Latest news with #ZeonaMcIntyre
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Goldilocks Lease–Real Estate Investors Find Profitable Work-Around To Increase Returns Despite Airbnb Bans
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) gave birth to a cottage industry of short-term rentals worldwide, and astute real estate investors dove in with both hands. High profits motivated property owners to become short-term rental specialists. Many local governments responded with short-term rental bans, but landlords have devised a new workaround: the mid-term lease. These goldilocks leases are now generating better returns than short-term rentals while simultaneously complying with local regulations. This trend, which is a winner for real estate investors, but still has the potential to leave traditional renters out in the cold, was recently profiled in Business Insider. Property owner Zeona McIntyre discovered the potential of mid-term leases during the COVID pandemic. When the pandemic set in, the chaos caused by stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions led to her losing nearly all her Airbnb bookings. Don't Miss: GoSun's breakthrough rooftop EV charger already has 2,000+ units reserved — become an investor in this $41.3M clean energy brand today. Invest early in CancerVax's breakthrough tech aiming to disrupt a $231B market. Back a bold new approach to cancer treatment with high-growth potential. 'I was really open to doing whatever I needed to get my properties rented,' she told Business Insider. McIntyre found success on a website called Furnish Finder. The platform focused on offering leases longer than 30 days but less than one year to working professionals. It turned out to be the happy medium between Airbnb and being a traditional long-term landlord. 'I realized there are tons of people looking all the time for longer stays, and longer stays are kind of awesome because people don't need as much from you. They're OK to go buy their own toilet paper and change the batteries because they're living there,' she said. It was a classic case of necessity being the mother of invention, and the mid-term rental business was so good to McIntyre that she converted all of her income properties to the new format. 'My bread-and-butter is these mid-term rentals,' said McIntyre. 'I want a longer tenant in there, and I don't want to have to think about it for three months.' Business Insider says she is not alone in discovering the potential advantages of mid-term rentals. Other landlords are beginning to realize that taking this middle-of-the-road approach offers a host of potential advantages. Trending: This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, with minimum investments as low as $100. The flexibility aspect of mid-term leases and the fact that tenants tended to be working professionals make life easier for both the landlord and the neighbors of the rental unit. Working professionals are much less likely to throw the kinds of loud parties that renters on a two or three-week holiday might throw. On top of that, mid-term landlords are discovering that they have a lot more leeway to operate without government oversight. According to Business Insider, many short-term rental bans or registration requirements apply to properties offering stays of less than 30 days. Short-term rental registration also often included high fees and tax surcharges. Other cities and local governments limited the number of short-term rentals that could exist in a given area. In most cases, mid-term leases are not subject to these kinds of restrictions. That's why McIntyre told Business Insider she believes that mid-term rentals are the "sweet spot of real estate investing." She went so far as to say she considers them to be 'a whole different vibe from short-term rentals, and way less stressful.' Many short-term rental landlords can attest to the high levels of detail and stress that go hand in hand with the high rents. When you factor that in with the reduced regulatory picture, McIntyre's point becomes even clearer. 'Short-term rentals have been under scrutiny, and the ever-tightening regulations are constantly changing,' she said to Business Insider. 'But there is sort of this magic number that, as soon as a listing is over 30 days, these rentals get classified into a long-term rental bucket, and then you don't have the extra taxes or have to have a short-term rental permit." Keep this in mind if you're a landlord looking to boost your returns without going the short-term leasing route. See Next: $100k in assets? Maximize your retirement and cut down on taxes: Book your free call with a financial advisor to start your financial journey – no cost, no obligation. Warren Buffett once said, "If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die." Here's how you can earn passive income with just $100. This article The Goldilocks Lease–Real Estate Investors Find Profitable Work-Around To Increase Returns Despite Airbnb Bans originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Business Insider
08-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Real estate investors say mid-term rentals are the 'sweet spot,' offering a way around Airbnb red tape and more cash flow than long-term rentals
When the COVID pandemic erased virtually all of Zeona McIntyre's Airbnb bookings, she found a solution in mid-term rentals. "I was really open to doing whatever I needed to get my properties rented," the Colorado-based property investor told Business Insider. She started listing her properties on Furnished Finder, which is geared toward traveling professionals and specializes in 30-day plus stays, and was surprised by the hit rate and relative ease of the process. "I realized there are tons of people looking all the time for longer stays — and longer stays are kind of awesome because people don't need as much from you. They're OK to go buy their own toilet paper and change the batteries because they're living there." What started as an attempt to combat Airbnb vacancies evolved into her preferred rental strategy. "My bread-and-butter is these mid-term rentals," said McIntyre, who is the author of " 30-Day Stay." "I want a longer tenant in there, and I don't want to have to think about it for three months." Massachusetts-based investor Dana Bull also pivoted to mid-term rentals, but for a different reason: to withstand rising interest rates. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate surged to 8% in 2023 and lingered in the 6s and 7s in 2024. Higher interest rates mean higher monthly payments, which can eat into an investor's cash flow. Bull has been renting to long-term tenants for more than a decade, but to make the numbers work on her most recent acquisition, a charming single-family home she found in 2023 and couldn't pass up, she turned to mid-term rentals, which she says are more time-intensive, but also more profitable. The 'sweet spot' of rentals Real estate investors tend to agree that, while long-term rentals can produce consistent, relatively passive income, these leases generate less revenue a month compared to short-term rentals. However, short-term rental properties present unique challenges, such as constant tenant turnover, managing multiple bookings, and ever-evolving country-specific rules and regulations. Then, there are mid-term rentals — or, the "sweet spot" of real-estate investing, according to McIntyre — which are properties listed for longer than 30 days but less than a year. In her experience, they're "a whole different vibe from short-term rentals and way less stressful." One major stressor she faced in hosting on Airbnb and VRBO was the evolving rules around permits and licenses. "Short-term rentals have been under scrutiny, and the ever-tightening regulations are constantly changing," she said. "But there is sort of this magic number that, as soon as a listing is over 30 days, these rentals get classified into a long-term rental bucket and then you don't have the extra taxes or have to have a short-term rental permit." That was a contributing factor in Manny Reyna's decision to incorporate mid-term rentals into his overall strategy. "Within San Antonio, you need an STR permit through the city," said Reyna, who rents two single-family homes and two tiny homes in the San Antonio metro. "The permit is $450 just to apply, and you have to pay county taxes and city taxes on the revenue. It's called a hotel tax, and it's really high." However, if you're listing a 30-day stay, "you don't necessarily have to worry about the STR taxes," said Reyna. "It's a little bit of a loophole, if you will. It's also a good middle ground, because the cash flow is higher than long-term rentals." That said, hosting mid-term stays will require upfront work. You're catering to a completely different customer, and leasing can be a challenge because mid-term rentals are less mainstream, explained Bull. "If you want a long-term rental, you know you're going to be on Zillow or work with a real-estate agent. If you want a short-term rental, you also have set channels: You have Airbnb, Vrbo." The equivalent for mid-term rentals is Furnished Finder, "but it's not very well known, and it's not nearly as big as something like Airbnb," she said. A hybrid approach While Reyna prefers mid-term tenants, he wants to cater to a broad customer base and still lists his properties on Airbnb, VRBO, Hipcamp, and Facebook Marketplace when there's a gap between mid-term tenants. "I try to do a shotgun approach to see who's going to bite first," he said. Seattle-based investor Peter Keane-Rivera also uses a hybrid model for his 70s-themed " Groovy Guest House," which he initially listed exclusively as a short-term vacation rental. He enjoys the work that goes into managing a short-term rental — "it does allow you to provide a unique service and really to have control over the quality of that service," he said — but offering 30-plus day stays will generate more consistent revenue during the slow season when people are traveling less. "In the summertime, it pulls in a lot — in June and July, I made almost $5,000 on a one-bedroom in the outskirts of Seattle," he said, referring to the Airbnb income. "But in the wintertime, there are lower margins. I'd rather get something closer to market rent rates, not have to worry about it for four to five months during the slowest seasons, and then spin it back up for spring, summer, and fall to maximize the return." Toggling between short- and mid-term rentals is "a real asset," he said, adding that if he expands to a second Airbnb unit, he'd use the same strategy. "For eight months out of the year, I'd run it as an Airbnb and then during the low season, run it as a mid-term rental."
