I own four homes. I don’t live in a single one of them — every one of them stays rented, because that’s the whole point. Instead, I travel and rent mid-term myself wherever I land. That probably sounds backwards for a landlord. It’s not. It’s the whole reason I got into this in the first place, and it’s exactly why I think more landlords should be paying attention to mid-term.

Here’s my logic, and it applies just as well to the renters showing up looking for a place as it does to me.

Travelers Are Showing Up With Money Already Set Aside for Housing

A huge chunk of mid-term demand comes from people who get a housing stipend as part of their job — travel nurses and healthcare contractors are the biggest example, but it’s not just them. Traveling therapists, corporate relocations, insurance adjusters working a disaster zone, consultants on a multi-month project — all of it comes with some version of a housing allowance or per diem.

The part landlords miss: a lot of these stipends aren’t reimbursement-only. They’re money the traveler can actually spend, however they want. If they find a furnished place for less than the stipend, the difference is theirs. That changes the math completely — these renters aren’t hunting for the cheapest possible option, they’re hunting for the best option inside a budget that’s often bigger than what a typical local renter is working with. Furnished, flexible, and move-in ready wins over bare walls and a 12-month lease every time.

Why I DON’T Live In My Own Rentals

Here’s the part that surprises people: I don’t stay in any of my four houses. I want to travel, and every one of my properties works a lot harder for me rented out than it ever would with me living in it.

• I want to travel. I’m not tied to one city, one lease, or one house — I get to go wherever I want, whenever I want.
• I write off a second bedroom as a business expense. It’s where I actually run Midterm Mastermind from, and it generates more income than living in one of my rentals ever would.

Every one of my four houses stays rented and working, instead of sitting empty while I’m parked in it. That’s the trade I make for the freedom to go wherever I want.

It’s the same trade-off driving travel nurses, remote workers, and people relocating to mid-term everywhere else — flexibility over roots. I just happen to be on both sides of it: the guy renting mid-term when I travel, and the guy renting mid-term out the rest of the time.

What This Means If You’re a Landlord

If you’ve got a long-term rental sitting there with a 12-month lease on it, there’s a version of your renter pool you’re probably not even seeing — people with housing money already budgeted, who want furnished and flexible, and who will pay more for it because it’s still less hassle (and usually less money) than the alternative. That’s the gap mid-term fills, and it’s a big part of why the numbers work out so differently once you switch — I broke down the actual dollar comparison on my own property in an earlier post if you want to see it.

Follow along to learn more about mid-term rentals and what it’s actually like managing four of my own.