As many of you know, Ken and I are very interested in investment real estate. We have our own portfolio of rental properties and Ken has helped many investors in the purchase of their own investment properties, as well.
One thing we haven't done, but I've always been curious about, is having a shorter-term rental property. Since we just had a baby and we have plenty of friends and family coming in town, now seemed like a great time to use ourselves as investment guinea pigs and get into the short-term rental game.
I envisioned a place where friends and family can stay when they come in town, clients can stay when they are in town looking for homes or between properties, and then the rest of the time we can rent it out as a furnished rental.
We called around, did our research, and found that these kinds of homes are renting at a premium now. One local rental agency that rents out these kinds of properties told us that out of 112 short to mid-term rentals they manage, they had one vacancy. We also know that since the purchase housing market is competitive and builders' build times are quite long now, there should be strong demand for short to mid-term rental housing.
As Ken and I live in Lafayette, we checked the city ordinances and found that we can't do short-term rentals of less than a month. However, as long as properties are rented for at least a month at a time, we are good to go.
A property came up very close to our home that seemed like a perfect fit. It is a duplex, has a little yard, backs to open space and the Greenlee Wildlife Preserve, and is a newer home. Also, I liked it because it has smaller living spaces which means smaller spaces to furnish. We wouldn't need to outfit lots of space that ultimately wouldn't be used much.
We partnered with Debbie Miller with Main Street Staging to furnish the home. She helped us outfit the home with beautiful, durable, and affordable furniture. It turned out amazing and we are so appreciative of her help. This has been a fun project and we took before and after videos to show you how it turned out.
Click the links below to learn more about the reasons why we really liked the home we purchased for this purpose and to see before and after footage of how we furnished the property.
Click Below to see the Before Video:
Click Below to see the After Video:
Next time we fill you in on this home, we will let you know how it is going! If you'd like to contact Debbie about staging a home or furnishing a rental property, you can reach her at [email protected].
Don't hesitate to reach out with questions. Until next time!
- Ken Crifasi and Allison Benham with K&A Properties
