Landlord Diaries - The Monthly Rentals Podcast

Today we will be talking with Sebastien Long, the Founder & CEO of Lodgeur in Houston, Texas. Seb has 45 impeccably designed units on Furnished Finder across 5 complexes, with hundreds in the pipeline. Lodgeur has hosted over 7,000 guests and all his units are primarily used as 30+ day furnished mid-term rentals. 

In this episode we cover:

(Points organized in episode order)

2.30 Sebastien’s journey to furnished mid-term rentals

4.10 The difference between arbitrage and management model

5.30 Sebastian creates, markets & manages flexible living units

6.00 What Sebastien looks for when partnering with a complex

6.50 Rental difference “across the pond” in the UK vs. US

9.25 How volume users can keep leads organized on Furnished Finder

10.40 How to quickly recognize which property a Tenant Lead or Message is referencing

11.30 Why it’s important to put your Furnished Finder property link in each message

13.00 Sebastien’s success with direct bookings (including Furnished Finder)

16.15 Streamlining the process when guests are ready to book

18.45 Sebastien’s master thesis on what is the value of great interior design vs. average

24.15 Using technology to take your savings and design to the next level

34.85 How quickly can someone find your listings & connect with you?

37.15 Property management systems & booking keeping lessons learned along the way 

42.15 Furnished Finder educates landlords and tenants on scam prevention

Website Links:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/ 

https://www.keycheck.com/ 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/stats 

Sebastien’s 45+ Listings on Furnished Finder:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/243857_1

Lodgeur at Mid Main Lofts- 9+ units

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/403970_1

Lodgeur at Mid Main Lofts 2- 10+ units

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/410916_1

Lodgeur at Mid Main Lofts 3- 10+ units

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/411730_1

Lodgeur at Mid Main Lofts 4- 9+ units

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/390556_1

Lodgeur at Elan Med Center- 6+ units

Connect w/ Sebastien:

https://www.lodgeur.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/seblong/ 

TIPS FROM THIS EPISODE TO SAVE ON YOUR FURNISHINGS

Google Chrome Honey Extension: https://help.joinhoney.com/article/39-what-is-the-honey-extension-and-how-do-i-get-it 

Rakuten Cash Back:

https://www.rakuten.com/ 

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.

Today we talk with Pam Holt, a Chicago native. Pam is a real estate broker, entrepreneur, mom and STR/MTR host for a luxury $15,000/month 4 bedroom rental in the heart of Chicago. Currently, Pam’s main goal is to help investors get up and going in the MTR space with her Happy Host Academy. 

In this episode we cover:

(Points organized in episode order)

3.00 Hosting furnished rentals merged all Pam’s career choices together

6.00 Pam’s traveling led to renting her personal home for $15,000 per month

8.00 Preparing your personal home for corporate travelers

14.45 Types of mid-term rental guests Pam hosts in Chicago

18.30 Pam’s Happy Host Academy students prefer mid-term rentals

21.45 Addressing the “weird” factor of someone sleeping in your bed

25.15 The “Space” Objection

39.00 Tell your personal story through design

46.00 The “Safety” Objection

48.40 The “Time” Objection

51.00 First steps to get started in the mid-term rental space today

Website Links:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/ 

https://www.keycheck.com/ 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/stats 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/Resources/PMResources 

Pam’s Listings on Furnished Finder:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=Pamela.Holt15 

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.

In today’s episode, we travel to Rochester, New York, to talk with Sally Berry about her 11 property portfolio. Sally will bring a fresh perspective on topics we haven’t discussed yet on our show. We will discuss these 5 topics in detail…

1. Hospitality Advice from Sally’s 25 years in the industry
2. Concentrating Your Portfolio on One Zip Code
3. Creating A Pitch Deck For Banks & Private Money Lenders
4. Free Project Management Software To Take Your Business to the Next Level
5. Implementing AI into your business

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In this episode we cover:

(Points organized in episode order)

4.45 Over 25 years of experience in Hospitality & Tourism

6.00 Keep Your Marketing Minimal, Like a Movie Preview

7.00 Finding free stock photos to show off your listing location

8.00 Focus on the top 3 things your property has to offer

Benefits To Concentrating Your Portfolio on One Zip Code

12.00 Sally’s Portfolio of 11 properties 

17.00 Creating A Pitch Deck For Banks & Private Money Lenders

27.30 Free Project Management Software To Take Your Business to the Next Level

30.00 Implementing AI into your business

33.00 Sally’s Favorite Tools on Furnished Finder & KeyCheck

34.30 How to see a traveler’s “Saved Properties” on Furnished Finder

37.00 You’re not to old or young to start something new

Website Links:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/ 

https://www.keycheck.com/ 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/stats 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/Resources/PMResources 

Sally’s Listings on Furnished Finder:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=SALLY.BERRY 

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.

Today we have the privilege to talk with a touring rock band, Reid & Hayley Cain of Hayley & The Crushers. As they tour the country in their self-customized Dodge Promaster with all their music gear, two dogs and who knows what else; they also bring in passive income through a retro-perfect house hack in California and a fixer upper in Detroit. 

In this episode we cover:
(Points organized in episode order)
3.00 Real estate can help fund your passions
4.30 Birds eye view of the market & the benefits of boots on the ground
6.30 The journey from musician to property owner & landlord
10.00 Hayley & Reid’s California property & design 
15.30- The move from short term to mid-term rentals
19.50  Long distance mid-term rental tips
23.30 Creating & marketing shared spaces
26.50 Furnished Finder hosts can have conversations prior to booking
30.00 Furnished Finder’s emphasis on safety & how to be prepared
31.50 Design has a huge impact on your bookings
37.30 The Detroit property aka “The Gnome Domicile”
44.00 Katie creates a new real estate term… Hackabrrrr?


Website Links:
https://www.furnishedfinder.com/ 
https://www.keycheck.com/ 
https://www.furnishedfinder.com/stats 
https://www.furnishedfinder.com/Resources/PMResources 

Reid & Hayley’s Listings on Furnished Finder:
https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=HayleyCain 

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.

Tony Stancato & Jordan Painter have created Book N’ Gather, a Michigan Lakeshore Vacation Rental company and a complimentary educational platform at MichiganShortTermRentals.com which has a podcast, blog & more. These guys have a very successful vacation rental business year around by combining the short-term and mid-term rental strategies. 

In this episode we cover:

(Points organized in episode order)

• How Tony & Jordan became business partners
• The Book N’ Gather story
• The power of multi families & Michigan lakeshore properties
• Creating your “destination” property w/ thoughtful additions
• Operating pickleball courts, hot tubs & saunas at your properties
• Operating your STR/MTR properties in off season 
• STR/ MTR property evaluations
• Book N’ Gather is a property management company w/ transparent fees!
• 5 risks of furnished rentals and how to mitigate them
• KeyCheck.com helps mitigate risk!
• 3 ways to get more mid-term rentals during off season
• Using the FurnishedFinder.com/stats page to your advantage
• Michigan hot spots for mid-term real estate investing

Website Links:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/ 

https://www.keycheck.com/ 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/stats 

Book N’ Gather Listings on Furnished Finder:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=tony.stancato 

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.

Today we talk with Jake Herzig in Houston, Texas. He has a unique style that rolls off the tongue nicely from a marketing perspective and makes someone feel like they are ready for a luxurious, relaxing stay. His theme and website is KingBedsOnly.com. 

In this episode we cover:
(Points organized in episode order)

• Why Jake has built his business around “king beds only”
• Jake’s journey to real estate investing
• Why Jake prefers duplexes to single family homes
• Relationships w/ your neighbors can lead to future real estate deals 
• The facts that led Jake from the STR to MTR strategy
• Mid-term travelers love flexible terms
• Check out Jake’s beautiful properties in the show notes
• Don’t miss his design “pro tips”
• Jake’s back-up supply
• Start small, if you like it keep going
• Responsiveness is key in a competitive market
• Furnished Finder is a great tool 
• Jake’s mid-term rental exit strategy 

Jake’s Listings on Furnished Finder:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=Jake_Herzig

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.

Aloha, friends of The Landlord Diaries. Today, we talk with Felicia Miller Johnson in Little Rock, Arkansas, about her house hack and entire home/room rental ventures. Felecia encourages professionals to “Live SMART” which we will discuss today in regards to life & mid-term rentals. In addition, Felicia conducts LinkedIn LIVE work-life video interviews with career professionals that become Awe Intuitive Conversation. Her videos are posted to LinkedIn, YouTube & Spotify.

In this episode we cover:

(Points organized in episode order)

The State of Happiness

Sevenfold Coaching

How the “Mama Approved” ADU led to mid-term rentals

The SMART Boho Place & The Duplex

Installing a ventless washer/dryer in your ADU

The 5 Steps to Live SMART in your mid-term rental business...

• See Yourself & Awaken- understand your goal
• Master Your Emotions- how do they relate to your professionalism
• Ask, Know, & Receive- are you open to new opportunities
• Relax, Relate, & Release- ask for help, what do I need to release
• Talk Wisely & Ascend- what are you saying OUT LOUD to yourself

Felicia’s Listings on Furnished Finder:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=Live_Smart_Rentals_LLC 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/feliciamillerjohnson/ 

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.

Today we talk with a Furnished Finder co-host, Tatianna Taylor-Tait, an award-winning designer based in Vancouver, BC and co-founder of the Level Up Your Listing Summit. Tatianna has combined her interior design and real estate experience to mentor investors all over the world on how to skyrocket their profit using short-term and mid-term rentals. Tatianna was one of our amazing speakers at the 2023 Mid-Term Rental Summit. She gave a fascinating talk on the “Psychology of Space”.

10 design tips we discuss in this week's episode:

• How to properly set up your mid-term rental space
• The 5 high touch point items that get the most wear & tear
• Each room should tell a story and have a focal point
• How to properly set up a bed and night stand
• What’s a good budget for a studio or one bedroom
• Things that make your home look cheap and what to do instead
• What’s the right size rug for each room
• Are matching furniture sets in or out?
• The 3 to 1 ratio for shelf styling
• Tatiana's award-winning design skills in action!

Tatianna’s Co-Host Listings on Furnished Finder

Clients:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/458334_1 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/458334_2 

Students:

 http://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/577744_1 

Kelly’s Cottage: 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/528964_1

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=Kelly.Bailey13

Katie’s Studio:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/property/432193_1 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=katie.lyon8

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.

Angelenna Grant-Ashanti is a top producing real estate agent in Atlanta, mid-term rental investor and MTR coach for her clients. Angelenna helps clients find the right property, renovate it and list it on Furnished Finder. 

The 5 MTR Steps From Purchase To Marketing!

1. Choosing the right location for an MTR, nurses love to explore!
2. Present your client with choices- Move-in ready or DIY sweat equity?
3. Important things to consider if you’re buying an MTR condo w/ an HOA
4. Furnishing your mid-term rentals- neutrals w/ pops of color really stand out
5. Marketing your property correctly & your main photo selection process

Website Links:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/ 

https://www.keycheck.com/ 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/stats 

Angelenna’s Listings on Furnished Finder:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=GRANT-ASHANTI 

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.

Today we talk with Legacy Crash Pads in San Antonio, Texas. With multiple years in real estate, capital raising, and the MTR space, Vin Ochoa & Michelle Bryan have tons of knowledge to share in regards to buying real estate, KPIs, SOPs & VAs. Their portfolio includes 19 single family homes, 3 arbitrage, 11 of which are mid-term rentals. 

Website Links:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/ 

https://www.keycheck.com/ 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/stats 

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/Resources/PMResources 

Vin & Michelle’s Listings on Furnished Finder:

https://www.furnishedfinder.com/members/profile?u=Legacy_Crash_Pads

https://www.legacycrashpads.com/ 

https://linktr.ee/onthegoprofessionals

Book Referenced:

Traction by Gino Wickman- https://a.co/d/9ftxo0L 

The Landlord Diaries is brought to you by Furnished Finder, where you can list your property for one low price and pay zero booking fees.