$1,000,000/Year with 22 Rentals by Focusing on This Ultra-Profitable Niche

Summary

Real Estate Rookie Podcast Summary: "$1,000,000/Year with 22 Rentals by Focusing on This Ultra-Profitable Niche"

Guest Introduction: Jesse Vasquez's Success in Midterm Rentals

In this episode of the Real Estate Rookie podcast, hosts Ashley Kerr and Tony J. Robinson welcome Jesse Vasquez, a seasoned expert in midterm rentals. Jesse has successfully built a portfolio of 22 properties, generating over $1,000,000 annually by focusing on the midterm rental (MTR) niche. His insights provide a roadmap for new investors looking to enter this lucrative segment of the real estate market.

From Healthcare to Real Estate: Jesse's Origin Story [02:40]

Jesse shares his unique transition from a 17-year career in healthcare to real estate investing. In 2015, an encounter with a travel nurse struggling to find affordable housing inspired him to explore midterm rentals. This pivotal moment led Jesse to negotiate contracts with hospitals, enabling him to provide housing solutions for traveling clinicians. Reflecting on this journey, Jesse emphasizes the importance of seizing opportunities and building relationships from the ground up.

“I was just trying to take care of my family. And thanks to Airbnb, I've done so much more.” – Jesse Vasquez [00:00]

Understanding Midterm Rentals: Definition and Differentiation [05:31]

Jesse defines midterm rentals as properties leased for durations ranging from 30 days to 12 months, positioning them between short-term rentals (less than 30 days) and long-term rentals (over a year). This flexible leasing term caters to individuals needing temporary housing, such as travel nurses, corporate relocations, and contractors.

Market Considerations for Midterm Rentals [06:05]

Before investing in MTRs, Jesse advises assessing the local market's suitability. A thriving short-term rental market often indicates a promising midterm rental market. Tools like AirDNA and Mashvisor can help evaluate market trends and demand, ensuring investors choose locations with high occupancy potential for midterm stays.

Strategies for Acquiring Properties: Ownership vs. Arbitrage [07:10]

Jesse employs a combination of property ownership and rental arbitrage to expand his portfolio. In high-cost areas like the Bay Area, he utilizes arbitrage by leasing properties and securing contracts with institutions like UCSF Medical Center. This approach minimizes upfront investment while guaranteeing occupancy through established contracts.

Building Contracts with Hospitals and Corporations [08:24]

Securing contracts with hospitals involves strategic outreach and networking. Jesse outlines a step-by-step process:

1. Identify Key Contacts: Reach out to hospital HR departments to connect with travel clinician coordinators.
2. Leverage LinkedIn: Use LinkedIn to find and connect with relocation specialists and recruiters.
3. Personal Outreach: Initiate phone calls to introduce your services, emphasizing how your properties can meet their clients' needs.
4. Build Relationships: Foster long-term partnerships by consistently providing reliable housing solutions and maintaining open communication.

“I'm building these relationships in my market so I'm actually able to serve the companies that I work with.” – Jesse Vasquez [15:00]

Expanding Beyond Healthcare: Corporate Housing and Construction Workers [16:24]

Jesse illustrates the versatility of MTRs by sharing his experience with corporate clients outside the healthcare sector. For instance, he secured a $25,000 monthly contract with a construction company by offering a cost-effective alternative to traditional hotel stays. This diversification reduces dependency on a single client type and opens avenues for various industries requiring temporary housing.

Creating a Referral Network: Building Relationships with Other Landlords [14:22]

A key aspect of Jesse's strategy is fostering a referral network with other landlords and service providers. By collaborating and referring clients to each other when one's properties are fully booked, all parties benefit financially. This symbiotic relationship enhances occupancy rates and creates a supportive community within the MTR niche.

“We're all making money.” – Jesse Vasquez [14:22]

Property Setup for Midterm Rentals [21:13]

Jesse discusses the cost-efficient approach to furnishing MTR properties. Unlike short-term rentals that demand high-end, aesthetically pleasing interiors, MTRs require practical and comfortable setups. He recommends budgeting around $10 per square foot, focusing on essential amenities that cater to long-term comfort without overspending.

Managing the Midterm Rental Business [25:27]

Operating MTRs is more hands-on compared to traditional rentals. Jesse advises maintaining at least six months of reserves to cover potential vacancies and ensuring consistent outreach to secure bookings. Building strong relationships with clients not only minimizes vacancies but also generates steady referrals, making the business more resilient and profitable.

Lead Generation Platforms and Active Outreach [27:46]

Jesse highlights the effectiveness of platforms like Furnish Finder and Airbnb for attracting MTR clients. However, he emphasizes the necessity of proactive engagement—such as making phone calls and sending personalized messages—to convert leads into contracts. This active approach differentiates successful MTR investors from those who rely solely on passive lead generation.

Relationship Building and Trust [30:28]

Trust is paramount in the MTR business. Jesse underscores the importance of personal connections and reliable communication. By sending thoughtful gestures like Starbucks orders and maintaining consistent follow-ups, investors can build trust and establish long-lasting relationships with clients and partners.

Scaling and Leveraging Referrals [32:10]

As Jesse’s network grows, so does his ability to handle multiple bookings efficiently. He leverages referrals to expand his reach without overextending his resources. This strategy not only optimizes occupancy rates but also facilitates business growth through a supportive community of like-minded investors.

Future of the Midterm Rental Market [36:19]

Jesse anticipates significant growth in the MTR market, driven by increasing demand for flexible housing solutions. With large corporations like Blackstone entering the space, early investors have the advantage of establishing strong networks and brand recognition before major players dominate the market.

Conclusions and Key Takeaways

Jesse Vasquez’s approach to midterm rentals demonstrates the potential for substantial income through strategic relationships, market assessment, and active property management. Key lessons from the episode include:

• Build Strong Relationships: Networking and personal outreach are critical for securing and maintaining contracts.
• Assess Market Viability: Choose locations with established short-term rental markets to ensure midterm rental success.
• Diversify Client Base: Expand beyond healthcare to include various industries requiring temporary housing.
• Maintain Financial Reserves: Prepare for vacancies by maintaining sufficient financial backups.
• Adopt an Entrepreneurial Mindset: Treat your real estate investments as businesses, focusing on providing value and building a supportive community.

Notable Quotes:

• “I just see this shift in real estate and it's really cool to watch people that come in and have that mindset of building the business.” – Jesse Vasquez [10:00]
• “It's about staying consistent, being able to adapt to rejection, and continuing to move forward.” – Jesse Vasquez [30:28]
• “Every 88 seconds in the US somebody files a claim to an insurance company.” – Jesse Vasquez [35:00]

For more insights and to connect with Jesse Vasquez, you can follow him on Instagram@therealjessavasquez or on YouTube@JesseVasquez.

Final Thoughts:

This episode of the Real Estate Rookie podcast provides invaluable insights into the midterm rental market, highlighting Jesse Vasquez's successful strategies and offering actionable advice for new investors. By focusing on relationship building, strategic market selection, and active property management, listeners can navigate the MTR niche effectively and potentially replicate Jesse's impressive financial success.

Transcript

[Ashley Kerr]

This show is sponsored by Airbnb. Back when I lost my job in 2020, Airbnb is what gave me the extra income to work for myself. Look, I wasn't a big real estate investor then. I was just trying to take care of my family. And thanks to Airbnb, I've done so much more. Next time you're out traveling for work or on vacation or you aren't using your place, it can actually make money for you. That adu extra bedroom or additional property. It's an opportunity waiting to happen. With Airbnb. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host.

[Jesse Vasquez]

How high.

[Ashley Kerr]

Is the interest rate for the new Laurel Road High Yield Savings Account?

[Tony J. Robinson]

This high.

[Ashley Kerr]

The air is really, really thin up here. The Laurel Road Very High Yield Savings.

[Jesse Vasquez]

Account Variable Annual Percentage Yield APY is subject to change at any time. No minimum balance required. Fees may reduce earnings on the account. For full terms and conditions, see laurelroad.com savings. Laurel Road is a brand of key bank member FDIC.

[Tony J. Robinson]

This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. There's nothing sweeter than baking cookies during the holidays. With Prime, I get all my ingredients delivered right to my door, fast and free. No last minute store trips needed. And of course I blast my favorite holiday playlist on Amazon Music. It's the ultimate soundtrack for creating unforgettable memories. From streaming to shopping. It's on Prime. Visit Amazon.comprime to get more out of whatever you're into. We are so excited to be joined today by Jesse Vasquez. He is an expert on medium term rentals. He's currently making over a million dollars a year from 22 properties. The midterm rental space is primed for growth and there's still time to get in on it in today's market. Today, get out your notepads on how to set up your own property as a midterm rental as Jesse takes us through the steps of how anyone can do this is the Real Estate Rookie Podcast. I'm Ashley Kerr and I'm here with Tony J. Robinson.

[Ashley Kerr]

And welcome to the podcast where every week, three times a week, we bring you the inspiration, motivation and stories you need to hear to kickstart your investing journey. And Jesse Vasquez. Dude, super excited to have you on the Rookie pod.

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, I'm super stoked to be here. Thank you guys for having me. I'm super excited. I can't even say it more times because I've already said it twice and that's Totally. Enough, right?

[Tony J. Robinson]

Well, Jesse, since this is the rookie podcast, can you give us a little quick rundown of what your life was before you got started in real estate and how you kind of transitioned into the portfolio you've built today?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, that's an excellent question. I will start it. So back in 2015, I worked in healthcare. I was actually in healthcare for 17 years of my life. I know I look like I'm 20 years old with gray hair, but that's not the case, actually. But I was working in a hospital, and I was a business development manager, which is basically a fancy way of saying sales rep. Ash. And there was this dimly lit hospital room that I was walking in. And if anybody's ever been in one of these, like, nursing stations are kind of like a U shape. And there's this woman that had this beautiful accent. She was saying things like, don't you know? And isn't he a doll? And Ash, you know where that accents from?

[Tony J. Robinson]

I'm thinking you're going to say Midwest.

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yes, Midwest is absolutely correct. It was Fargo, North Dakota, and I'm in California. Everybody says dude and bro, man. Right, Tony? Yeah, even the women say dude and bro, man. And I was just instantly drawn to her. And I asked her what she was doing in California, and she said she was a travel nurse. And I asked her where she was staying and asked. She told me she was staying on 9th street at Motel 6, and she was paying around $3,000 to stay in that hotel. She said she couldn't find any housing for travel nurses. So that's when I first started to understand this. And she gave me the concept of going and talking to the HR department in the hospital. And that's exactly what I did. I was walking down to the hospital. If you guys ever been in a hospital before, you've seen that folks have to have these badges to get into these rooms. I sat there and waited for about 15 minutes until a nurse came in. She badged to go in. All of a sudden, the door was swinging closed. It was one of those doors that, like, prevents it from being loud. And I just ran over there. I stuck my foot in the door right before it closed, and I opened it, and there was this woman named Misty that was sitting right in the front. And Misty said, what the hell are you doing in this office? And I just said, I just talked to Barbara on third floor on telemetry floor, and she mentioned to come talk to you. She's trying to find housing. And she looked at me and was like, we've been trying to find somebody that has property for our nurses to stay for the longest time. And I'm glad you're here. And I didn't even have a property at that time. So back in 2015, after I talked to Misty, after I talked to Barbara, I realized that I could get a contract with the actual hospital that will pay for these nurses to stay in these properties. And that's when I was off to the races to try to buy a property within the next 60 days. And from then on, it just. I wouldn't be sitting here with you guys if that didn't happen.

[Ashley Kerr]

Yeah. Jesse, what a. What an interesting origin story. Did you, did you thank that woman from North Dakota for kicking off your real estate investing career?

[Jesse Vasquez]

I did. I still have her contact information. In fact, I was trying to get her on my podcast. Like, I want to get you back on here. She travels all over the place. She's still a travel nurse and still does her whole thing. So it's pretty cool to see full circle.

[Ashley Kerr]

Well, Jesse, if we can, I just want to, I want to break down maybe a few key concepts for, for the rookie audience here. So I invest in short term rentals. Ashley invest in long term rentals, and you're kind of in that, that middle space. So what is an MTR and how is it different from a traditional long term or a short term rental?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, that's a good question. So midterm rentals are right smack in the middle. They are. You obviously have long term rentals, which are 12 year leases. Short term is one day, two day, up to 30 days in midterms, 30 days or more, six months, eight months, nine months, 10 months, 11 months. I've had people that have actually stayed in my property for over a year that was still considered midterm. But that's the difference is that you have people that are staying for longer durations of time rather than just a couple days or a weekend or even a night.

[Tony J. Robinson]

So, Jesse, for someone that's looking to get into midterm rentals, what are some of the things they need to consider before they even purchase their first property?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, I would say first off, if you're in a market that allows that obviously is, is affluent to short term rentals. So, you know, Tony, you got short term rentals, but I think you got a lot of stuff in Joshua Tree, that's probably not the best place for a midterm rental to happen. But if you have short term rentals in Los Angeles or, you know, areas that are outside San Diego or metro areas or within 50 miles, 60 miles of metro areas or even cities that have random construction going on. Like, those are excellent midterm rental markets. And I think it's really hard to kind of open up a book and decide like, you know, is this a good place? You have to really see what's going on in the market. You have to see if there's short term rentals that are happening in that space. And luckily you guys probably talk about air DNA and Mash, Pfizer and all those tools. The short term rental space is really correlated with the midterm space. So if you do have a pretty decent short term rental market, there's a likelihood that you're going to have a pretty decent midterm rental market. That's usually what I tell people. And I'm sometimes right, sometimes wrong, but 99% of the time, it's usually correct. If it's a good short term market, it will be a good midterm rental market.

[Ashley Kerr]

Are you purchasing all of your 22 properties or are you doing a mix of like arbitrage or like leasing these properties as well?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, I have five arbitrage units. The arbitrage units I have are in the Bay Area because you're right, it's super expensive to buy. I mean you're looking at 1 million plus to even buy something in Oakland. That's a 3 to 1500 square feet. So I arbitrage out there. And the only reason why I did that is because I got a contract with UCSF Medical center where they have resident doctors that are staying in our units in Jack London Square, which is in Oakland. And I did rent those. And arbitrage is a great play in the midterm space, especially if you get a contract ahead of time. So you get the contract, then you get the unit so you're not sitting around vacant trying to figure stuff out. And I actually ended up getting a contract with UCSF that's one year long. So I know that that one year is going to be filled, which is pretty cool because again, I'm not like having to worry about vacancy that's going to happen. So we got that contract first, then we got the unit.

[Ashley Kerr]

So Jesse, you mentioned the contracts piece a couple of times and I think that's, that's super interesting because in the, in the short term rental space, I don't, I don't have contracts with, with anyone. In the long term rental space, Ashley only has contracts with her tenants. But you're going out and you're getting These contracts with the hospitals themselves. So if I'm a rookie and I'm starting from ground zero, I've got no investment properties, I've got nothing. But I want to go out and get a contract with the hospital. Walk me through that sequence of events that I need to follow to make that happen.

[Jesse Vasquez]

So this is really good. This is an important piece of the puzzle. So hospital contracts are not easy to get, but there's. I'm going to tell you guys a different way, a different option that would be really, really helpful to you. So what I like to do is call the hospitals and actually ask, like, you know, do you have an HR department that handles travel clinicians that are coming in? I'll ask that. And if they say yes, I'll ask what companies they work for, and if they tell me what companies they work for, I'll obviously note those down and then I'll ask, you know, are they handling per diem pay or do you. Do you know anything? And is. Or is there a recruiter that's attached to the hospital? The second I'm able to get that information, I can now go on LinkedIn. And this is where it's going to be super powerful for people that are out there listening to this is you can type in, let's just say Doctors Medical Center Modesto and type in HR representative. I can start reaching out to these folks on LinkedIn. I don't actually have to go there. And if they give me a name and say Michael Douglas from AMN Healthcare, which is a travel nursing agency, I can now look up that person on LinkedIn and say, hey, I just got a note from Misty over at the hospital. She had mentioned that you are actually handling these travel clinicians are coming through really cool things that I actually have X amount of properties in this market and we actually house travel clinicians. Just like what you guys are doing here in this market. Now, is there any way we can jump on a quick call? Like, that's the perfect intro right there for somebody to. You want to get off the email. You want to get on a phone call with them and discuss, like, here's what we do, here's how we operate. But then you want to ask, like, what are you guys doing? Do you have, are your clinicians coming on per diem? Do you pay for housing? Are they paying for their own housing? So you start to figure out if they're actually going to do a contract or if the nurses are going to pay. They get per diem pay, which is untaxed. And say In California it's $5,000 for 30 days, they will use that $5,000 to get a property. And a lot of times or to get a place to stay. And a lot of times they'll want to get in as cheap as possible. But this is where you find the companies like CHG Healthcare that only pay for clinicians to stay in properties. And that's where you're able to, like, still get these, you know, pretty, pretty awesome contracts or 2x3x long term rental rates by working with these individual companies that are housing these clinicians. And it's not just clinicians. We could talk about all the other types of folks that we house, but that's one of the ones that gets the most attention as a travel nurse industry. And it's really where I started. It's really where I saw the need. And Tony, we talked about the Central Valley a lot. Central Valley doesn't have very many colleges that have graduates that go, you know, that graduate as rns. So this market here has always been there's not enough clinicians to meet the demand for patients. And the crazy thing about that is there's all these different cities and states all across the US that have that same problem. But that's where you have to go in and uncover those potential opportunities. And hopefully after this podcast, everybody that's listening to this gets the idea to look at real estate in a different way. Because I think there's a whole lot of entrepreneurs now that are coming into real estate where they're actually thinking like entrepreneurs, like a business and not just like, you know, getting a tangible piece of real estate and handing it off to a property manager. And I just see this shift in real estate and it's really cool to watch people that come in and have that mindset of building the business.

[Tony J. Robinson]

Rookies. We want to hit 100,000 subscribers on YouTube and we need your help. While we take a quick ad break, you can go over to YouTube.com ealestaterookie and make sure you're subscribed to the channel. Stay tuned after a break for more from Jesse.

[Ashley Kerr]

All right, welcome back to the show where we are joined by Jesse Vasquez.

[Tony J. Robinson]

Yeah, I definitely want to touch more on that piece of other contracts or other types of people that would actually stay besides traveling nurses. But going back to, you mentioned that one company where they pay to have the nurses stay. Is that like a, not a referral, but like a recruiting company? Because I have a friend that works for a company where he works with hospitals. And traveling nurses where the hospital will give him, like, here's the type of person we need to fill this position. Then he goes out as a recruiter to fill that role. So, like, would that be like a type of company you'd want to talk to to the recruiters?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yes. So there's two routes you can go. You can go to the hospital and you can try to connect with the hospital. That's a lot more difficult now post Covid, which before it was a lot easier to do that. So now. Or pre Covid. I'm sorry. And now you have to. Yeah. The recruiters are actually. They're basically assigned to try to find Tony and try to find Ashley to get jobs. So my job is to connect with those recruiters and say, hey, I have property for the clinicians that are coming. So before they even come, instead of them searching Airbnb or going on furnish finder, I want to be the resource for them coming into California, whatever market. And this is where it becomes really cool because I can now have a, you know, people that are in my market. We're going to say, Ash and Tony, you guys are in my market. I don't actually look at you guys like competitors. I look at you like allies, which is different than the short term rental space. Right. Where everybody's like, pick me. I got the best place. Stay at my place for the weekend. I got pickleball courts and saunas and cold plunges and all that other stuff. Tony can, can. Can get a referral. I can get a referral. And they might not like my property. I might have a three bedroom, two bath, but then I'll get them to stay at Tony's house, which is a one bedroom, one bath near the hospital. And I'll say, hey, Tony, we just got you a $15,000 booking. Would you mind giving me 10% of that? So all of a sudden I make $1,500 by literally just, you know, handing Tony the referral. And this is what's really cool about the midterm rental space is that now we've kind of created these communities where everybody's doing exactly what I'm doing right now. They're getting these referrals. And then, Ash, you might have somewhere, a property in Iowa. And all of a sudden now I have an insurance relocation claim or a corporate housing stay, and we get to use your property. I'm taking care of the client. Your place is booked. And everybody's happy. We're all making money. So I think there's kind of this new wave of almost like wholesaling, but not wholesaling. It's more of like a connectivity thing, which I think is super awesome in the midterm space. And I'm going to. I continue to see this evolve and grow. In fact, I just got a $50,000 booking from somebody that's in one of my classes, and all she do is send over the call and say, hey, do you got a place available? Modesto? And I was like, yeah, I got a couple that are open right now. And just that alone was a $50,000 booking, which is wild to even think about.

[Ashley Kerr]

Just first, super cool, man. I just want to make sure I'm tracking with what you're saying. So your. Your. Your goal here and kind of sharing the love is that sometimes you'll have, like, one of these recruiting agencies that you've worked with in the past, and they reach out to you, say, hey, Jess, we've got another nurse that we need to place. Do you have a. Do you. Do you have a unit in, you know, Texas? And since you don't have anything in Texas, instead of just telling that person no, you still want to be able to service that client. And then you'll reach out to someone else, you know, and say, hey, does anyone have a spot in Texas? And it becomes this kind of like, reciprocal symbiotic thing where everyone's kind of sharing when they don't have the space to fill. Is that what you're saying?

[Jesse Vasquez]

100%. And that's exactly what it's about, because I'm not trying to get my place booked. And this is where most people get this wrong, is they're sending these recruiters net messages and they're sending saying, again, like, we just talked about the pick me movement, right, with the short term space. So, like, hey, I got a place in la and it's perfect near a hospital. Like, the recruiters don't care. They just want to know, like, are you able to help them anywhere? And the second that I look at that as like, how am I able to provide a service to them that they may need? I'm now opening the door to the relationship that's going to be built and it's going to last years where. Tony, exactly what you just said. We're now sharing these referrals with each other, and it's super cool to watch that happen because again, everybody's kind of doing this on a. You know, they're trying to build their businesses, but they're using other people's properties to fill the vacancies on those homes, and they're keeping their relationships, they're maintaining. They're both getting paid, right? Because you're going to get paid if I use your property, Ash, you're going to get paid if I use your property. And I'm getting a referral bonus from it, like a wholesaling deal. And it's pretty cool. This is how large corporations used to are. Still do this to this day. These big corporate companies that handle, you know, corporate stays. This is exactly what they do. And it's cool now that us little guys that have one or two or five or 20 properties can do that exact same thing, but not on a corporate level. Again, is. I think it's even more powerful that we're able to come in this way.

[Tony J. Robinson]

So besides hospitals and traveling nurses, if you're not near any medical facility, what are some types of things in your location that could attract somebody else that's looking for a midterm rental?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Perfect. Question. I love this question. I'll give you guys an example of a booking that I got that really changed the way that I looked at things. And it's also kind of a hustler mentality. So just hang with me for a minute. There was a. You guys know what Dave and busters is, right? The Dave and Busters, which is adult, basically playground to play video games. So there was one of those being built in Modesto, California, about two and a half years ago from the ground up. And I drove by it, and I saw that there was work trucks from Louisiana. They had Louisiana plates, and they had a Louisiana, you know, big, giant sticker on the truck when they work trucks. So I took a picture like a creeper with my cell phone, and I went back home, and I looked up the company, and I called them, and I said, hey, I just saw that there's these work trucks that are out in front of the Dave and Busters that's being built in Modesto. I actually own corporate properties that we rent to companies just like yours. Would you mind telling me a little bit about, you know, where your folks are staying? I might be able to save you guys money. And the lady, after a couple, you know, minutes of talking to her, she started telling me they had five engineers. They were staying at the Holiday Inn Express. They were paying 150 bucks a night with tax and stuff. It was like 200 a night. So just those five guys was $1,000 a day. And she did say that they had a discount. So they're paying around $25,000 a month to have those guys staying at Holiday Inn Express. They each had their own room. I had a five bedroom property that was 0.2 of a mile away from that job site. So I said, hey, would you mind or would these guys mind staying in a five bedroom property? It's a three bath, so your favorite three guys would be able to have their own bathroom. The two guys that you don't like would obviously not have a bathroom. They have to share something. But instead of paying 25,000amonth, I'd be open to charging you guys 10,000. And we're, we're going to cover everything as far as, you know, water, sewer, garbage, electrical. You guys are only going to be paying for the lodging in that property. And she said she'd have to talk to the guys in about 15 minutes. Later, she called me back and she's like, yep, we'd absolutely love to do that. We'd be saving, you know, this would be saving us literally over $30,000 over the next three months, because that's how long the assignment was. And all of a sudden, that's when my brain went off. I'm like, holy crap. Like, if I just start looking for these trucks or there's these opportunities that are literally everywhere around in a Podunk town like Modesto, like, people could do this anywhere. And I started talking about that, and all of a sudden I started getting these messages where people were like, yeah, I did the exact same thing. I went and did the same thing. I got a booking, I got a corporate booking. I got a corporate booking. And so that turned into the craziness of how I am the midterm rental. If there's any competitors in the world right now, it's corporate stays, which is the corporate lodging places. If you guys ever seen, like Extended Stay America, they're actually owned. Blackstone bought them in 2022. So Blackstone, these big companies, they spent millions of dollars getting into the midterm rental space in 30 day stays. And the reason why I'm bringing that up right now is because these corporate entities and these types of smart Wall street money, Blackstone, like, they get involved in things before the general public does. And the reason I'm bringing that up as well is because I think there's a swell coming where there's going to be a lot of opportunities right now for people that are growing in this space. So what I'm trying to say now is I drive by the extended State Americas, I'll take pictures exactly like I did with that Dave and busters. If there's work trucks there from out of the state, I'll take pictures and I'll call these companies and say, hey, how am I able to save you guys money? That's my goal is like, how am I actually able to save these smaller mid sized companies money and obviously have a comfortable stay that's nearby, their job assignment stuff. So this again, my goal is to have people think in a different way. And that's just literally by driving, you know, not driving for dollars, but driving for contracts. Like that's how I like to call it. And it's definitely a way to get started if you don't know what to do and you're trying to figure it out.

[Tony J. Robinson]

Jesse, I want to know what comes first, the chicken or the egg. Should you be getting your first property or should you be getting a contract first?

[Jesse Vasquez]

I would actually be looking on building connections with people in your network and your market first. So like if Tony was in my market, I want to go to real estate meetups where he's at. I'd want to connect with people, I'd want to find out who's got properties in these markets. And then now I have, actually I can now start going to these companies and saying, hey, I have property. I have the ability to connect, you know, with whoever you have, or they might need a house. I start putting these together on a spreadsheet. The next thing I know, I do have assets to be able to recommend to these companies. So I think there's two ways of doing. I think, I always think it's great to just jump right into stuff. But I also think that there's a smart, intuitive way that you can jump in by networking with other people, getting the properties, talking about what you're going to want to do, because I think that's really important. And then you come to the playing field already understanding the knowledge, educating yourself, you know, having the resources which are the properties. But you have to understand this business to a certain degree. And I think that's where just educating yourself first is going to be really, really important.

[Ashley Kerr]

Now I think one of the questions that comes to mind for me, Jesse, is the, the actual setup. Because, you know, like, like this property you just mentioned, it's a five bedroom, three bath. And what's the square footage on that?

[Jesse Vasquez]

It's 2900 square feet. Yeah, it's about 3000 square feet. Yeah.

[Ashley Kerr]

Okay, 3000 square feet. Right. So if I'm doing that as a traditional short term rental, like just on like the furnishing and design, I'm probably going to budget about 20 bucks a square foot. So 20 bucks at 3,000, what is that, 6,000 bucks? Or I'm sorry, 60,000 bucks I'm going to spend on getting that property just set up and ready. From a short term rental perspective for me for a midterm, I feel like it's a slightly different approach because these people aren't here to make memories and you know, and like, like take Instagram.

[Tony J. Robinson]

Photos against your wall.

[Ashley Kerr]

Yeah, they're not going to take Instagram photos in Modesto. So I guess when it comes to the setup, how much are you typically spending on a property of that size?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, 8 to 15. So $8 is going to be like your Ikea, you know, Facebook marketplace kind of st. That's a square foot. 15 is going to be more of your Crate and Barrel, you know, the nicer stuff. But here's the crazy thing, Tony, we just talked about this a minute ago. You know, you don't have to have 20 pickleball courts and cold plunges and saunas and all that other stuff. Like, they just need a comfortable, stylish place that's able to, you know, do the job because they're just, they're living there, they're living there for. You don't want to have this crazy palms in the background everywhere, in every single room themed out. If you're living in a property for three months, like, that's just, that's just overkill. Right. So there's a totally different type of mentality that comes in. And that's not how corporate stays are, nor do people want to stay in those types of properties. So, yeah, I usually budget anywhere between. To be honest, it's probably $10 a square foot. That's what I feel most comfortable with. I don't think people got to go crazy. So it's half of what you would consider. Because, Tony, you just mentioned 20 a square foot for a short term, which I think is pretty good, even, maybe even on the lower side. But mid is probably right around 10.

[Ashley Kerr]

That's amazing. 50% of the cost and probably 50% less headache too, because the guests are probably a little bit easier. Now, in terms of looking at your portfolio, Jesse, just from a size perspective, you mentioned the five bedroom. Do you typically try and go larger or do you kind of have like a mix in your portfolio of, you know, studios all the way up to the five bedroom And I guess where is that sweet spot?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, my average property is a three bedroom, two bath. And the reason why I Structured it that way is because I do a lot of insurance relocation claims. And that's for people that lose their home due to a fire, flood, or some kind of catastrophic event, which we're seeing like all over the US Right now. Right. We've seen it crazy with all these hurricanes and stuff. So the average Property in the US is a 3, 2. Those are my favorite types of clients to get our insurance relocation claims because they pay 3, 4, 5x long term rental rates. In fact, I just got a claim that's $12,000 a month for a property in Modesto that is a five bedroom as well. And that's insane because my mortgage on the property is $2,000. So we're making, you know, six, $7,000 on cash flow from one freaking door, which again is wild to think about. And that's because those insurance relocation claims, they're paying in a, a higher amount because most people like, don't want to deal with even if it's a higher amount. Most long term landlords don't want to mess with somebody staying there for three months because then they got to go find somebody to live again and they want to have that, you know, kind of mailbox money that shows up every, you know, every month where this is different. You got to do a little bit more work. It's not passive whatsoever at all.

[Tony J. Robinson]

Jesse, you mentioned we don't need pickleball courts or saunas or hot tubs, but what are some of the amenities or necessities that you should provide to make your property more appealing or just to have a more positive experience for your guests?

[Jesse Vasquez]

If you're hosting travel nurses, you want to have blackout curtains because a lot of these clinicians work at 7pm at night to 7am in the morning. And guess what they're going to be doing during the day? Sleeping. So, like noise machines that can drown out sound, static noise, you know, waves, whatever, stuff like that. Fast wifi. The thing about short term rentals is that you'll have kind of minimal cookware stuff in properties. Keep in mind people are living there, so you need to make sure you have like a full spread of all the spices, all those things that are in there.

[Ashley Kerr]

All right, we have to take our final ad break, but we'll be right back after this.

[Tony J. Robinson]

Okay, let's jump back into the show. Well, Jesse, that actually ties into my next question as to how it's not passive. Like, I would assume you're having to work for every booking. And how does the vacancy rate compare to a long term rental or short term rental. And do you need to have more reserves in place because of that 100%.

[Jesse Vasquez]

Ash, that is such a good question. I'm glad you, glad you brought that up. Yes, you got to at least have six months of reserves. And that's, that's being. But I think, you know, I've watched people get into midterms where they're expecting to get a booking within the first 30 days. There might be a month and a half that goes by before you get a booking. And it depends on their market. And if you're starting off with no connections, no nothing, there's a likelihood that that may happen. So, yeah, it definitely takes a lot of work. It's a lot of outbound phone calls, a lot of emailing. But the crazy thing about this, Ash, is that you only need to have one client that you start to work with that's able to give you referrals on a regular basis. And if you don't have the properties, like I mentioned, if your place is booked, this is where I'm going to leverage, Tony, where I'm going to leverage you. And I'm building these relationships in my market so I'm actually able to serve the companies that I work with. Not just my property, but people that are in my community. And I think that's again, a powerful position to be in because it's not just about your property. And yes, you are getting booked, but I'm building a long term relationship. And at the end of the day, you know, for those of you that are on the short term rental space, you know, we're actually employees of Brian Chesky. Right. We're just listing our properties on his platform. And thank you for that, Brian. Which we pay you 3 to 15% every booking. But like I actually own my own Rolodex. So the people that are coming in, I own my own house, I own my own land. I do believe that, you know, this is a really a growing segment, a really growing market because of that, you know, because I think it's just easier to have a midterm rental guest with less turnover, less headaches than it is to actually have a short term rental. And again, I have short term rentals.

[Tony J. Robinson]

Yeah, that's a great point. And I think we've talked about that before on the show of like being tied to one specific platform to get all of your business. And it's the same thing if you have a business and you only market on Facebook or you only have followers on Instagram, but you're not collecting Email lists where you'll see that when Instagram goes down, people freak out and lose it or your Instagram account gets hacked and you have to start all over again like that. That's a great point too is the midterm rental side is like having those other streams of bringing in those leads and bringing in those clients instead of just depending on one website. And the website that comes to mind for me for midterm rentals is Furnish Finder. So what do you do you use Furnish Finder? What are your thoughts on that platform?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, I definitely love that platform. It's where I got started on. That platform is really good because it's not a booking platform. It's basically a platform for clients to find landlords. And the cool thing about Furnish Finder is that there is unmatched leads that are on there. So, like if Tony's looking for a property in Orange County, California, and I have property there, I can actually see his name, his phone number, his email, what he's looking for, if it's a two bedroom, the amount of money he's looking to spend. And then what I do, which is a lot different than most people, is I'll pick up the phone and I'll call Tony and say, hey, I see that you're looking for a property. Like, what company do you work for? I'll start writing all this stuff down. How long are you on assignment for? What's the per diem stipend look like? So now I'm formulating like, okay, if they're going to go stay in a hotel, it's $110 a night for one room. That's 100 square feet. How can I actually package this in a way that this company would want to work with me? And again, that's the goal is like we want to grab and extract as much information to provide an offer to somebody. Just like if you're selling a course or a classic, you're putting these offers together. And I'm not going to know how to do that unless I actually talk to the person that's an employer. So Furnish Finder is really good. If you have that ability to start making phone calls, connecting with people, it's a really great way to start. Just list on that platform and wait for those leads to come in. And not only Furnish Finder, I think Tony talked about Airbnb a minute ago. This is where I screwed up. Back in like 2016, I ended up getting leads that were like massive six month bookings that Came from Airbnb. Tony, you might have had these before where it's an insurance relocation company. Like, they're like, hey, we want to book your place for six months. You get this massive six month booking. But I didn't create relationships I didn't think about. I was just like, super stoked that I got this, like, you know, $50,000 booking for six months and then it was gone. So you'll have a lot of these bookings where, like a solar company might be staying in your property for a month and a half. There's solar workers that are working or whatever those are. That's where you really have to start to build those relationships. Where you ask, like, how long are you on assignment for here? Are you going to another market? Are you guys going to be coming to this space again? I want to be able to house you again. So I think there's a lot of ways to use Airbnb because it's such a common name that you already have the ability to get those leads and actually translate them. But you have to be super thoughtful when you get those so that you can actually start to translate and work. And you have to be very intentional about it.

[Ashley Kerr]

Jesse, one of the things that you've mentioned quite a bit, and I don't want the rookie audience to overlook this, but one of the things you keep bringing up is that you pick up the phone and you call. You said you're on furnish finder. They have their information. You just pick up the phone and you call them. You're driving past the Dave and Busters, you pick up the phone and you called them at the hospital. You snuck into the back office and you tried to talk to the lady at the front desk. How important, or maybe even framed a better way, can someone be successful in this space without actually picking up the phone and calling? Like, if I just wait for these inbound leads to come in because I have this amazing property, is that enough? Or do I have to actively seek those. Those folks out by picking the phone and calling?

[Jesse Vasquez]

I think that you have to build trust. Airbnb is a trusted source. I can't just email somebody and expect them to trust me that I have a property. And I think for me being able to actually hear somebody and keep in mind, you guys, I've been in sales for like, so many years. That's how I. That's what I did it and for the hospitals. So I just know that having that personal connection, I can actually hear their voice, I can hear their tone, I can send Them Starbucks. This is another thing that I did that I picked up from my W2 job. I would talk to these clinicians and stuff. Tony. Or these representatives or people that worked in the hospital or even in the relocation companies like Ale Solutions. And I'll say, hey, how many people are you sitting next to right now? Do you mind if I send you Starbucks? We have. We live in this century where we could, like, order stuff, and it instantly shows up in 20 minutes to somebody's house or somebody's workplace. And I'll just get everybody's name. I'll get their email address. That's an easy way for me to get who's sitting next to Tony. Who want, like, people love Starbucks, right? People love that kind of stuff. Or Panera. Order Panera for everybody. So that's what I did. I just really took my W2 job mentality and took it to this kind of thing where I'm trying to build relationships. But, yeah, phone calls are so important. I think it's. I think that's one of those things that you have to get used to doing. And a lot of people are scared of it, which I don't think a lot. That's why a lot of people aren't really. I mean, they're jumping into this, but they're. They're not trying hard enough. The rejection is painful. You know, it's super painful. But you have to get used to that in this game because it's part of what's going to happen. I mean, you might make a hundred calls and get 100 nos, and all of a sudden, 101 is that one person that's like, yep, I need that. That's the place that I'm looking for. You're going to make this way easier. And then all of a sudden, that's where the relationship starts. So it's just about staying consistent, being able to adapt to rejection, and continuing to move forward without even any movement happening. And most people get stuck with just that there alone. They want that instant, like, gratification. We see that so, so often. It's just. You have to be able to delay.

[Ashley Kerr]

That so it won't fall into your lap, is what you're saying. Jesse, you got. You got to put a little bit of work in to actually find some success, you know, Surprise, surprise. I was hoping you say that because I. I think a lot of times people, they. They hear the. Or they see maybe the end result of Jesse. Jesse Vasquez and who he is today, but they. They overlook oftentimes the work that's gone in to get you to where you are. So I just really want to drive that point home. One other question, because you talked about the relationship piece, you walked us through, kind of how you did it on the hospital side, how you did it for kind of the corporate clients. Right? You're driving for contracts. But what about on the insurance side? Because, you know, you, you mentioned you get some insurance bookings as well. What process are you following? Are you just looking for the local state farm agents and, you know, when you see them on the street, you know you're calling them as well. What process are you following for the insurance side?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, so I'm doing the exact same thing that I talked about with the recruiters on LinkedIn. So there are so many companies that handle, so a farmer's insurance. Tony, if you have, you have farmers insurance. And God forbid this ever happens, I'm knocking on wood. Your house burns, right? The garage burns. And farmers is going to now call a company like ALE Solutions and say, hey, Tony has X amount of money for additional living expense, which is, everybody pays into that if something happens to their property. That's the amount of money that they'll have to move to another place. It could be 60, it could be 100, whatever it is a year. So they'll pass that information to these companies. So then Ali Solutions is now searching for somebody that has housing in that market. So what I'll do is I'll just go onto, you know, LinkedIn and I'll type in Ali Solutions and Relocation Specialist and I'll see all these different people and I'll start to make connections on LinkedIn and just say, hey, I have a network of over. Because I have a network of literally 10,000 properties in it because of the Facebook group we have. I have a network of over 10,000 properties all across the US and I'll try to get on phone calls exactly like I just mentioned a minute ago. And the cool thing about this, this works in every different sector. It's not just the travel nursing industry. I did the same thing with the construction workers and the same thing with Ale Solutions and the relocation specialists. We're doing outbound calls, outbound emails to try to get them to understand what we're doing, to see that we have a large network. And my goal is to get a property, whatever's sitting on their desk. All I actually ask them, I'll say, hey, I've reached out to you several times. Is there a property that you've had a very difficult time finding a Family to move into. Like, I want that property. I want the one that you're having the most difficult. Because now I can go and actually show them that I can provide what they're actually looking for. And this is where most people get screwed up. Like I mentioned earlier, Tony, they're like, I got that three, two in Orange County. Put book my place. Relocations don't care. Relocation specialists don't care about your property. They want to take care of the ones that are on their desk. Eventually you're going to have one in Orange County. You're probably going to have a lot in Orange county, but it's about doing those little things in other markets that you can now start to get those bookings for those companies. And now they're going to be sending you referrals on a regular basis, so much so that you don't even know what to do with them. And I've seen that happen to so many people where all of a sudden they're like, I built a relationship and Now I got 20 leads and I don't know how to handle these. You know, and you go on these Facebook groups and you start divvying them out and you get to make money from that, right? And you get to help the other people on the other side. So again, that's. That's how you do it. I just mentioned it here in a minute ago, and it's. It sounds easy, but it's just so consistent. It's a lot of work. And Tony, you said it. You hit it perfectly. I think when people hear me talking about this, they hear the 3x4x5x $10,000 a month. Yeah, that's great. But you got to put in a ton of time and energy before you start to build those relationships. And again, it's not about your property. It's about what you can actually do. And how can I actually provide a service to these companies? Because it is a business at the end of the day. And if you don't have that kind of frame of mindset from the beginning, you're going to get really left behind. Because at the end of the day, your place might sit, but you might get all these other bookings that actually will pay your mortgage. And that's usually what I tell people is like, try to make money on the relocation space where you're able to help Tony or help help Ashley out. You're going to make 10% of whatever their booking is. Use that money to pay for your mortgage. So you're basically like a wholesaler. For these lead connectors. You pay your mortgage that way, and eventually you're going to get those people that are going to need something in your property. And keep in mind, you guys, every 88 seconds in the US somebody files a claim to an insurance company. So they're like literally everywhere all the time. Every 88 seconds, there's a claim that's filed. And so there's just a ton of potential for these, which, again, they happen all the time.

[Tony J. Robinson]

Well, Jesse, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today to record this episode. Can you let everyone know where they can reach out to you and find out more information about you?

[Jesse Vasquez]

Yeah, you can check me out on Instagram. There's a lot of Hispanic dudes named Jesse Vasquez, so I had to make the account at the real Jesse Vasquez or you can find me on YouTube and that's @ Jesse Vasquez as well.

[Tony J. Robinson]

So everyone find the real one, not all those fake ones that are out there. Well, Jesse, thanks again. We really appreciated you coming on as an expert to give a breakdown of midterm rentals. I'm Ashley and he's Tony. If you guys aren't watching on YouTube, make sure you head over to our YouTube and check it out. Subscribe. We are so close to hitting 100,000 subscribers. Thanks for watching or listening. We'll see you guys next time on the real estate rookie podcast.