30+ day property rental,1 month stay, 6 week rental property, 2 month room to rent, ski season lease, summer place to stay, extended stay, 3 month house for lease, 4 month lease, and everything in between
Mid-Term rentals (MTR) are what we commonly refer to in our area as residential property leases that are longer than 30 days, but typically shorter than 3 months and sometimes even anything shorter than 6 months. Midterm rentals have been popular in our area for quite some time, especially during the summer months. Mid-Term rentals are something people seek out on a year round basis across the mountain west as well, particularly for those adventurous with retired, semi-retired, families that homeschool. This length of rental has become even more sought after since the growth of remote jobs and the living flexibility that these jobs allow their employees.
Although popular, this ‘mid term’ length of rental opportunity cannot always be discovered quickly and easily. I have provided some resources and advice below to hopefully help you in your Summit County mid-term rental search!
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES for MTRs
CONNECTING DIRECTLY TO VACATION & SECOND HOME OWNERS
Airbnb & VRBO - You can filter your search to look for short term rental properties that allow extended stays. If you have flexibility in dates this method can be extremely successful.
Not finding anything of particular interest? Some investment or second-home property owners might not advertise that they offer this, but will consider it if directly asked, depending on the time of year. I know that many people seeking mid-term rentals here locally have had a great deal of luck reaching directly out to hosts of Airbnbs and VRBOs through the direct messaging platform, especially when the rental is managed by the owner or an individual person, and not a property management company.
FACEBOOK GROUPS
There are many FB groups in our area dedicated to either long or short term rentals. I am not familiar with groups solely focused on mid-term rentals, however joining groups serving either LTRs or STRs are definitely worth your time making a post and reaching out to individual owners/landlords to see if they would consider renting to serve your needs.
Rental Focused Summit Area FB Groups
Other Local FB Groups
One Man’s Junk Summit County - This page covers just about everything in the county from buying and selling, ranting and raving, roommates, sublets, car pooling, you name it. Be warned, people are not always nice on this particular group, but it has the most members, therefore the largest local reach.
ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL MTR OBSTACLES
Furnishings
Make sure the place you are renting is fully furnished. Sure, you may need to buy or bring your own bath towel, bedding, and essential to you kitchen items like a whisk, but sourcing and purchasing all or the majority of furnishings for a property you plan to mid-term-rent will likely prove to be costly and time consuming. Most people don;t come here to shop.
Budget
It’s important to understand that the cost of real estate and life here in Summit County is higher than most areas throughout the United States. A one bedroom condo typically long-term rents (LTR) for $2,200-$3,000/mo and private short-term rental (STR) properties rent for far more than that. Depending on what time of year you plan to mid-term rent, you can typically expect to pay about 2x the rate of a similar long term rental for a rental length falling in the mid-term range, however expect to pay even more if you are looking to rent during the heart of ski season or the month of July. This may seem expensive, but keep in mind that short term rentals cost even more and bring a much higher amount of gross revenue during peak times. Setting your budget in line with the market will certainly help you find more success on your search.
Pets
If you have 4 legged family members that you plan to bring along with you for your mid-term stay it is important that you disclose this during your property search. Many HOAs throughout our county have strict no pet rules that apply to tenants of a long, mid, or short term nature. If an HOA does allow tenants to have pets, there are oftentimes rules pertaining to the number or types of pets allowed.
Parking and Storage
Parking and storage for all of that gear required for your mountain lifestyle activities can also be another obstacle. Many complexes, including neighborhoods with single family homes do not allow parking for trailers, campers, oversized vehicles, etc. Know and communicate your minimum parking and storage requirements.
Mountain Lifestyle
Most people don't choose to visit the mountains of Colorado to spend their time indoors looking at the mountains. There is something about the lifestyle that draws people here to vacation, live, or spend a longer amount of time. Make sure you choose a location that adheres to your lifestyle, so you can make the most of your time here.
ONE MORE PRO-TIP FROM A LOCAL MARKET EXPERT
When contacting individual Property owners and landlords you will likely be much more successful if you focus your search in areas that lie outside of town boundaries and are not designated resort areas. This is considered Unincorporated Summit County and these Properties are under strict STR limits put in place by the Summit County Commissioners in the fall of 2023. At this time a cap was placed on how often a property could be STR, allowing only a maximum of 32 STR bookings per property per year. Because of this many STRs in these areas look for alternate ways to subsidize their ownership costs by catering to mid-term renters when it makes sense with their unique personal property use needs and schedules.
You can go to Summit County GIS, zoom in on the map to a town/area that interests you and click on ‘Towns’ on the left side bar. Anything within town boundaries will be highlighted in pink on the map. Anything NOT pink is located in unincorporated Summit County. There are some exceptions to this; such as Copper Mountain and Tiger Run that have been designated as “resort areas” by the County Commissioners. These ‘resort areas’ do not have a cap on the number of STR bookings allowed each year, therefore will likely be more hesitant to want to mid-term rent their property during peak seasons.
Confused? Give me a call. I understand all 9 jurisdictions governing STR’s throughout our county and can help you navigate!
Good Luck!
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