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#712: The Rental Strategy That Survived Every City Crackdown, with Jeff Hurst

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What if you could earn short-term rental yields without the short-term rental headaches?

As major cities continue to regulate away 3-day stays, investors are shifting their focus to the “Goldilocks” of real estate: the midterm rental.

Jeff Hurst, the CEO of Furnished Finder and former President of VRBO, joins us to explain why the 30-to-90-day market is the most strategic move for landlords in 2026.

We dive into why this asset class is thriving—fueled by a massive shortage of housing and an explosion in professional mobility—and how you can serve the growing population of traveling nurses, skilled tradespeople, and relocating families.

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Key Takeaways
  • The 31-Day Threshold: Midterm rentals (MTRs) typically start at the 30 or 31-day mark, allowing owners to tap into higher demand for furnished housing while staying “in-bounds” of most city and HOA regulations that target shorter stays.
  • The “Starter Kit” Standard: Unlike short-term rentals where you are in the hospitality business, MTR landlords provide a “starter kit” (initial soap, paper towels, etc.) but aren’t responsible for restocking consumables during a 90-day stay.
  • Targeting Skilled Trades: While traveling nurses are the most famous MTR tenants, over half of corporate travel demand actually comes from skilled trades like electricians and construction crews building data centers and infrastructure.
  • The $7 vs. $40 Rule: To remain cash-flow positive, focus on a “comfortable and practical” interior (~$7 per square foot for furnishings) rather than a “leisure destination” fit-out ($30–$40 per square foot) designed for social media.
  • Underwriting for Reality: Never assume short-term rates will last forever. Always underwrite your property as a long-term unfurnished rental first; if it eeks out a gain there, the 20–30% boost from an MTR is pure gravy.
  • The Aging-in-Place Strategy: We’re seeing a new “house hacking” trend where Gen X and Boomers build an ADU to live in themselves, renting out the larger main house to fund their retirement or travel.
    • Resources

    30 Day Stay, a book by Zeona McIntyre et al – https://amzn.to/4eqa2rd

    Jeff Hurst’s website – https://www.furnishedfinder.com/blog/airdna-podcast
    Jeff Hurst’s profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-hurst-atx/
    Price Labs – https://hello.pricelabs.co/
    Apartments.com – https://www.apartments.com/
    Zillow – https://www.zillow.com/
    Stay in the loop – https://affordanything.com/newsletter
    Join the YFRP course – https://courses.affordanything.com
    Don’t miss the YFRP webinar! – https://affordanything.com/rental2026

    Chapters

    Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

    (0:00) Introduction

    (2:00) What midterm rentals are
    (3:48) Why cities banned short-term rentals
    (5:07) Who rents midterm — nurses, corporate workers, relocating families
    (11:33) Extended stay hotels vs. midterm rentals
    (13:22) Hospitality expectations for hosts
    (16:10) How much to spend on furnishings
    (17:50) Regulatory risk — nearly zero
    (25:04) How to estimate vacancy and returns
    (34:46) How to pick a market
    (41:04) Why mid-sized cities win
    (46:30) Following extended stay hotel construction as a demand signal
    (1:01:48) Who owns midterm rentals — older than you’d think
    (1:03:24) Why midterm feels like Airbnb in 2012

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