Mid-term rentals (30+ days): the low-stress alternative to STR at scale

Category: Multi-Property & Scaling

By: Kevin O'Brien

Posted: 2025-12-10T04:17:39.619Z

After 3 years of grinding with short-term rentals, I'm burned out on the constant turnovers, guest communication, and cleaning coordination. Thinking about converting some or all of my 4 properties to mid-term rentals (30+ day stays). For those doing mid-term: how do the numbers compare to STR? What platforms do you use? Who are your typical tenants? And is it really as "low-stress" as people say?

Reply by Marcus Rivera:

Converted 2 of my 5 properties to mid-term last year. Best decision I made for my mental health. Here's the real comparison: **Short-term rental (my 3 remaining STR units, average):** - Gross monthly revenue: $4,200 - Monthly expenses: $1,400 (cleaning $650, supplies $100, utilities $250, software $100, maintenance $300) - Net monthly: $2,800 - Hours per month: 8-10 per property - Turnovers per month: 6-8 - Guest communications per month: 40-60 messages **Mid-term rental (my 2 converted units, average):** - Gross monthly revenue: $2,800 - Monthly expenses: $400 (tenant pays utilities, 1 cleaning/month, minimal supplies) - Net monthly: $2,400 - Hours per month: 2-3 per property - Turnovers per month: 0.3 (one every ~3 months) - Guest communications per month: 5-10 messages **The math nobody talks about:** - Net difference: $400/month LESS on mid-term - Time difference: 6-7 hours/month LESS on mid-term - Effective hourly rate: STR = $350/hr, Mid-term = $800-1,200/hr Mid-term pays me MORE per hour of my time. The gross revenue is lower but the operational burden is so much less that my effective hourly rate is actually higher. **Where to find mid-term tenants:** 1. **Furnished Finder** (https://furnishedfinder.com) — The #1 platform for traveling professionals. Travel nurses are the bread and butter. $99/year flat fee per property (no booking commission!). 2. **Airbnb monthly stays** — Set minimum stay to 28+ days. Airbnb reduces their service fee for monthly bookings. 3. **VRBO monthly** — Same concept. 4. **Facebook groups** — "Traveling Nurses [City Name]", "Corporate Housing [City Name]" 5. **Corporate housing companies** — They lease your property for their clients. Guaranteed income. 6. **Local hospitals** — Post your property on hospital housing bulletin boards. **Typical tenants:** - Traveling nurses (13-week contracts) — the BEST tenants in mid-term - Medical professionals (residents, locum tenens doctors) - Corporate relocations - Insurance displaced families (fire/flood victims needing temporary housing) - Remote workers doing "slow travel" - Divorce transitions (one spouse needs temporary housing) **Tips for mid-term success:** - Include utilities in the rent (or cap them — "utilities included up to $200/month") - Keep the place furnished exactly like STR (furnished = premium over unfurnished) - One cleaning per month included, additional cleanings at tenant's expense - Month-to-month lease (gives you flexibility to return to STR if mid-term doesn't work) For managing the financial comparison between STR and mid-term, the cleaning fee calculator at https://strspecialist.com/tools/cleaning-fee-calculator helps you understand how much those 6-8 monthly turnovers are actually costing you.