Home on the job
Corporate housing offers short-term options
MEDIA BAKERY
By John Morell
DID YOU MOVE recently? Can’t sell your
home? You may have considered renting your
property; however, finding traditional renters
who want long-term leases is often as difficult
as putting a house up for sale.
That’s how Kimberly Smith got her busi-
ness started in 2005. “I was working with
companies to help them find corporate hous-
ing for traveling employees,” she explains.
“People would tell me they couldn’t find a
buyer for their own home and ask if I knew
someone who wanted to rent it. I decided
there had to be a way to connect these indi-
vidual homeowners with corporate housing
clients and we went from there.”
Her Denver-based CorporateHousingBy
Owner.com (
www.MyCHBO.com) has picked
up on the trend toward short-term living.
KIMBERLY SMITH, founder of Corporate
HousingByOwner.com, recommends
Costco to those who are starting out as
corporate landlords. “There aren’t many
places where you can pick out a new sofa,
a TV, a dining room set, as well as a
toaster and a microwave, all in one place,”
she says. It’s a great time-saver if you’re
trying to get a house ready for a new tenant in a hurry.
Freshening up a rental bedroom
doesn’t have to be pricey. “If the mattress
is in good shape, I like to shop Costco for
new mattress covers and pillows,” says
Smith. “These are inexpensive and no-
brainers. No one likes sleeping on someone
else’s pillow. And, of course, it helps to
know that if a mattress isn’t up to par,
good ones are available at Costco.”
Anna Scheller, who operates Capri
Temporary Housing in Del Rio, Texas, rec-
ommends Costco’s credit card processing
program, offered by Elavon. “It’s very con-
venient [for landlords] to be able to take a
credit card and not have to have someone
or their company overnight a check for a
deposit,” she says. “It helps make you
look professional.”—JM
Costco is a landlord’s dream
competition for those renters. However,
there’s often a market for homes and condos
that are available on a month-to-month basis
or short-term lease.”
Smith points out that there are countless
well-paid professionals such as traveling
nurses, business consultants, university pro-
fessors and others who seek out short-term
housing. She says, “These are people who
need a place for one or more months that’s
more comfortable and cost effective than a
long stay at a hotel.”
While traditionally corporate housing
has been high-end condos and apartments
located in metropolitan areas, Smith says that
in today’s market almost anything goes. “If
you have a single-family home in a suburban
or rural area, you may find that there’s a need
for short-term rentals,” she notes. “It could be
a nearby company that has to accommodate
employees for training sessions, or if you’re
anywhere close to a performing arts center
that has traveling shows doing engagements
that are a month long or more, they’re also
looking for housing.”
Rates for corporate housing can be 25
percent or more higher than the regular rental
market rates, but there are also higher costs for
the owner. Besides regularly marketing the
property to keep it occupied, the owner needs
to keep it well furnished and up to market
standards. To get a premium price, the home
needs to be equipped with modern amenities,
including high-speed Internet, cable/satellite
TV and an alarm system.
