AIRBNB OR FURNISHED FINDER? HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON HOUSING DURING YOUR TRAVEL CONTRACT

As Travel Nurses, we all have encountered difficulties in finding the perfect Travel Housing, located in the perfect spot, and for an affordable price. These 3 things rarely happen simultaneously. Depending on the contract, a traveler might be able to afford a higher rent to stay in their dream place for 3 months. However, the COVID-19 Era of Travel Nursing is over.

Since February 2023, the government cut monetary subsides for hospitals, which was the main funding for the high-paying Travel Nursing contracts. $10,000/week is not a thing anymore, my friends... These insane contracts are the reason the price for short-term rentals had an exponential growth. Although the high-paying nursing contracts are paying less, the price for short-term renting has not come back down. The disparity between the current travel contracts and the cost of monthly, furnished housing is making it almost unaffordable to take a travel contract to many of the major cities. Let's take a look at the main obstacles a Travel Nurse encounters during their search for housing:

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1. Little time to find a place:

Once a Travel Nurse signs their contract, they usually have, at most, 8 weeks to 2 months to find their place. They do not know the city. Yet, they are supposed to find a safe, furnished apartment close to the hospital and move to the new destination. Unless they have a friend or a relative living in that city, who can guide them throughout this process, they are on their own. So, they go to the main housing platforms that have the monopoly for short-term rental properties: AIRBNB & Furnished Finder. However, are these the only options for Travel Nurses?

2. AIRBNB: Pros & Cons:

AIRBNB is reliable. AIRBNB is safe. AIRBNB IS EXPENSIVE! When AIRBNB owners manage their properties well, profits can be quite high. Much higher than what anyone can make leasing the same property on a monthly basis. So, if a traveler wants to book a property that is bringing excellent profits to the owner, they must pay an amount that can compete with those profits. How can we ask an ARIBNB host, who is making $4,000+ every month, to let us rent the property for less than that?

On the other hand, there are some AIRBNB hosts who are not as popular! These will be the properties that a Travel Nurse should target when asking for a nice monthly discount! These properties are booked less often and the owners might prefer securing a 3-month lease with a Travel Nurse than keeping the rental empty for half of the month. Look out for these listings that are: NOT Super Hosts, or have less than 4-star reviews.

3. Furnished Finder: Pros & Cons:

Furnished Finder usually have lower prices than AIRBNB. Although, it is not as reliable... Many properties listed on Furnished Finder are, also, listed on AIRBNB. This means that hosts might not be as responsive if their listings are doing well on AIRBNB. This may also affect the availability of properties listed on Furnished Finder. So, reaching out to multiple properties is definitely the way to go, and you might find a hidden gem!

However, make sure you do not send any money, nor sign any documents without making sure the property is real and actually available. The leases in Furnished Finder are developed by the owners, so, read the fine print very carefully when you lease a property through this platform! We will bring more content about WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN YOU SIGN A SHORT-TERM LEASING CONTRACT.

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4. Other platforms for mid-term/monthly rentals:

There are, of course, other options to look for furnished apartments for rent on a monthly basis. Definitely, we do not recommend Facebook MKT or Craigslist, since they are not regulated and there is a high rate of scam.

Hello Landing offers a wide range of furnished properties, ready to rent month to month. They are as reliable as expensive. Zillow might have some furnished options if you are lucky! But many of them are managed by agencies, bringing the price up, with strict leasing policies.

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Nomad World was created by Travel Nurses to bring together the best of all platforms in one site. The website is designed to offer the best customer service to both hosts and travelers, with the lowest fees on the market. Nomad World offers FREE Housing Search Assistance for travelers in search of their next place. Nomad World also offers Customized and Targeted Marketing for our listings, instead of listings being abandoned on a website, waiting for someone to miraculously click on them.

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