How to List Your Temple Property on Furnished Finder: Setup Guide for Investors

How does Furnished Finder work for landlords?

Furnished Finder is the dominant platform for travel nurse and healthcare professional housing, with over 6 million travelers searching annually. Unlike Airbnb or VRBO, it operates as a flat-fee directory — you pay $199 per year per property, there are no booking commissions, and you keep 100% of collected rent. The platform does not mediate bookings. Instead, it generates leads through a "Matched Housing Request" system, and you handle communication, screening, and lease signing directly.

For investors with furnished rentals near Baylor Scott & White in Temple TX, Furnished Finder is the highest-ROI listing platform available. Travel nurses make up 31% of the platform's demand, with corporate travelers accounting for another 33%. About 75% of new listings receive their first lead within 30 days of activation.

This guide walks through the full setup process — from creating your account to optimizing your listing for the Temple medical market — so you can start generating leads immediately.

What Furnished Finder costs: the complete fee breakdown

One of the biggest advantages of Furnished Finder is cost transparency. There are no hidden transaction fees, no percentage-based commissions, and no guest service charges that inflate your listed price.

Compare that to Airbnb's fee structure for 30+ day stays:

Over a full year with three tenant turnovers, the savings compound significantly. An investor doing $33,600 in annual MTR revenue saves $3,000 to $5,000 per year by using Furnished Finder over Airbnb's professional host tier.

Setting up your Furnished Finder account: step by step

Step 1: Create your landlord profile

Go to FurnishedFinder.com and register as a property owner. Your profile should emphasize your proximity to BSW Temple and the VA Medical Center — this is the first thing travelers scan when evaluating listings. Include your response time commitment (under 24 hours is the target) and whether you allow pets.

Step 2: Add your property details

Fill in the standard fields: address, bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, available dates, and monthly rate. For Temple properties near BSW, set your initial price in the $2,500 to $3,000 range for a 3-bedroom home. You can adjust based on lead volume after the first 30 days.

Key fields to complete:

• Minimum stay length (set to 30 days to avoid hotel tax)
• Pet policy (allowing pets significantly increases your lead pool — charge a non-refundable pet fee instead of saying no)
• Included utilities (list everything: electric, water, gas, internet, trash)
• Parking situation (covered, garage, or driveway — nurses working night shifts care about this)

Step 3: Upload your photos

This is where most landlords lose leads. Furnished Finder requires a minimum of 2 photos, but successful listings in the Temple market feature 20 to 30 images. The platform's photography guidelines recommend 650 x 570 pixel horizontal images for best mobile display.

Photos that convert healthcare travelers:

Do not over-stage the property like a vacation rental. Healthcare travelers are looking for evidence of functionality, not resort aesthetics. Show them the workspace is real, the kitchen is usable, and the beds have quality mattresses.

Step 4: Write your listing headline and description

Your headline is the most important line of text on the listing. It should prioritize distance, essential amenities, and the target hospital — not generic adjectives.

Good headlines for Temple:

• "Quiet 3BR 7 Min to BSW — Blackout Shades — In-Unit Laundry — Pet Friendly"
• "Furnished 3/2 in Western Hills — 5 Min to BSW & VA — Workspace — Fast WiFi"
• "Updated Home Near BSW Temple — Night-Shift Ready — Fenced Yard for Pets"

Bad headlines:

• "Beautiful Home in Temple TX!" (no distance, no amenities, no hospital name)
• "Cozy Getaway Near Hospital" (sounds like a vacation rental, not professional housing)

Your description should cover:

• Exact drive time to BSW and the VA (use Google Maps, not estimates)
• Internet speed (travelers working remotely need this)
• Mattress quality (call out memory foam or new mattresses specifically)
• Nearby grocery stores (H-E-B on 31st Street, Walmart Supercenter, Natural Grocers on General Bruce Drive)
• Neighborhood character (quiet street, low traffic, good for sleeping after night shifts)
• Lease flexibility (13-week initial term with extension options)

Step 5: Set your availability calendar

Keep your calendar current. Stale availability is the fastest way to lose leads — travelers who inquire about dates you have already booked will not come back. If you have a gap between tenants, mark it as available immediately. Furnished Finder's algorithm favors listings with updated calendars.

Using KeyCheck for tenant screening

Furnished Finder's integrated screening tool, KeyCheck, handles background checks, credit pulls, and eviction history — all at the applicant's expense.

What KeyCheck verifies

• National criminal background check
• Full eviction history search
• Soft credit pull (does not affect the applicant's credit score)
• Identity verification

How the process works

1. You receive a lead through Furnished Finder (message or phone number reveal)
2. You communicate directly with the prospective tenant
3. When ready to screen, you send them a KeyCheck invitation through the platform
4. The applicant pays $44.99 and completes the screening
5. You receive the results and make your decision

Because it is a soft pull, most healthcare professionals have no issue completing it. In fact, refusal to use KeyCheck is one of the biggest red flags for fraudulent applicants.

Beyond KeyCheck: verifying the travel nurse specifically

For healthcare tenants, KeyCheck is your baseline — but you should also verify:

1. Assignment contract from their staffing agency (AMN, Medical Solutions, TNAA, etc.) showing BSW or the VA as the facility, with dates matching your lease term
2. Active nursing license via the Texas Board of Nursing public verification portal — confirm it shows "Active" status with no disciplinary actions
3. Compact License status for out-of-state nurses — the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) allows nurses from member states to practice in Texas without a separate license

These extra steps take 10 minutes and virtually eliminate tenant risk.

Monitoring your listing performance

Furnished Finder provides a Listing Performance Panel that tracks two critical metrics:

• Phone number reveals: How many travelers clicked to see your contact info
• Direct messages: How many travelers initiated a conversation

If you are getting views but few reveals, your photos or headline need work. If you are getting reveals but few messages, your pricing may be too high or your response time too slow.

Benchmarks for Temple listings:

• First lead within 30 days of listing activation
• Response time under 24 hours (travelers who get a response within 24 hours are 3x more likely to book)
• 40% of mid-term tenants book within 2 weeks of their assignment start date — speed wins

Furnished Finder vs. Airbnb for 30+ day stays: which to use

You do not have to choose one. Many Temple investors list on both platforms simultaneously and let the first booking win.

The recommended strategy for Temple: List on Furnished Finder as your primary platform because the $0 commission structure maximizes net revenue on every booking. Use Airbnb's monthly stay option as a secondary channel to fill gaps between healthcare tenant contracts.

Common mistakes Temple landlords make on Furnished Finder

Pricing too high for the first listing. Start at $2,500 for a 3-bedroom and adjust upward after you have reviews and booking history. An empty listing at $3,200 loses to an established listing at $2,800 every time.

Not allowing pets. Data consistently shows that pet-friendly policies are one of the highest drivers of MTR occupancy. Many career travelers bring pets for companionship. Instead of a blanket "no pets" policy, charge a non-refundable pet fee ($250 to $500) and require a pet addendum with a professional carpet cleaning clause.

Slow response time. This is the single biggest conversion killer. Travel nurses are often booking housing days or weeks before their assignment starts. If you take 48 hours to respond, they have already signed a lease somewhere else.

No welcome guide. A digital or printed guide with grocery store locations, gym information, local restaurants, and hospital parking tips dramatically improves the tenant experience and leads to extensions. Include H-E-B on 31st Street, Natural Grocers on General Bruce Drive, and the 24-hour gym options along the West Adams corridor.

Getting started today

If you already own a furnished property near BSW Temple, you can have a Furnished Finder listing live within an hour. If you are still evaluating whether mid-term rental investing makes sense for your situation, read my complete travel nurse housing investment guide for the full financial analysis.

For help identifying the right property in the Temple medical corridor or building your remote investment team, visit my investing in Temple page or contact me directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Furnished Finder cost for landlords?
A single property listing costs $199 per year with no booking commissions. The tenant pays the $44.99 screening fee. There are no hidden transaction fees or percentage-based charges.

How long does it take to get a tenant on Furnished Finder?
Approximately 75% of listings receive their first lead within 30 days of activation. In Temple's medical corridor, demand is strong enough that well-optimized listings often receive inquiries within the first 1 to 2 weeks.

Can I list on Furnished Finder and Airbnb at the same time?
Yes. Many investors list on both platforms and accept whichever booking comes first. Just keep your availability calendars synced to avoid double-bookings.

Do I need a property manager to use Furnished Finder?
No. The platform is designed for direct landlord-tenant communication. Many out-of-state investors manage their Furnished Finder listings remotely, handling inquiries, screening, and lease signing digitally. If you prefer a hands-off approach, some Temple-area property managers handle MTR operations for an additional fee.

Taylor Dasch is a licensed real estate agent with EG Realty and an active investor with 100+ transactions in Central Texas. He specializes in helping out-of-state buy-and-hold investors find cash-flowing rental properties in Temple, Belton, and surrounding markets. Contact: (254) 718-4249 | [email protected]