Success Stories
Seattle Couples Converts Mother-in-Law Suite into Furnished Rental
MIL suite supplements couple’s income by $10,000 per year!
In July 2003, Colleen Cameron and her soon-to-be-husband, Michael, were looking to buy a house in the North Shoreline area of Seattle. While house-hunting for their dream house the couple stumbled upon a beautiful chateau that had everything they wanted… and then some.
“It just so happened that the house we fell in love with also offered great income-producing potential as it had an 800 sq. ft. mother-in-law suite in the basement,” says Colleen.
After the married coupled settled into their new home, they decided that rather than rent out their mother-in-law suite as a “regular” rental (which was plentiful in their area already), they would convert their mother-in-law suite into a furnished, corporate rental. They spent about $4,000 to finish the basement and convert it into a full-fledged rental property.
“We knew by offering our mother-in-law suite as a furnished, short-term rental, we could reach a different niche and have less competition in the rental marketplace,” says Colleen. “Plus, furnishing the property was easy since we both brought furnishings into the marriage – we had two of everything so we were able to furnish our downstairs apartment without spending a lot on furnishings.”
To find renters, the couple lists their mother-in-law suite on Craigslist.org and CorporateHousingbyOwner.com – both sites, say Colleen, have brought her solid leads, although she says with Craigslist the process is more manual because she has to post her property daily. With CorporateHousingbyOwner, she says, her listing is always front-and-center.
“In five years of renting out our furnished mother-in-law suite, we have only had one month with no renter,” she says. “In fact, our most successful renter stayed for two years. He was a divorcee who needed flexible housing to get him through his life transition.”
Benefits Galore
Colleen says that there are many great benefits to renting out part of their home as a corporate rental.
For one, she says she is able to command a higher rent because the basement apartment is fully furnished and offers flexible month-to-month rental terms. Colleen says her mother-in-law suite has been so profitable that she has been able to supplement her family’s income by about $10,000 per year, with the potential to bring in more.
“Renting out a part of your home is definitely worth doing if you have a basement apartment with a separate entrance,” says Colleen. “The main reason is you can instantly diversify your income stream. While my husband and I are gainfully employed, there’s always the risk that one or both of us could lose our job. We have this extra income to fall back on, just in case.”
Also, Colleen says she enjoys not being tied to any one renter for 12 or more months in case things didn’t work out. She also likes the fact that her renters only bring along their necessities and that they don’t move large furniture in and out of her basement, which means less wear and tear on her home.
Another huge benefit to renting out her basement suite, Colleen says, is that she lives on-site. “I can conveniently take care of requests and keep an eye on the place.”
Plus, because the couple is already paying for amenities like cable, water, electricity, trash, wireless Internet, etc., it doesn’t cost them a whole lot extra to provide amenities to the basement apartment.
“We’re able to offer our home at a low, all-inclusive rental rate because we don’t incur a lot of extra fees ourselves,” says Colleen.
A Word to the Wise
Colleen says that renting out a furnished apartment isn’t for everyone.
“You do have someone living in your house and you have to continually be on the look out for your next renter,” says Colleen. “It can be time-consuming to market your home.”
She also advises that someone shouldn’t buy a home with a mother-in-law suite unless they can afford the full mortgage payments themselves.
“We are fortunate that we can afford our mortgage. Any income we make from the mother-in-law suite is a bonus. I tell people looking to do what I’m doing to make sure they’re not dependent on income from their rental suite because they’re putting themselves at unnecessary risk.”
Overall, Colleen says because they have found so much success renting out a part of their home they may never go back to not renting it out. “It’s a peace of mind for us. We don’t have to think twice about money since we supplement our income with our greatest asset – our home!”
to view this propertySan Francisco Couple Invests in Second Property in Texas to be Closer to their New Grandson
Janie Perez and her husband happily live in San Francisco – although they miss their grown children dearly. Their son was living in San Antonio with his wife and a baby on the way.
Perez decided to buy an investment property – a condo – in San Antonio. It would be her second home – a home away from home – where she could comfortably stay during her frequent visits to the area. Also, because her condo was vacant much of the year, she figured she could make some extra income on the property by renting it out between visits.
“We advertised our property in the newspaper and online and didn’t like the feedback nor quality of tenants we were getting. We talked with a Realtor and a property management company and they recommended we try CorporateHousingbyOwner.com,” she says.
CorporateHousingbyOwner.com is a website that helps private landlords market their furnished, short-term rentals to corporate housing tenants.
Immediately upon listing her property on CorporateHousingbyOwner.com (property ID #2986), Perez found a tenant – a business executive visiting the area for a temporary work assignment. She says that since signing up with CorporateHousingbyOwner.com, the property has been occupied by a string of high quality renters. “It’s barely vacant!” she says.
“We’re getting 3-5 rental inquiries per month, more than enough to keep it rented 9-10 months out of the year,” she says. “When the condo is vacant, we seize the opportunity to visit our son and new grandson without having to stay in a hotel or burden my son and his family.”
Even though Perez lives hundreds of miles away, she says the Internet has made it possible for her to manage the property by herself. “I’m able to do everything online including the application, verification and contract processes,” she says.
One of Perez’s strategies is to motivate the lessee to treat the condo well.
“We tell them if they leave their condo as tidy as they found it, they get their full $500 deposit back. We have been able to return the deposit to everyone we’ve rented it to and our condo is always in immaculate condition when we return,” she says. “You can hardly tell anyone has lived there.”
CorporateHousingbyOwner.com has made the process so easy for Perez that she says she decided to purchase another investment property in Austin, Texas (Property ID #5312 – pictured below) so she and her husband could visit their daughter, who lived in the area at the time (although her daughter has since moved).
Perez says she listed the Austin condo on CorporateHousingbyOwner.com on a Monday and by Friday her first lease deal was signed and she had the deposit and first month’s rent in hand!
“CorporateHousingbyOwner.com has helped us keep our place continuously rented, cover our mortgage and maintenance costs, and has given us a place to visit and feel at home for few months out of the year,” says Perez. “It has been well worth the investment.”
to view this propertyDenver Couple Creates 3,800 Square Foot Executive Retreat that Caters to Upscale Corporate Tenants
Natascha O'Flaherty and her husband lived in a beautiful Denver home located in an upscale community called Hilltop. They also owned a second home in the mountains. After nine years of living in Denver, the couple decided they were “mountain people at heart” and decided it was time to take up full-time residence in the Rocky Mountains.
This decision came during a housing market slump, so the couple decided that rather than sell their Denver home, they would keep it as an investment property and rent it out.
“Our preference was to sell, but obviously we didn’t want to sell in a down market,” says Natascha. “It was more lucrative for us to use our home as a corporate rental and enable the home to appreciate over time. If we would have sold it and put the money in an investment account, especially in the last six months, we would have lost so much more.”
The couple decided to market the home as a fully furnished executive rental and discovered a website called "CorporateHousingbyOwner.com", which would put their luxury home directly in front of potential corporate housing tenants.Within days of listing their home on "CorporateHousingbyOwner.com", the couple landed their first renter: A couple in the process of building a home with a builder running two months behind schedule! After that, Natascha lined up an executive, along with his wife, who was being relocated to Denver. Since then Natascha has scored a string of renters with little down time in between.
The true benefit of CorporateHousingbyOwner.com, she says, is that it’s a “refreshing alternative” to traditional corporate housing rentals, which are dominated by hotel-like apartments.
“I would have been thrilled to find the equivalent of our home as turnkey rental when we spent a year living in Chicago,” she says. “It’s a unique opportunity to be able to rent a fully-furnished high-end home, especially for families who are new to a city because they wouldn’t have to immediately commit to buying a home or signing a long-term lease.
Food for Thought
Natascha offers future corporate housing landlords this advice:
Keep Renters’ Needs Front and Center: She says that landlords should always keep in mind what renters need and want they want when they come to town. “We understand that pets are part of the family and are willing to accommodate most pets. We furnished the home well beyond the essentials. We leave a welcome note and welcome gift to welcome our guests – all these things add up to impart a quality experience for our tenants.”
Do Your Homework: Natascha says that it’s important to do your homework. “A landlord should think about all the details, from setting the lease terms to conducting background checks, managing walk-throughs and handling routine maintenance,” she says. “One of the best pieces of advice given to me was to have the renter sign off on the condition of the unit – this way the renter is taking responsibility for anything broken or missing from the home when they leave.”
Pay Attention to Finances: Natascha further advises that someone should sit down with accountant to address issues like depreciation, income, tracking expenses related to the property, etc. “You must run this like a business if you want to be successful and it’s important to have qualified advisors helping you along the way.”
Foster Open Communications: And most of all, Natascha says she would advise that a corporate housing landlord fosters at good and open relationship with his or her tenant. “Give your tenant your cell phone and be available to them. I’ve found that I have a better relationship with a tenant when he or she has complete access to me.”
Onward and Upward
Natascha says that she truly enjoys being a corporate housing landlord. “Now that we’ve gotten our feet wet, I suspect we’ll be corporate housing landlords for many years. It has been a good business decision for us and we’ve been lucky to have a string of sound tenants.”
“In the meantime,” she adds, “we’re looking for ways to market our property even more broadly and are in the process of building our own website that will provide even more details about our Denver home to potential renters.”
to view this propertyDenver Businessman Converts His “For-Sale” Condo Into a Short-Term Furnished Rental
Denver businessman Douglas Black found himself simultaneously carrying two mortgage payments on the two Denver condominiums he owned. He was trying to sell the one he was living in so he could move into the new one he bought and renovated. But after trying to sell his condo for five months with no buyers in sight, Black decided he needed to get creative.
With the condo already furnished and staged to sell, Doug knew it would be difficult to rent it out as a traditional, unfurnished rental. But as a long-time businessman, Doug had been familiar corporate rentals, or fully-furnished properties available for temporary rent.
Doug decided to try his hand at becoming a do-it-yourself corporate housing landlord. After conducting a bit of research online, Doug found CorporateHousingbyOwner.com, a website that enabled him, along with other private homeowners, to list and market his fully-furnished short-term rental property to potential corporate housing seekers.
Almost immediately upon listing his condo for rent (property ID #1813), Doug landed a year-long lease with a relocated Quiznos executive. After that, Doug experienced a number of other shorter-term tenants that found him after seeing his listing on CorporateHousingbyOwner.com.
Doug says that corporate housing has been a good way for him to offset his costs during this recession. “Ideally I would have liked to have sold my condo right away but that just wasn’t happening with this continued housing market slump.
“For now I’m finding that renting out my condo as corporate housing has enabled me to off-set my costs and hold on to the property until the right buyer comes along and until the market improves,” says Doug “Also the type of clientele that are searching for this kind of housing tend to be people that are in and out of town a lot. I feel that creates less wear and tear on the property. And if it’s a corporation that stands behind the renter, I feel like the renter will be responsible towards the property – which is a huge bonus!”
Doug adds that he will continue to try and sell his condo but always advises potential renters that the unit will be “for-sale” while they are renting it. “I haven’t had anyone mind that the unit remains for-sale because most of my tenants only need a place to stay for a short while. Plus, everyone can sympathize with my plight because they all know just how difficult it is to sell a home these days,” he says.
to view this propertyChicago Couple Finds Success in Corporate Rental Market
In 2004, Kajal Agarwal and her husband bought a 2 bed/2 bath condo in Chicago’s established Lakeview neighborhood. The low rise brick building was located less than two blocks from Lake Michigan and Chicago’s popular lakefront attractions.
After living in the condo for four years, the couple decided it was time to head to the suburbs. They desired a larger living space and good schools for their son who was about to start kindergarten.
Because the couple didn’t want to carry two mortgages, nor did they want to sell in this tumultuous housing market (there were two other for-sale condos in their building that both had been on the market for more than a year!), the couple decided to try their hand at renting.
Kajal says her first renter experience was “disastrous.” Her renter never paid rent and it took her four months to get him out of her condo. Fearing another bad experience, the couple looked into converting their condo into a corporate housing rental in order to attract professional clientele. As a former traveling business consultant, Kajal was familiar with the corporate housing concept.“I felt that corporate rentals were safer, more lucrative and more interesting than individual rentals so in July we made the switch,” Kajal said.
Kajal said she spent about $3,000 furnishing the condo before listing it on CorporateHousingbyOwner.com (CHBO), a website that connects individual homeowners offering fully-furnished short-term rentals with potential corporate housing renters.
“A CHBO representative gave me some great tips on how to get started without spending a ton of money,” she said.
After listing the property in July 2008, Kajal immediately received interest from a California woman who needed a furnished rental for one month while visiting her daughter. Next, a family from Belgium contacted her to rent her condo for six months!
“We are truly amazed by the CHBO coverage not only in U.S. but across Europe and Asia also,” she says. “You just have to be positive, even though it’s hard in this economy. We’ve received good responses through CHBO and have attracted quality renters that we don’t worry about ruining our condo. We have recovered a lot of our costs already and believe that it was well worth going the extra mile of furnishing our home and offering it as a corporate rental.”
to view this propertyCorporate Housing Accommodations Made Business Trip to Miami More Comfortable and Affordable
Stan Cooper, a freelance director of photography from North Carolina, was handed quite the assignment: Shoot video of the Orange Bowl and National Championship Game in January 2009 in Miami.
Needing to spend nearly two weeks in Miami during a very busy visitor season, Stan knew that renting two hotel rooms, one for himself and one for his business partner, would break his small budget.
That’s when Stan decided to get creative. He Googled “corporate condos” and found CorporateHousingbyOwner.com, a website that connects those offering fully furnished short-term housing with corporate housing renters.
“Because we were financing our own stay it made sense to seek out corporate housing because we could share a two bedroom condo versus needing to rent out two separate rooms,” he said. “Plus, we wanted a place with a kitchen so we could cook some of our meals and not always have to go out to eat.”
After searching the website for rentals in Miami, Stan spotted the perfect two bedroom, two bathroom condo just outside of Miami.
“I found the whole process to be quite easy. I contacted the landlord through CorporateHousingbyOwner.com. We quickly set up the details with limited paperwork and effort. The landlord was great and overall my experience exceeded expectations,” he added.
With his first corporate housing stay under his belt, Stan says that he would definitely use corporate housing again in the future. But he adds that he learned that he didn’t need to stay in the heart of Miami to enjoy his time in the sunny city.
“We didn’t have awe-inspiring views of the beach but we also didn’t have the traffic and noise. Because we were there on business, we enjoyed being in a quiet neighborhood within walking distance to a grocery store and several restaurants. Everything just worked out,” he says.
*The tenant’s name was changed to protect his privacy. All other information is factual.
Denver Homeowner Rents Out Home for $1,000 More Per Month than Expected!
When Angela Crowley had the opportunity to relocate overseas for business, she began evaluating the option of selling her fully furnished Denver home. With the real estate market in shambles and Crowley not quite ready to give up Denver for good (she planned to live in Denver for part of the year), a real estate expert recommended she rent out the home as an executive rental. After a rental agent listed her home for rent for three months (and after lowering the price three times), she decided to take matters into her own hands.
After searching around online while overseas, Crowley stumbled upon CorporateHousingbyOwner.com (CHBO), an online website that connects owners of fully furnished properties with executives and others looking for temporary rentals.
She spoke with a representative at CHBO to learn more about how the process worked and found it all simple enough. She immediately set up her posting and within two weeks, her property was rented out for five months and for $1,000 more per month than the rental agent had suggested. That rate included the use of her furniture, utilities, high speed Internet, and general maintenance.Crowley says that corporate housing was the "perfect" solution for her needs. "It worked perfectly last year because it allowed me to maintain my investment while still working overseas. I am about to post the listing again for this winter. We will see if it continues to work!" she said.
Crowley says that that while her experience has been great, there are some challenges to owning a corporate rental, including the risk of damage to her personal property and coordinating logistics from abroad.
Crowley says she has taken measures to prevent any personal property risks and understands that the benefits of being a corporate housing landlord well outweigh the risks.
"I have decided that corporate housing is a better option for me than selling because I love my home. I am able to keep my home, maximize its value, and live in other locations part of the year," she says. “It doesn't get better or easier than that!”
Crowley’s story was featured in the Denver Post in December 2008. Please
to read the full article on our blog. to view this propertyCorporate Housing Helps Phoenix Homeowner Build Equity and Still Enjoy a Home Away from Home Too! 12-23-2008
In 2006, when the building industry was at its peak and the economy in good shape, Marlene Johnson and her husband decided to buy a condo in Phoenix (about 10 miles outside of Tempe, Arizona). They visited the area often because their daughter lived there and they saw a ripe investment opportunity.
Marlene fully furnished and beautifully decorated the Phoenix condo, which includes travertine floors, stainless steel appliances and gleaming granite countertops. The location was perfect too – just a few miles from downtown with easy access to the freeways.
However, the couple needed their Phoenix condo to be rented out part of the year in order for them to make their mortgage payments. The couple was feeling the financial heat as they had recently bought a larger home in Woodland Hills, California.
As luck would have it, Marlene was able to rent her Phoenix home to friend of a friend for several years – but when that tenant no longer needed their home, they decided to list it on Craigslist and with a local Realtor – sadly they got no bites.Landlords Get Creative When Times are Tough
Not one to sit idle, Marlene decided to get creative and began doing a little research online. There she found CorporateHousingbyOwner.com (CHBO), an online portal that enables homeowners to list and market their fully furnished properties to corporate housing executives and others seeking fully furnished, temporary rentals. After speaking with the company’s co-founder and with several of CHBO’s customers, she was convinced to give CHBO a try.
Within hours of listing her property (ID #3092) on CHBO, she had her first inquiry – a Fortune 500 company that wanted to rent her condo to an intern for the entire summer. Not only that, but she was able to get a great rate for the property too!
“CHBO has been a wonderful resource for getting exposure in the Phoenix market, even when the heat is on!” she says, ecstatic that her property was rented during a season when there are less visitors to the area.
She said after her summer tenant moved out, she elected for a CHBO "sponsored ad," which spotlighted her property on the CHBO homepage; again, within hours, she got a call from a new tenant who stayed in her property for another month!
Managing a Long-Distance Property
Marlene says managing a long distance property is challenging, but not impossible. She makes arrangements for the property to be cleaned when her tenant moves out and she often uses the time between tenants to enjoy the property herself and visit her daughter. Plus, she says it doesn’t hurt to have her daughter in town to keep an eye on the place, as well as a helpful neighbor too.
Overall, Marlene is pleased with being a corporate housing landlord and says that corporate rentals have been the best solution for her and her husband.
“With the economy the way it is, we would take a huge loss in selling the Phoenix condo. Plus, we really can’t afford the luxury of having it at our ‘beck and call.’ It’s nice to have someone live there and pay our mortgage while we continue to earn equity,” she says. “We just keep our fingers crossed that our success continues!”
to view this propertyJob Transfer Leaves Family Miles Apart
10-27-2008
Laurie Rioux shutters to think about what last Christmas would have been like separated from her husband. That’s because the scenario was all too real for this professional nurse and her two-year-old daughter.
In July 2007, Laurie’s husband was unexpectedly transferred from Arlington, Texas to El Paso. The couple was not ready to pick up everything and move, and not ready to sell their home in a soft housing market, the couple decided to live in separate cities.
“I couldn’t just pick up everything and go. My business was in Arlington, my career was in Arlington and my home was in Arlington,” she said. “We knew if we sold our home and then had to move back, we could never afford to purchase this kind of home again.”
Laurie’s husband began living alone in El Paso. Laurie stayed behind with their daughter.
Miserable being a part from her husband and with Christmas just over a month away, Laurie knew she needed to do something – anything – to bring her family together again.After perusing the Internet, Laurie stumbled upon CorporateHousingbyOwner.com where she learned that she could temporarily rent out her fully furnished home as a corporate housing rental. Within two weeks, Laurie packed up her personal effects, turned her home into a CHBO Complete™ certified listing (which meant her property met corporate housing standards of completeness) and then listed her home for rent on CorporateHousingbyOwner.com.
Within one month of advertising on CHBO, Laurie found a quality renter who wanted to lease her home for three months. That renter was Laurie’s ticket to El Paso so she and her daughter could spend the holidays with their husband and father. Months later, Laurie continues to use CorporateHousingbyOwner.com to find a continuous stream of quality tenants. In fact, she even rented her home to a family displaced by Hurricane Ike.
Laurie likes the new arrangement, although she still dreams of the day when her whole family is living in their cherished Arlington home again. She says, “CorporateHousingbyOwner.com gives me the flexibility of having my Arlington home available every so often so I can come home to take care of my patients and do what I need to do in Arlington. I like knowing that the home is still there for us when we’re ready to go back.”
In the meantime, Laurie will earn passive income from her Arlington home while enjoying living as a family unit in El Paso. “I don’t know if we’ll ever move back to our Arlington home, but I know that we just weren’t ready to let go of it,” she says. And thanks to CorporateHousingbyOwner.com, she doesn’t have to let go.
to view this propertyDC-Metro Homeowner Turns Investment Property into Lucrative Corporate Housing Rental
10-24-2008
Arlington, Virginia resident, Adriane J. McCray Webb, took her first foray into corporate housing when she and her children accompanied her husband, a military officer, on a tour of duty. It was during this overseas assignment when she gained the valuable knowledge about temporary housing that would serve her well in the coming years as a real estate investor.
Upon returning state-side, Adriane and her husband purchased their first income property. Soon after, the property was rented and immediately began off-setting the couple’s expenses. Hoping to continue the trend, the couple expanded their real estate investment portfolio by acquiring a second investment property.
However, with changing market conditions, the couple was not recouping their expenses. One property had a viable tenant, but the second sat idle for several months with no solid rental prospects. “What started out as a real estate investment had gradually become a financial drag resulting from a lack of qualified leads in a tenuous housing market,” said Adriane.
Recalling her overseas housing experience, Adriane began researching the need for similar housing in her area. After consulting with numerous real estate experts in the housing industry, she decided to convert her investment into a corporate housing rental in hopes of attracting and increasing the pool of quality renters. Further research led Adriane to Eric Smith, founder of CorporateHousingbyOwner.com. “I really came to rely on Eric’s professional judgment. He not only walked me through every step of making the transition, but also he helped me do so effectively and efficiently,” recalls Adriane.
This decision proved to be the turning point in a cycle of negative cash flow. After applying a fresh coat of paint and installing new carpet, Adriane was able to create an environment worthy of their targeted audience by installing contemporary fixtures, high-end furnishings, modern housewares and luxury linens. As a result, the couple secured their first tenant within three days of listing their fully furnished property with CorporateHousingbyOwner.com. “Furnishing our unit enabled us to share our vision of what this home would look and feel like, making it easy for potential clients to see themselves moving in and living here,” Adriane said.
Her first tenant not only referred her to the next qualified renter, but is now a repeat customer. Adriane says, “CorporateHousingbyOwner.com has made a believer out of us and we plan to list other properties with the company to realize our goal of earning passive residual income on real estate.”
That said, the couple realizes that corporate housing remains a constant learning process. “We are learning as we go,” Adriane said. “We continually reassess our expenses and adjust our rates accordingly so that we remain competitive in order to attract quality renters. Yes, it’s a learning process, but one that we’re excited to be a part of!”
to view this propertyEast Coast Couples Makes Pacific Northwest Condo Their Home Away From Home
Although they have hung their hats in New York since 1974, Kathy Meehan and her husband dearly missed the Pacific Northwest, the place where Kathy spent her childhood.
“It has always been a dream of ours to come back, but we both worked in New York, which is 3,000 miles away, and our concern was that we would be priced out of the Seattle/Tacoma area. The area is still hot despite the economy and housing market,” she says.
But timing was everything.
In 2006, the Meehan’s decided it was time to buy an investment property in their dream area, just minutes from Kathy’s mother and childhood home. They decided on a Beautiful, first-floor condo that overlooks Commencement Bay and is near Seattle’s booming business district and public transportation. They bought the condo knowing it would serve as their vacation home part of the year and as a corporate rental (investment property) for the rest of the year.
She says, “We also knew we couldn’t afford to do this unless we had someone renting it for most of the year to help off-set our mortgage payments. The only catch was we didn’t want people prancing in and out with their furniture. Making it a corporate rental just made sense for us.”
Kathy says that she has made the furnished rental property one that she is “very proud” of.
“It’s professionally decorated and furnished with a business person in mind,” she adds. “It has a classic look and feels like home when I’m there. Any renter should feel right at home too.”
Plus, Kathy says that finding renters has been a non-issue for her.
Corporate Housing by Owner has been crucial in our success. We have had a consistent string of renters for the past three years since listing our property on the landlord-renter matching site,” she says.
Kathy says that she loves her west coast home and can’t wait to move to the area when she retires.
“I love that I can get off an airplane, get in my rental car and I can move right in. All I have to do is turn on the lights and buy groceries. It truly is our home away from home.”
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