Rental Arbitrage Script

 

Some Landlords may not be open to the idea of using their house for Airbnb Guests. One strategy is to approach the Landlord with an offer to sublease to Travel Nurses and working professionals that stay for 3-6 months at a time and to only offer short-term rentals as a way to fill the gaps in-between. This way, you’re offering a combination of both mid-term and short-term rentals.

 

 

Me: Hi [LANDLORD NAME], I’m calling about your rental at [STREET ADDRESS]. Is it still available?

 

Landlord: Yes it is.

 

Me: Great. I’d love to come by and see the property.

 

(Make an appointment to view the property and continue with the script in-person. If the Landlord asks questions before wanting to show you the property, you can continue with the script and see if he/she is open to you subleasing the property.)

 

Me: The place looks great! I’m interested in renting it for 12-months. However, I have to let you know that I won’t be living there, but instead, I’ll be leasing it through my company and running it as a business for Travel Nurses and corporate professionals seeking a place to stay and work remotely for 3 to 6 months at a time.

 

Landlord: Are you going to list it on Airbnb?

 

Me: While my main business model is to offer month-long stays, if there are any gaps between those monthly bookings, I may list it on short-term rental websites, but if I did, I would require a very strict verification process for each Guest.

 

Landlord: What’s that process like?

 

Me: I ensure that any Guests staying for less than 30-days provides their phone, email, government-ID, and has a minimum 5-star positive review from a past Host. I won’t take just anyone as a Guest. And keep in mind that my goal is to primarily rent your house to mid-term Guests that are Travel Nurses or working professionals as those are my preferred clients.

 

Landlord: Ok, but I don’t want so many Guests coming and going through my property as the neighbors aren’t going to like it.

 

Me: I understand your concern as most Landlords feel that way, but my business is to ensure that your neighbors are happy and are well aware that the house will be used for working professionals so I would introduce myself to your neighbors on both sides of the house and across the street. I will hand them my business card and let them know that they can call me at any time if any issues arise with the Guests.

 

Landlord: What if the Guests throw a party late at night and invite a lot of people?

 

Me: I can pay to install security cameras that will monitor your house 24/7 for any suspicious activities. I’ll also install a sound monitoring device that will notify me of any noise outside of the city ordinance so that if a party does arise, I’ll be able to shut it down immediately whether it’s me visiting the house or our maintenance person.

 

Landlord: What about the wear and tear on my property?

 

Me: What’s great about my business model is that once a Travel Nurse leaves after working 3-months at a hospital, I’ll bring my cleaning crew in to clean your house to keep it in For Sale Condition, which means the same condition as when I took it over. Would you agree that the more frequent cleanings, the better the condition your house will be kept in?

Landlord: Yeah.

 

Me: Also, if they see anything that’s broken, you’ll be notified immediately. This is different from having a tenant that stays for years at a time. You’ll never know how well they clean the house, if they report damages, plumbing leaks, or even mold. If these things go unrepaired, by the time a long term tenant leaves, you could be facing five or six thousand dollars worth of repairs, plus lost revenue from the time you’ll have spend fixing it up while it’s vacant. Again, when I return the property back to you, you’ll get it back in For Sale Condition because you’ll be aware of all the issues that came up and were able to fix them before they got worse. Not only that, if a guest damages your property, any of the rental platforms that I plan to use offers a $1 million dollar insurance policy for damages, theft, and bodily injury. The only thing it doesn’t cover is normal wear and tear on the property, landscaping, or plumbing issues. Those are still your responsibility.

 

Landlord: Are you going to be able to pay on time?

 

Me: Of course. I’ll even set payments on autopay 2 days before the due date.

 

Landlord: What happens if one of your Guests overstays?

 

Me: I’m sure you're concerned about squatters, but with my business, the chances of that happening are slim to none. The reason is because when a long-term tenant moves in, they make your house a primary residence. However, a travel nurse or working professional still has a home to return to and a mortgage to pay. It’s unlikely they’re going to pay both their mortgage and a rental at the same time.

 

Landlord: Have you subleased with anyone else?

 

Me: While this will be my first, my partner and mentors have managed properties in 3 different states as well as overseas. I can get him on the phone if you’d like to speak with him.

 

Landlord: No, that’s okay.

 

Me: Well if you’re willing to work with me, I can sign a 12-month lease right now and I’ll do my absolute best to protect your property so you can just sit back and collect rent every month.

 

[If the Landlord wants to speak with me (Joe Lam) call me at: 805-404-4205]