4 Benefits of Medium-Term Rentals

Real estate investors hear a lot about short and long-term rentals.

But what about medium-term rentals? What can medium term rentals, or MTRs, offer landlords looking for a change in their property management?

Short-term rentals work best as vacation or Airbnb properties. Each week, the property houses new travelers looking for a place to stay on their vacation or trip. Long-term rentals are typically traditional, unfurnished units for long-term residents.

Medium-term rentals are somewhere in-between, housing tenants for one to three months at a time. These rentals are often overlooked, but they are critical for the renters who need them. Plus, medium-term renters often make some of the easiest and best tenants.

Here are four more benefits of medium-term rentals.

Attract Specific Renter Populations

Who wants to rent a medium-term rental anyway?

As it turns out, there are many groups who may be interested in your medium-term rentals. Travelers, working professionals, and families might be interested in rent your property for a few months at a time.

One of the largest groups interested in medium-term rentals are traveling nurses. Long hotel stays are not comfortable for many traveling nurses, who work at hospitals across the country and need some place to call home for several months.

Other people who may be interested in your medium-term rental include families renovating or building their homes, newcomers who want to live in town while searching for a house, or professionals working in town for a month or two.

Less Damage

Landlords often complain about how short-term renters trash their properties. Renters who only plan to stay for a few days have no incentive to take care of your property.

They might host parties, leave messes, and generally demonstrate a lack of concern for the condition of the property after they leave.

Medium-term renters, however, have a greater incentive to keep the property in good shape. They’ll be living there for a decent amount of time, so they will often take better care of the property the longer they plan to stay.

Plus, medium-term renters know they’ll be local long enough to build relationships with their neighbors and you, the landlord. This is often a strong motivator to keep the property in good shape. In general, you’ll notice less trash, noise, and property damage with your medium-term renters.

Self-Sufficient Renters

Short-term renters are notorious for absorbing owners’ time and energy with small requests. From getting in the unit to operating unfamiliar appliances or utilities, short-term renters can absorb a lot of your time.

Medium-term renters, on the other hand, are more likely to be self-sufficient. They know they’ll be living in your unit for a while, so they feel comfortable buying their own resources and bothering you as little as possible.

If you’re accustomed to short-term rentals, you might also find that you have more free time as an owner of multi-term ones. Because you’ll only need around four tenants a year, your turnover costs and responsibilities are considerably lower. This frees you to pursue other goals, such as building your portfolio or pursuing a career or hobby.

Medium-term rentals reduce the many of the demands of property management and lead to peaceful, undisturbed tenancies.

Flexibility

Finally, medium-term rentals are highly flexible.

The average short-term rental owner will have no problem converting their units to medium-term ones, as these units are already furnished. You can easily test the waters and see if there is an interest in medium-term rentals in your area without changing your policies or organization significantly.

Long-term rental owners will need to furnish their units before pursuing medium-term renters. However, this is a relatively simple process that you can complete during a period of traditional turnover.

Conclusion

Many landlords overlook medium-term rentals because of their nontraditional aspects. However, MTRs offer many great benefits for landlords and the people who need them.