Top 10 Tips and Mistakes in Midterm Rentals | Live with Shona from She's Got Assets

Everyone, I think I'm live. This is Shona from She's Got Assets. I hope everyone can see me and all that good stuff. So welcome everybody. This is Shona from She's Got Assets. I'm doing a live stream tonight. It looks like I'm just getting started on Facebook. So I'm going to make sure that is working and I have a really fun topic tonight. So as usual, Let me know where you're calling in from. Again, we have a really fun topic. We're gonna go over like the top 10 tips and tricks and mistakes that people make in getting their midterm rentals up and running. So it will be a fun topic. Definitely stay tuned for Q&A at the end. Again, I super appreciate any comments or feedback. It really helps me know that what I'm talking about is resonating and that you're watching and listening and hopefully learning some good tips. All right, so we're going to get started. I'm just going to arrange a couple of things. In the meantime, welcome to the She's Got Assets livestream. Really excited to do this and I have a fun presentation tonight all about tips and tricks. So again, if you're here, let me know. Hey, Richard from Portland. Awesome. Richard's a student. He's in the midst of painting his midterm. I'm super excited. I can't wait to start sending him leads for insurance. So cool. Okay, here we go. All right, I'm gonna start sharing my screen, make sure everything up. Thanks for your patience, had a little technical glitches today. I think the kids are home from school and using all the bandwidth, so talk to them about that. One second. All right, so I'm gonna share my screen. If you don't see me for any reason, just like let me know. Um, let's see, let me go to present mode, share screen. Hopefully everyone can see this. Okay, if not, let me know. Okay, so here we go. Again, welcome to Chiclet Assets livestream. If you're here, let me know where you're calling in from and definitely post questions as I'm going. I will do my best to monitor that as I'm going through this. Hey Diana, the topic tonight is how to get your midterm rental booked and the top 10 mistakes to avoid. So hopefully it's valuable. Thank you for calling in, really appreciate it. All right, so that is the topic topic tonight. Again, if, as you guys have questions, please, you know, definitely feel free to comment and whatnot. So let me, I'm just gonna leave it in this mode. See if I can do presenter mode. That might be a little bit cleaner. Present. Present. Okay. Okay. Actually, I'm gonna leave it in this one. Okay. So how to get your midterm rental booked, top 10 mistakes to avoid. All right. So a little bit about me. If you have— if you don't know me, I'm Shona. I'm the founder of She's Got Assets. Just a little background for anyone maybe new getting started in real estate. Hopefully this inspires you. So I would like to say I was raised by capitalist hippies growing up. I helped my family run the vacation rental business. Mind you, this was like way back when, pre-Airbnb, answering machines, paper calendars. I live in Oregon now. I'm originally from California. And I never ever thought I'd be in real estate. It was very expensive and seemed very, you know, just unattainable. And then way back in 2005, I house hacked my way into real estate. It was called having a roommate back then. But that's how I got into it. And I've been like a longtime landlord since 2006. So a long, long time, newer to midterms, but I've been doing them for a long time too. And I used to be really private that I was a landlord because it's definitely a bit heated. It's a little bit spicy, right? I'm a good landlord, but now I'm very upfront about it. And I really enjoy providing quality housing, you know, for midterm rentals and long-term. Prior to being full-time in real estate, I was the co-founder of an agency. I've been an entrepreneur pretty much my whole career. As someone once put it, I'm an outside cat. Then a couple years ago, I— we've always been, you know, part-time investors. I took a course and I became a full-time real estate investor. And I'm kind of a serial entrepreneur. I'm the founder of She's Got Assets. I have a podcast called She's Got Assets. Please like and subscribe to that or follow that. I really appreciate it. It kind of helps me get found. I'm also an author of a couple courses, the REA Playbook and the MTR Playbook. And then we run Cedar and Porch Properties as our rental business. And I also buy houses off market, buy fixers under Shona Buys Houses. So I live in Portland, Oregon with my family. We own a mix of long-term and midterm rentals. On a personal note, um, I love good coffee, baking, design, treasure hunting, especially for midterm rentals. Um, and I'm obsessed with all things real estate, of course. So that's a little bit about me. And then I'm going to dive into the topic. Yeah, again, if you're joining, just let me know where you're calling in from and if you have questions as we go. All right. So this is a quick little overview. I do have a course all about how to fully book your midterm rental. We cover everything from setup to advertising operations. I try and put out as much free content as I can, but there's like only so much I can do. And it really, it's having a coach, I've, in my experience, it's really helpful. And I really love working with students and getting them fully booked and off the ground. So a little more about that later, but these are the top, you know, top mistakes/tips, right? Aren't these pet, these are like the cutest little group of animals here. So I think a lot of people are really afraid of pets. It's understandable. They pee on carpets. They poop in yards, right? They can do damage. But if you are not pet-friendly, you're really losing out on about half your audience. So I, in my opinion, like, do what feels right, but there are ways to protect yourself with pet addendums, you know, proper screening. It's super, super important to be pet-friendly. I can't stress that enough. You know, what you can do is like go to like Airbnb long-term stays or maybe Furnished Finder and type in like a long-term stay like a month or two. You know, don't have pets checked, and then check off pets, and you'll see like your search results go down by half, right? So it's really, really important. If you have concerns about it, talk to me, but it's— I can't stress it enough. It's super— you're just going to miss out on a big portion of your audience. So, you know, a couple just— so be pet-friendly. About 70% of renters are MTR guests. Have pets, you're going to be much less vacancy, right? Higher income, there's pet fees and deposits. That's also how you protect yourself, right? It's really, if there are damages, we have, we collect pet fees and pet rent to cover that. We cover the extra cleaning. We definitely have longer stays. And I think most importantly, you know, a big niche of midterm rentals is families who have been displaced by like water damage or fire in their home. And they generally all have pets and you know, they're not gonna reach out to you if you're not pet-friendly. You're not gonna get those contracts, and therefore we can't help families out. So I just, super important. There's ways to protect yourself with addendums and deposits and pet rent. So, and by the way, I have a golden, actually a golden retriever, and I think corgis are super cute, so that's why I picked this photo. But anyway, just be pet-friendly. That's like my number one tip. I know there's a lot of, Some people are on the fence, but I hope I convinced you, or let me know what you think of that. I'm curious if anyone can chime in, like, are you, are you pet-friendly if you have a midterm? Are you on the fence about it? Maybe let me know what some of your concerns are so I can hopefully chime in and give some insight. All right, so mistake number 2, if you've been following me for a while, you've heard this. I know other industry people talk about it. Bad DIY listing photos. I don't mean to pick on this property. I was actually on Furnished Finder and I found it. Like, it's just, It's— you— this is not going to sell, right? Like the bathroom, the toilet seat is up, there's no shower curtain. It's clearly a nice property, right? It has a hot tub, it has a garden area, but it's like this photo is upside down. I'm sure it looks like a decently modern kitchen, but this is— this speaks to the quality of the listing, the level of thought and the level of detail and the levels ultimately of, you know, the experience that a guest would have. And we're in the hospitality business, so please do not take your own photos unless you're a really photographer or you have a friend, even though our phones are really smart, just, and you know, I say this all the time and I feel like a broken record. So if someone's heard me say it, I know I always say it, but it's really surprising. Like just, you're not doing yourself any justice. In my market in Portland, Oregon, it's pretty affordable. It's about like $225, I would say for up to like maybe a 3,000 square foot home. So, and it's really a one-time fee and it's going to make you so much more money and get more bookings. So please don't skip that. So again, you know, the lighting is bad, the photos are upside down, they're kind of grainy, the angles are really odd. That's the thing. And you know, you want to hire a real estate photographer because they really know how to showcase properties. They're very familiar with that. So yeah, just to really emphasize, get pro photos. Ideally, a real estate photographer. There's a lot of national companies, which I've kind of dabbled in, but I think having someone local that is a referral, like go to a local real estate group, ask maybe an agent that's a friend, 'cause it is just so important. So just really wanna emphasize that. These are like some examples of professional photos. You kinda wanna stage it right, take away all the clutter, make sure it's nicely lit. They can do a lot of that in post-production, but you know, just really be thoughtful. Be there when the photographer's there, kind of fuss around, make sure your rental is ready. Again, clear the clutter. This is another example of, you know, a professional photo. So yeah, just really can't emphasize that enough. If anyone, you know, has questions, but please don't skimp on photography. Again, pro photos. This is a recent photo shoot I did, right? It just really shows the space nicely. The lighting is really nice. Really, really is going to make the listing stand out. Okay, so I think I made my point on professional photography. Mistake number 3, I think, is not posting in the right places. I think maybe we throw it up on Furnished Finder and think people are just going to come, but there's a lot more places places. I really have a full extensive list in the course, or if you're in the course and watching, make sure you download that and work through that. But it's really, really important to be in the right places. People look in different places. So it's super important, you know, I— there's— these are like the high-level places. There's a lot— much bigger lists that I have in the course. But I would say these are kind of like at minimum where you should be. I don't— I think a lot of people still don't know that Zillow Rental Manager, you can add— there's a place for furnished rentals. So definitely check that box, Zillow. It's like, I don't know, $30 for a like featured listing. I think it's worth it. I think people still don't know that to make sure on Zillow. Airbnb is one of the biggest search engines for short-term and midterm. So you really, really should be on Airbnb. Just there's some settings you need to do. Like if you, you can't do short-term, you're just all in a midterm, which I am. I don't have the option for even doing short-term because of our tight regulations that we have. So just make sure you put a 30-day minimum. If you're doing the hybrid strategy, like short-term and midterm, there's some strategies for duplicate listings that I cover in the course that I can speak to that. So you can kind of get found for both. Um, again, Furnished Finder is pretty well known. I think, uh, also it's, it's really not just for traveling nurses. That's what everyone thinks. They've really broadened their audience. A lot of people look on there. Um, a lot of temporary housing companies will look on there to help families that have been displaced. Um, so it's really important to be on there. And again, it's not just for nurses. They have a much wider audience. And I really love it because it's kind of like a matchmaking service, right? Like you put your listing out there, you get booking inquiries, you can book directly with them, you get all their contact information. You're not doing the dance of like trying to get contact information off Airbnb because you can't ask for that. There's ways to get it that I teach students, but Furnished Finder is great. It's like one— they raised it to $150 a year. I think it's well worth it. You know, if you have like a duplex, you can actually put two listings up, they give you a discount for that. ALE Solutions is a company, and if you haven't heard of it, it's— they are a temporary housing company. So they work with insurance companies like State Farm, people like places like that, you know, Farmers Insurance. When a family has a disaster, they're going to file a claim, they're put up in a hotel, and then that insurance company partners with a company like ALE Solutions. So you can actually get into their database, which is great, but they're also looking at these other sites. So there's multiple ways, places where you want to be to really get found. I'm just gonna check the questions. Alright, so please ask questions as I go. So just advertise everywhere, it's super important. It takes some work, but once you have your listings up, you know, that's the bulk of it. I think the other mistake I see, and you know, the ways to get found is not really optimizing your listing. You know, so there's ways to do that that I cover in the course that are pretty specific, right? But we really wanna, there's certain keywords that we wanna really emphasize, right? Like some of the big ones are being pet-friendly, 'cause again, 'cause a lot of landlords are not pet-friendly, that we offer flexible lease terms, right? That's the midterm space. I think it's anywhere from 30 days to 3 months to 6 months, right? And we're very flexible on that. We really wanna kind of emphasize that, right? And the fact that we partner with insurance and relocation companies to house policyholders that are having their homes rehabbed. So it's really important that we're emphasizing these kind of keywords. If anyone's familiar with SEO, it's a similar concept, right? And I have people call me and they're like, I had a call yesterday and this family has been displaced and they're having remediation done and they're like, oh my gosh, we saw your listing. It was so nice to know you understand where we're coming from. They were like so grateful because I was kind of speaking their language saying that, you know, we understand how this process works. So it's, it's just really important to do that. And, you know, I have kind of an example here. So you can, in the course, I have this exact download, but it's really important just to stress how, you know, all these kinds of particular phrases and what people are looking for and how they're searching for them. You can you can even go to like ALE and see how they're framing their services and borrow copy from that, if that makes sense. So that's really important. Help you get found. Mistake number 5, I think that we want to be thoughtful from our listing, but I think taking too long, maybe waiting, you know, waiting for furnishing, waiting for everything to be perfect, you're going to lose money. You want to be prepared, right? And, you know, leads will come in sometimes they're like ASAP, especially for insurance claims displaced families that generally the paperwork could be a week or two, right? So they're not going to move in the next day. There's also an application process. So I think moving quickly is really important because we don't want to lose potential bookings. You know, why do you want to market as soon as possible? You want to generate attention and exposure. You want to gauge the interest. Sometimes you're kind of checking prices. And again, the sooner we get it rented, the sooner we're going to have, you know, cash flow, which is why we're doing this. You know, this is an example of waiting to advertise till you're all set up, right? Like I teach students how to do this without even being furnished yet. So the first month you're not getting any rent and then the second month maybe you collect your first month's rent, $7K, that's awesome. But if you did this pre-marketing strategy that I teach in the course, right, you're collecting rent your first month 'cause you got your listing online, the second month and you get a total of $14K, which is awesome, right? That really helps you recoup your furnishing costs and any rehab costs And it's just a great feeling to get booked. So I highly recommend listing as soon as you can. I mean, being ready, but also, you know, there's ways to do it in a way that you don't have to be furnished actually to list your listing. So mistake number 6 is kind of seems obvious, but kind of calendar stewardship is really, really, really important. So like on a lot of sites like Airbnb or Furnished Finder, you might put it up there. So you put it up on Furnished Finder and there are ways to sync some calendars and it, we're not, you know, there's software too, but in the midterm space that we're, we're less focused calendars. It's not like the nightly turnover, right? Or every couple days. So you really wanna make sure that your calendars are current, like on Furnish Finder that I think they'll keep it up to date for like about a week. But after that, they're not gonna, you're not gonna show up in results if your calendar's not current because from the perspective of like the listing site, they wanna serve up listings that are highly relevant, that are available. And if your calendar is like out of date by 2 weeks, they're not, your listing will not get shown. So you might be like, why am I not getting bookings? Well, it's because your calendar isn't current. So that's really simple, but really important. So that's mistake number 6. And then I think the other mistake or, you know, tip is, you know, design is super, super important, especially as all the short-term regulations come in. There's going to be a lot more competition. People just like nice designs. Sells. So be thoughtful. If you love design, great. If not, there's definitely people you can hire. But I think it's really important. Don't overlook it. Make it cozy, make it comfortable, show, you know, showcase it really well. Um, that's just so important. I think sometimes people just throw in a bed or some furnishings and aren't super thoughtful about it. So I think design is, is really important. And again, it's getting more competitive with kind of more people from the short-term rental space getting into midterms due to regulations. So mistake number 8, this is a little nuanced. Just checking the questions here. Again, if you guys have questions regarding value, I super appreciate it. Just drop a one in and let me know. All right, so number 8, I think, you know, midterm amenities are a little bit less sexy than like short-term amenities, right? Like we don't have pickleball courts or hot tubs or fire pits, right? We can have some of that, but featuring like the basics, right? The fact that there's a fully fenced yard, if you're going to have pets, that's a really big amenity people want to see, but it's fully fenced, right? So definitely feature that things like the washer dryer, like maybe these aren't like the cutest pictures, right? But they're really showing the basic amenities. Whereas if you're like in the STR space, you're probably showing all like the game room and, you know, the Instagram wall and pickleball and all that fun stuff, right? So we really want to showcase amenities for someone that's going to be living there for a couple months, right? Is it family-friendly? Does it have dedicated workspace? Those kinds of amenities I think are really important to show and tell in your listing. So I can't emphasize that enough. Just be— make sure you have really good pictures. I think sometimes photographers come in, they don't always photograph that more mundane stuff. So definitely be there to kind of help make sure they're capturing those images. Again, the biggest amenities I get are like fenced backyard, you know, off-street parking, things like that. They're very much in demand. So yeah, a few amenities I mentioned these like being pet-friendly. Again, I can't stress that enough. Having a fenced yard, dedicated workspace with— I can't talk— high-speed Wi-Fi. And I think most people just expect they're going to have, you know, internet, but definitely highlight it. Not everyone does. So that's going to make you stand out and show that you're, you know, a thoughtful host and you keep it like move-in ready. So I think the number 10 is— or number 9, excuse me— is lease terms, not being clear about lease terms. We really want to stress that we have flexible lease terms, right? A lot of times, especially with the displaced homeowners for insurance claims, they're having the temporary housing, you know, search specialists are reaching out and they're talking to a lot of landlords that do not understand the model. They're like, no, I want a year lease. And oftentimes what happens is, you know, a family has some kind of disaster, a water leak or a fire, and they might be approved for like a 2-month stay, right? Just initially, they're going to think it's going to be done that quickly. Usually never is. They'll often generally extend. But we, we offer those flexible lease terms. We offer, you know, extended stays. We always make sure that we're really flexible on that. So I think really highlighting that's how we operate. Let's people know, oh, okay, they understand this model, right? So they'll reach out to you versus someone else that isn't kind of highlighting those flexible terms that we, that we work with families that have been displaced or need relocation. So that's super important. It sounds really simple, but just saying that, making that really clear, adding that to kind of your listing copy is, I think, is really viable and lets people know the business model that we're in and how we're helping people. So moving on, I think number 10, not having kind of— it's kind of a marketing buzzword, but an omnipresent marketing strategy, right? Just listing yourself in a couple sites isn't enough. You really have to actively network, be on social media, list yourself with the temporary housing companies. Again, I have a huge list in the course. ALE Solutions is one of the most well-known, but there's a lot of ways to market. Don't just kind of set it and forget it. You really need to be proactive, I believe. You start building up your local network, talk about what you're doing, share what you're doing, share when you have openings, you know, network with temporary housing companies and just be a resource. And that will help you grow your business. So those are the top tips. I'm just checking the questions. I don't see anything else. So yeah, so hopefully that helped. It's a lot of information. But I think it's really, really valuable to— those are some things that I see that are pretty common. So if anyone is interested in learning about all those things, I teach them in the Midterm Rental Playbook. It's really comprehensive. You know, again, from marketing to operations and furnishing and all that stuff. And I think marketing is a big piece that people need help with. It's kind of nuanced and it's how you get found and get booked. So feel free to book a call if you have any questions about that. And yeah, let me know if you guys got some value out of this. If you're watching the replay, play, please comment, let me know, reach out if you're interested in the course. And yeah, I'll hang on for a few minutes for Q&A. I'm just gonna refresh here, see if anyone left comments. Again, thanks for tuning in. I really appreciate it. Thanks, Richard. I appreciate it. Super helpful. I can't wait to get your— I can send you leads, like I said, and help you get your MTR set up once you're done painting. So yeah, I, I think hopefully that was helpful. It's just a lot of things that I've learned. I, again, I'm always kind of learning tips and as I learn things I like to share stuff, but I, I think there's just a lot that goes into midterm rental and it's important to be strategic about it and be in the right places. So yeah, thanks for calling in, John. I really appreciate it. Yeah, I'd love to know like some of the key takeaways you got. Just, it's helpful for me to know or anything you have questions about or concern. Like I know for some people pets are kind of a big question mark. I totally get it. Hopefully I helped change your mind. But yeah, I'll hang on for a couple minutes. Again, if you're watching the replay, feel free to reach out if you're interested in coaching or have any questions, or if you got any value from this, it's super helpful for me to hear it. Awesome, Diana, I'm glad you liked it. Yeah, really appreciate it. Yeah, and any other— anything, anything's game. You've got me for a couple minutes. I'm about to head off to a local networking event. So, but I've got a few minutes. So So definitely happy to answer any questions. I'd love to know like what value you got or if there were any key takeaways. But I would just say if I can leave you with anything like, you know, dive in, get it done. It's a great strategy. I love it. I don't want to overwhelm people with all this, you know, maybe pick a couple of these things, you know, don't do everything at once. But hopefully this will give you a little jumpstart if you're not booked or looking to get booked or wondering why you're not booked. And if you're a student, definitely reach out and we're going to, kind of do a one-on-one call and see how we can optimize your listing because there's a lot that goes into it. Awesome. George, George says he loves the additional listing sites. Awesome. Yeah, there's a lot out there. It's definitely— you really can't be in enough places. I, you know, I tend to also be in places that I have— I was listed long-term rentals. I generally now have an option to check if it's furnished. So I think it's really good to be in a lot of places. Diana's asking any recommendations on a book to read. Yeah, I mean, the classic one is Sarah Weaver and Ziona McIntyre have one by BiggerPockets. It's great. They don't focus so much on the insurance kind of piece of this, which I think is a little bit missing, but it's a great kind of foundational book. I have a lot of content in here about stuff. But yeah, I'd say the Sarah Weaver one. I mean, the YouTube is great. I will say that when you're kind of getting information all over, it gets kind of overwhelming, and it's helpful to have someone to kind of walk you through it. But that's a great book, and YouTube is great. Um, there's a lot of information out there, so I hope that helps. Yeah, I actually had— I had Sarah Wave on the podcast, so I can send you one to that. She's great. Um, there's definitely— it's definitely, um, midterms are on the map a lot more than they used to be, so it's a fun time for midterms. Great question. Any other questions before I let you guys go? You're welcome, Diane. I appreciate you calling in. Awesome. Last chance. Anything is game. Well, it sounds like that's it. I appreciate you guys calling in. This is a weekly livestream on Tuesdays. Again, if you're looking for any kind of coaching or marketing support, that's what I do. I really enjoy working with students. It's great. And this is a great model. And it's just, there's nothing like great cash flow that you get from this. Andrew, you're really in the hospitality business. Um, Chen Chenette, yes, set up a call for sure. Yeah, it's, um, it's in the course. You could book a one-on-one call with me. So if you can't find it, message me, but it's when you log into the course, there's a link to book a call so we can really dive in and get a game plan going for you if you haven't taken advantage of that. So yeah, awesome. Thanks for tuning in, Wendy. Appreciate it. You're like a loyal tuner in there. I really appreciate it. Okay, awesome. Yeah, well, I think that's it. Yeah, you're so welcome. And again, if you're watching the replay, if you have any questions, just definitely comment. This will be available on demand. So if you want to rewatch it, if you missed anything, you can see it. So awesome. All right, it's good to see everyone. And yeah, again, let me know if you need any help and I'm there for you. Thanks.