

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I got them all of them.

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And so August of 23, every Friday, I was closing on another house.

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And I remember um one of the ladies in our group sending me a message and she's like, I'm concerned about you.

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Yeah, I I do remember that.

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Like we were like super excited.

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We're like, oh my gosh, she's just because you just dug in and like followed the process.

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And you know, it's crazy because right, like those are the results that happen when you do it.

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And then we were like, we were like, oh wow, this is like a lot.

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Like we're super excited, but like, is it okay?

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And then of course, like you were just amazing and handled everything like a badass.

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Yeah, it fell into place.

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And like I did sell one of them, but so I did six, I did flip one, and then the other five, I turned into mature mentals.

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And the one I was always planning on doing it as a maternal, but it took a lot more to fix it, it was bad.

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So then the one across the street, I'm like, I can just like make this pretty, you know.

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So we did some paint and cleaning, and then I'm like, I'm gonna try this first and see if it works.

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And then if it works, I'll make the other ones do it.

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But if it doesn't work, then I'll just sell them and flip them like I would normally do.

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So my numbers always worked as a flip, but my focus started becoming income.

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So I will be honest and say I have purchased a couple of properties that maybe didn't fit that flip criteria, but it it met my income criteria.

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So in January 24, my husband had some health issues, so he wasn't able to work anymore.

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So I really at that point just went all in on this.

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Like this is what I'm this is how I replace his income.

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Plus, I still work full-time, so but this is my full-time job as well.

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So I do too.

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But I love it.

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One of the things that I find with midterms is it's a different clientele.

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So you're not chasing rent like you do potentially with long-term rentals.

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I still have two long-term rentals and they're fine.

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When they vacate, I will turn them into midterms.

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You're in the house more often, or somebody is in the house more often.

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So, like on a long-term rental, you might not be in that house for a year, two years, or and I don't necessarily be in it, but like it might not switch.

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So when you they do move out, you're like, Oh, I didn't see all this work that needs to be done.

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With the midterm rentals, I'm in there every three months or six months, and um, it's just they're easy turns.

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Most of the time, they're people that all they do is eat and sleep.

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That's all they're there for.

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You know, they uh I have a right now we have a data center being built in our community, and it's been amazing.

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So most of my people are construction people, and I've always had people when I say that kind of give me a weird look.

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And I said, honestly, so far, my construction people have been some of the best, some of the best.

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They eat and they sleep and they're never there.

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I have started to build in a monthly cleaning for the rent.

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It's just like I don't say anything, it just I add an extra$50.

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And I say, you know, we come in once a month and do light cleaning, and that's not a deep clean, but it's a light clean.

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It helps at the end, it helps save sheets and blankets and all that kind of stuff because people are used to also hotels sometimes, so they don't think change sheets.

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Some people do, some people don't.

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So in the beginning, I learned that I was going through a lot of betting.

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So now we come in once a month and we make sure it all gets switched out, so that's nice.

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And then the income with the midterm is better than the long term.

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So I charge one and a half to two times the normal long-term rent, it just kind of depends.

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I do include utilities, Wi-Fi.

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I don't supply cable because there's so many streaming services out there anymore.

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So I just give them good Wi-Fi and let them stream their own.

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Initially, I didn't put TVs in bedrooms.

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I've started putting TVs in bedrooms just way, this way, you know, this they have one.

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There's a lot of mixed feelings on that, and it really depends on the generation, right?

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So lots of traveling nurses, I find they don't need they don't want TVs in their bedrooms because they have their laptops and they just use that.

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But people my generation, my age, we want TVs in the bedroom.

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So, you know, one of my tricks that I found early when I started was estate sales.

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So I started a lot of my stuff comes from estate sales, you know.

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There's always especially if it's like maybe an older couple, they had a spare room for the kids to come visit, and the bed's like brand new.

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Basically, no one was ever no one ever slept on it because it was just a spare room.

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So that's kind of where I started getting beds and dressers and that kind of stuff.

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And then initially I bought new things, you know, like all the kitchen stuff was new and everything was new.

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Well, after it's used, once it's used, so I kind of changed my my priority on some of that.

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Like, I still buy new stuff, don't get me wrong, but if I can find a really nice couch that's for sale, cheap and it's comfortable and it works, I buy that because you never know what's gonna happen.

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I had one house where I had a couple extra guys staying with them that I didn't know about, and they were using the couch as a bed, and now I put that in my lease that you can't use the couch as a bed because it breaks it down.

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You know, just little things like that that I've kind of learned along the way.

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And then like the short-term rental, I sometimes I do that in between, like if I have a month open or something, like if somebody moves out October 1st and I've got somebody checking in October 28th, I don't like to let it sit.

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So sometimes then I'll throw it on as a short-term rental on Airbnb or something like that.

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However, I found recently, and I think one thing people should know is that your insurance might not cover that.

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So tell me more about that.

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So yeah, tell me more about that.

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So a lot of your rental policies are only gonna cover for 31 days and more.

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So if you have somebody come in for two weeks and something happens, there's a good chance your insurance isn't gonna cover it unless you truly have short-term rental insurance.

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And it's usually about double what the normal insurance is.

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So I kind of went away from doing short term because I'm like, I did the math.

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I'm like, it was gonna double all of my policies, you know, that's a lot.

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And then I kind of like went in and looked at what I made, and I'm like, it's probably not worth it.

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So I just I don't do midterm or short term much anymore.

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Plus, I was always stressed out about reviews, you know.

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Like I always get five-star reviews, and the first time I got like a four and a half, I was mad.

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And you know why?

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It was because I didn't have salt and pepper shakers.

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That was the only complaint.

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And I'm like, really?

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So then I just decided that maybe that's not my platform.

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Yeah, I so agree with you.

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I think, you know, for some people out there, the Airbnb strategy works for them.

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It's their wheelhouse.

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But that's why, like a lot of what you've said is why like I really love the midterm rental strategy.

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Um, you know, just to kind of recap, it's the income.

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You know, you're asking one and a half to two of the long-term rent.

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So that's great.

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So, and for some areas where I live, a long-term rent, you know, you'd kind of be breaking even.

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But with the midterm strategy, I can actually cash flow a property, which is super cool.

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You know, having somebody pay the mortgage, getting the equity, and, you know, even just a little bit of cash in my pocket every month from that house to me is is really just awesome.

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But yeah, like some of the things you may, I didn't know about the insurance thing.

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So I learned something new today.

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That's so cool.

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But yeah, for me, it's the stress.

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You know, like you said, like your midterms, you know, I have some people that stay like nine months.

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So I'm not worrying about who's the tenant coming in.

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You know, I can see their usage for electricity and water.

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I do pay utilities as well.

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You know, I same thing.

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I give them Wi-Fi, they have streaming services.

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But yeah, same thing.

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So they're there and they're working.

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Like I have one girl who stays, she's rented it for nine months.

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She stays there for two days out of the week, and then she goes home.

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And she is, she's literally there to like sleep, eat, turn around, and then she goes home.

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So for me, it's a lot less wear and tear on the furniture and the house itself and the turnover with Airbnb.

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And yes, I tell people, like, you know, I'm a big proponent for hiring property management just because I don't deal well with people calling me in the middle of the night to tell me something is broken because I'm, you know, don't wake me out of my beauty sleep.

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Okay.

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But part of it is two, it's it's a lot less stressful in finding tenants, like who's the next person?

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Are we, you know, maxing out our Airbnb and reviews, right?

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Because even though like I've hired a property management company at the end of the day, I'm still the one who owns the home.

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So if the reviews are bad and I don't get bookings, I have to cover the mortgage.

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And so for me, like that's just really high stress that I didn't want in my life.

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And so I've found like the midterm rental is just such a great combination of the stress level I'm okay and comfortable with, as well as maximizing out, you know, the rent and maximizing out what I'm getting out of that property.

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Yeah, it's a different mindset.

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It really is.

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Like I have people all the time ask me, like, well, why do you do that?

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Can't just do a regular rental.

00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:48.879
That's why you're not turning it.

00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:51.120
And I'm like, no, no, no, no.

00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:52.559
No, no, no.

00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:52.960
Yeah.

00:15:53.120 --> 00:16:05.039
And I think it's super cool that you brought up like construction workers because I think, you know, when I first everybody hears about midterm rentals, they automatically just assume you're just talking about healthcare workers, right?

00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:07.519
Because that's like when I first started, that's all I knew is nurses.

00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.600
And I was like, okay, oh, travel nurses.

00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:13.840
And I thought, I was like, well, gosh, how many of those can there be out there?

00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:19.600
And but like there, I've learned there's so many different categories of people who use them.

00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:26.159
Like I had one, he was a nuclear, some sort of special nuclear physicist, engineer, I don't know, really smart guy.

00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:29.919
There were only five of him in the country, basically, that did his job.

00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:36.879
So he traveled all around wherever he wanted, you know, when they needed somebody to fill in or come in and fix the issues they were having.

00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:41.759
And he and his wife, like he would, she would come with him and she would just, they would explore the area.

00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:42.480
They would live.

00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:44.320
If they liked it, they'd stay longer.

00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:49.279
So they actually ended up, I think they ended up staying with me for six months because they just love the area.

00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:59.600
But it's neat to kind of expand your thinking and think about like recently I was introduced to the insurance portion, which I think we're gonna talk about with you because you've really nailed that down.

00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:03.600
But it's just more of, you know, finding, I didn't even think about that, right?

00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:06.160
Like somebody's house burns down, where do they go?

00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:17.119
Uh, you know, they need a traditional home that's already set up or like water damage, or like, you know, we've had bad storms here with like roof damage, and the insurance company, you know, needs to put them somewhere.

00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.960
And we all know they don't move very quickly uh with things and repairs.

00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:27.599
So we've had, you know, I've had friends that have midterm rentals that have had people there that have been there for, you know, a couple months, six months.

00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:29.599
I've had someone that's been up to a year.

00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:37.680
So, you know, it's just it's very neat to hear the different people that move in as far as or who need the midterm rentals.

00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:44.960
There's so much more out there, other than, you know, obviously the traveling nurses, shout out to them, healthcare workers, you're amazing.

00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:52.720
But there are a bunch of different types of tenants who love a good midterm rental.

00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:55.839
So yeah, I have an insurance claim right now.

00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:02.400
He's been there 21 months, and I know I have him at least another two.

00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:06.319
So good and bad though, kind of goes back to what I said earlier.

00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:08.720
Like, I haven't been in there to clean that house very much.

00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:13.839
I like I did like a middle, like after a year, I'm like, can I just come clean?

00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:20.960
And you know, but it's gonna be just like a long-term move out, but that's okay because he's been paying for it.

00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:21.599
Yeah.

00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.559
And so like it's so cool in that, like to me, I get really excited.

00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:29.359
Like, property manager calls and they're like, hey, you know, they want to do an extended stay.

00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:32.400
And I'm like at the midterm rental rate, and they're like, Yes.

00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:35.279
And I'm like, perfect, love that.

00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:44.160
Uh, just you know, to kind of recap, a lot of times with a midterm rental, we are getting one and a half to two times what we could get for the long-term rent.

00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:48.319
So, same amount of time, same space, almost double the money.

00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:50.960
So for me, I'm like, yes, that's a hell yes.

00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:51.920
Like, let's do it.

00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:52.960
Absolutely.

00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:58.400
Yesterday I just signed a 10-month lease for uh construction and crane worker.

00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:03.119
So, and he's like, I got more people, and that's the nice thing about with construction, you gotta think about it.

00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:06.720
If you have more than one unit, this company's bringing these people into town.

00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:14.160
And if you're nice and you talk to them, and you know, like now I'm getting to the point where they're just sending people to me, you know, like I don't think it's amazing.

00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:15.279
Yeah, and that's great.

00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:16.480
So I love that.

00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:16.960
Yeah.

00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:22.240
So I think the only bad thing is this happened to me last year, is then they all moved out at the same time.

00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:23.119
January.

00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:25.279
They're like, all right, job's done, we're out.

00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:27.359
Yeah, and I think like for me, that's neat.

00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:46.319
Like, I love, you know, a little bit of the hospitality end of things and like making people feel welcome and setting up a nice, comfortable, safe space for them, but not to the level of like an Airbnb where I have to be like all, you know, quote unquote on all the time, like super over the top.

00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:51.519
I think Airbnb guests' expectations are a lot different than midterm rental.

00:19:51.599 --> 00:20:01.680
I think they expect you to like, you know, you know, oh, there's, you know, a spot of dirt on the floor, and they expect you to run over and clean it because they're paying a premium for a vacation space.

00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:07.359
Whereas like I've had, you know, midterm rental guests who are like, hey, like I so sorry, I broke a coffee pot.

00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:08.400
I'm like, cool, no problem.

00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:10.160
Is it okay if I just Amazon you one?

00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:11.359
And they're like, yeah, that's great.

00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:11.680
Thanks.

00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:16.559
Like, and I'll just deliver it, you know, over to the rental with that.

00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:20.480
But yeah, you know, that's so neat that you've had so much like word of mouth.

00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:25.920
But if you don't mind, let's talk a little bit about the insurance like portion of it.

00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:33.599
Cause I know you've had great success uh with, you know, like if you talk us through like how do you contact how does that work?

00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:34.880
Like who do you contact?

00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:36.880
Are there people you can reach out to?

00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:42.720
You know, what is your strategy when asking for, you know, the coverage for the the rent?

00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:45.119
Like anything you want to share, I'd love to hear.

00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:45.759
Sure.

00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:49.359
So this one that I got right now, it was very early.

00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:51.039
It was my second tenant.

00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:54.880
So I definitely left some money on the table and I didn't know that.

00:20:55.200 --> 00:21:01.359
But there was a good part of that is though, like with insurance claims, they have like X amount of housing budget.

00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:09.839
So let's just say they have$30,000 worth of coverage for housing if something happens to their house.

00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:21.119
Well, if they're staying in a hotel that burns up fast, I have found that lots of times insurance claim rents usually around$3,000, you know, like in that range.

00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:26.559
Well, with this guy, I'm only charging him$18.50 because it's a small house.

00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:37.920
But because I was able to charge him$18.50, he was able to make that budget of$30,000 or whatever it was last way longer than what somebody if I would have been charging$3,000.

00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:43.839
I mean, now if when I get my next insurance claim, it's gonna be a little different, but now I know also cleaning fees.

00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:48.480
So I charge cleaning fees up front when they move in for their move out.

00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:52.640
Well, I usually charge$100,000,$150.

00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:56.400
Well, this guy's been in there, he's gonna be in there like 23 months.

00:21:56.480 --> 00:22:01.279
It's gonna cost me more than$150 to clean that, but you don't know that.

00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:08.960
So the one thing that insurance claims want is a contracted amount that will stay the same.

00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:16.880
So they send me a like an extension every couple months or whatever, but it they don't give me the option to increase it.

00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:19.200
So you got to keep that in mind too.

00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:24.240
Like, you know, obviously my property taxes have gone up, my insurance has gone up in two years.

00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:31.279
Like, this is this guy is a is a unique situation because he's been there for so long, but I do self-manage my properties.

00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:34.559
I'm still in that, like, I want to keep all my money.

00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:45.519
And yeah, well, and I think the good thing with midterm rental is like that's a little bit more obtainable and like doable because of the cadence and flow.

00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:46.559
Yes, yes.

00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:52.799
And the one thing that I do and I do write is one, I will live in any property I own.

00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:54.880
So I don't band-aid it.

00:22:55.200 --> 00:23:02.079
And all but one of these houses that I've got as midterms, I went in and gutted and I treated it like a flip.

00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:05.279
So then when I did it, I did it right.

00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:09.519
You know, I've got a couple houses that have on-demand hot water heaters.

00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:14.640
Like I do it so that I don't get those two o'clock in the morning maintenance calls.

00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:22.000
You know, now I'm not gonna say that in the winter, one time the furnace went out in the middle of the night, it happened, but that happens anywhere.

00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:25.680
But I do them right so that I don't I try not to have those maintenance calls.

00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:28.480
And I feel like I don't get a lot of phone calls.

00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:33.680
And if I do, I know within the first three days that I'm gonna get phone calls.

00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:36.160
Yeah, I think that's so important.

00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:38.480
I do the same thing for my rentals.

00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:45.839
You know, I I do everything up front, like it would be a flip, and then my thoughts on it are the exact same, right?

00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:52.640
Like if we go ahead and fix everything, it should after that, it should just be maintenance over the next 10 to 15 years.

00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:59.440
And then also like it does, you know, get the calls down a little bit because things aren't breaking on a regular basis.

00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:00.160
Yeah.

00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:02.160
So back to the insurance claim.

00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:07.680
Um, since I self-manage, when I know that something's coming up, I start to get a little twitchy.

00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:14.559
So I get on every single website that I can find that's insurance companies, and I've registered my properties.

00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:23.039
Like, you can like just Google relocation companies, insurance relocation, those kind of things, and you'll get lists.

00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:31.759
I've joined lots of Facebook groups that are midterm rentals, and then I've looked for like relocation Facebook groups.

00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:33.359
So I see a lot of those.

00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:35.519
I get some leads from those sometimes.

00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:41.519
If I see a lead that is in my area, I don't care what the criteria is that they're looking for.

00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:46.400
As long as I have the right space, I will contact them every single time.

00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:54.079
And it doesn't matter if it's furnished finders, if it's Zillow, if it's an insurance company, I contact them and you gotta do it quick.

00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.160
You gotta do it quick.

00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:02.079
This midterm rental is definitely a different space than what long-term rentals are.

00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:11.200
So, like yesterday, I had a guy on fake and furnished finders just put it out there as a general request, which means the general request is it goes to anybody that's registered.

00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:22.640
So within five minutes, I had sent him a message and I'd sent him some pictures because I had a property that I didn't have on furniture finders because you got to pay a fee, furnished finders$175.

00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:30.960
So sometimes I just take some of my old properties that look the same because a lot of my properties are the same, and I just put one of those properties up as available.

00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:33.119
And so then I sent him a text.

00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:36.160
Hey, I have a property of that's coming available.

00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:38.000
It looks similar to this one.

00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:41.920
I can text you and or email you pictures, and so then that's what I did.

00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:50.160
And within 15 minutes, I had a lease signed, a deposit, a background check, done.

00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:52.720
And money, yeah.

00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:54.799
Wow, 15 minutes.

00:25:55.359 --> 00:26:02.799
Do you do all of that like through furnished finders as far as like the tools and you know the screening and everything?

00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:09.680
So the furnished finders I use for their background check, but they don't charge the landlord for that, they charge the tenant.

00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:10.960
I use their background check.

00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:12.160
I like it, it's quick.

00:26:12.400 --> 00:26:25.119
My goal the last six or this six months is like really trying to automate better because I do Google Docs and then I send it and email it, and it's hard to get the digital signatures.

00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:27.759
So I've started working with I right now.

00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:33.119
I'm working with uh it's a program called Rent Ready, and you can send the lease.

00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:44.000
They can send, they can sign the lease, they have to take a picture of theirself with their ID so that you can verify it's them, and then they can set up paying rent and everything right through the program.

00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:47.440
It's a cheaper program, it's a little bit more cumbersome.

00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.559
So I haven't decided if I'm sold on that one yet or not, but I'm using it.

00:26:52.720 --> 00:27:02.640
But it's quick because then I just upload the lease and I he signs it, he takes a picture of himself with his ID, sends in the back, and then I sign it digitally and we're good.

00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:04.319
Wow, that's awesome!

00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:14.240
Yeah, so that's that automated part that I've been like struggling with a little bit that I'm trying to get better, you know, because I still have my handy dandy Excel sheet.

00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:16.240
Gotta love Excel.

00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:17.680
Gotta love Excel.

00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:19.599
I trust Excel more.

00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:23.200
That's awesome.

00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:39.519
So one of the things that like really I found interesting when when you were talking about like your location, and I think this also kind of leans me toward why midterm rentals are a more viable option for more people than maybe an Airbnb.

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:47.599
So no shade at all, but you lit like Tacita Rapids, but like there's that's not a super hot vacation destination.

00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:54.960
I would imagine like it's not like the mountains or the beach or you know, somewhere where there's, I don't know, like Disney World.

00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:57.119
I think it's a great example, right?

00:27:57.359 --> 00:27:57.599
Yeah.

00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:26.079
So to me, this is so cool because it's saying, like, hey, here's a great viable option that is super like friendly for you and like landlord, and like you're maximizing your earning, but you don't necessarily have to be in like a big city like Austin, Texas, or you know, a huge draw for vacationers, um, where it gets like super competitive, like Orlando and Disney World.

00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:33.279
And you're like, you know, yeah, I'm right here in the heart of, you know, just a great town in America and it works.

00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:36.799
And I think that's like I live in Columbia, South Carolina.

00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:56.799
You know, we've got college football, but like other than that, there's not a huge, you know, it's not Charleston, which is on our coast, where there's a huge draw for vacationers, but I'm very successful with my with my midterm because there are a huge amount of people who can utilize them that aren't just vacationing.

00:28:57.119 --> 00:28:57.599
Right.

00:28:57.759 --> 00:28:58.160
Yes.

00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:04.160
Now, you know, I have a couple rentals out in western Iowa, small town, 900 people.

00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:06.720
Am I gonna turn that one into a midterm?

00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:09.359
No, it's gonna stay my long term.

00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:16.319
And it's still, I mean, I'm not gonna say that that's not gonna work out in those areas because there's things that bring things to town.

00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:19.519
People move and they can't close on a house.

00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:24.480
I had a couple for a month because they had sold everything in Missouri and moved back to Iowa.

00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:28.079
And they thought they'd be able to find a house and buy a house in like two weeks in Iowa.

00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:29.680
Well, no, they couldn't.

00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:31.200
So they saved.

00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:35.839
Yeah, that's I mean, and that's a whole other great audience that you just introduced.

00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:41.200
Like people who are transitioning, you know, I'm in real estate as an agent as well.

00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:46.880
Um, and yeah, that's something that happens sometimes, you know, where people are having to sell a home prior to buying.

00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:49.279
That's just the season we're in in the market.

00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:50.880
And yeah, like where do they go?

00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:56.960
Like whether it's two weeks or a month, or oh my gosh, we can't find anything we like, but we had the perfect buyer.

00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:57.920
So we went ahead.

00:29:58.079 --> 00:29:59.839
Yeah, you're exactly 100% right.

00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:08.240
A midterm rental would be fantastic because they don't have to like pack up all of their stuff, unpack it at a rental, pack it all back up, and then move it.

00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:11.680
They can kind of just pack stuff up, put it in storage.

00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:15.279
They can live very comfortably in the space that you're providing.

00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:22.400
And then when they're, you know, they close on their new house, they're able to just go ahead and you know, kind of just move stuff in basically once.

00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:22.880
Yeah.

00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:25.039
And I market to realtors.

00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:27.519
You know, like I send my flyers.

00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:30.640
I made a flyer and I send it to all the real estate offices.

00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:36.000
And then the realtors that I know, like, I'm like, hey, when you guys have a meeting, can you be like, talk about me?

00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:37.519
Uh, because they do have people.

00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:40.880
And I mean, for something like that, I I'll do shorter time, you know, something.

00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:44.559
You know, one of my houses I bought came with eight storage sheds.

00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:52.640
And so I was marketing to one of my realtors and I was talking to her, and she was saying that, yeah, my people have to be out, but they don't know where to put their stuff.

00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:54.319
I'm like, I have a storage shed.

00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:58.559
You're like, I have the perfect, and that's actually like a perfect solution, right?

00:30:59.119 --> 00:31:00.240
It's like an all in one.

00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:02.960
Like you move in, but you can draw your stuff here.

00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:05.279
Yeah, that's super cool, actually.

00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:06.160
Whatever.

00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:08.559
So, yeah, I mean, it's just problem solving.

00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:11.200
This this business is about problem solving.

00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:12.880
Yes, a hundred percent.

00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:20.480
And I tell people like, truly, that's one of the reasons that I was drawn to real estate in the investment space is I love I love solving problems.

00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:25.680
I love to move the puzzle pieces around, you know, play the chessboard, uh, pivot.

00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:27.359
Like that's kind of my ultimate thing.

00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:37.359
And so it's just, it's very cool to be in a space where creativity and you know, figuring out what's the next step or how do we make this work in a win-win situation.

00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:42.160
That is truly one of the things that really drew me to real estate investing.

00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:42.720
Yeah.

00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:45.440
Yeah, I just have one of my houses, it's a large house.

00:31:45.519 --> 00:31:47.279
It's three bedrooms, very big.

00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.359
That's more of an executive rental.

00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:52.240
And I had four brothers that needed a place.

00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:57.119
They came up from Texas to work on the data center and they're like struggling to find places.

00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:59.920
We're having so many people in town, people are struggling to find stuff.

00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:01.440
So they came and looked at it.

00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:03.759
They're like, Yeah, I'm like, well, where's the fourth person gonna sleep?

00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:04.960
Because you can't sleep on the couch.

00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:07.359
And they're like, Oh, we'll just put an air mattress somewhere.

00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:09.279

From Flip to Flow: How Midterm Rentals Doubled Cash Flow and Cut Headaches

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