At a glance
- Units in one lease
- 10
- Lease runs through
- 2029
- Market
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Property
- Apartment building, one- and two-bedroom units
- Owner’s situation
- Refinance in progress, units vacant or turning over
- What we did
- Leased all ten units under one multi-year lease, rent paid monthly by one company
- Time to lease
- 26 days from our application to the start of the lease
- Status
- Active, guests in residence
What happened
The timing of a refinance is fixed. Leasing ten units one at a time is not fast.
The owner had a refinance underway
The building was mid-refinance with ten apartments either empty or turning over. Every one of them was dragging on the numbers the lender would underwrite.
We leased all ten units at once
Rather than leasing ten units to ten tenants over a season, the owner signed one lease with Starline Suites covering all ten, running through 2029.
The rent roll changed overnight
Ten vacancies became ten units under a signed multi-year lease, paid monthly by one business. That is what the lender saw on the books.
Both sides came out ahead
The owner got occupied units and a longer income runway at the moment it mattered most. We got ten furnished units in a premium building with a rent-free start. That trade is why the deal was a good one for both of us.
What each side put in
The owner gave us a furnished, rent-free start. We gave the owner ten leased units in under four weeks and a multi-year term.
What the owner gave
Furniture, paid for upfront
The owner furnished all ten units to our specification. We repay that cost through the rent, month by month, across the lease.
A rent-free start
The first months of the lease were free. That gave us room to set up ten units and build bookings before full rent began.
Utilities inside the rent
Electricity, water, gas, trash and internet are included, so there is one figure each month and nothing to reconcile.
Written consent for short stays
The lease allows us to host working guests for stays of any length, on the platforms we use.
What the owner got
Ten units leased in under four weeks
We applied on October 20, 2025. The leases began on November 15, all ten at once.
A multi-year term
Ten leases running through 2029, in place of ten one-year tenants to find and renew.
One payer, in advance
Rent for all ten units comes from one company, due on the first of each month.
Their risk covered in writing
Liability insurance that names the owner, and our indemnity for anything arising from guest stays.
Answers for their auditor
When the owner’s auditor asked how we find and screen guests, we replied in writing the next day.
Why a lease matters to a lender
When you refinance, the lender is not lending against the building you could have. It lends against the income the building earns now, and how long that income is likely to last.
General information, not financial or lending advice. Requirements vary by lender and loan program.
The rent roll
Lenders and appraisers value a building on the rent it collects today, unit by unit. A vacant unit shows as zero, however good the asking rent.
Occupancy
Many lenders want a building stabilized before they will refinance on full terms, often around 90% occupied and held for a few months. Ten empty units can keep a building under that line.
Lease term
A month-to-month tenant can leave next month. A signed multi-year lease is income the lender can count through the life of the loan.
Net operating income
Loan size is set by how comfortably income covers the debt. More units paying rent, with fewer turnover and leasing costs, means more income to borrow against.
What ten empty units cost at appraisal
A vacancy costs more than the rent you miss each month. An appraiser turns the building’s yearly income into a value, so missing income is multiplied.
An example with round numbers, not figures from this building. Your rents, costs and cap rate will differ, and your lender may count a block lease differently from individual leases.
- Vacant units
- 10
- Example rent per unit
- $1,500 a month
- Rent the building is not collecting
- $180,000 a year
- Net income after 40% operating costs
- $108,000 a year
- Value of that income at a 6.5% cap rate
- About $1.66 million
Other problems a block lease solves
The refinance is one case. The same model helps owners and managers whenever units are costing more than they earn.
- Refinancing or selling with vacancies
- A buyer or lender pays for income in place. We can take a block of units on a multi-year lease ahead of your closing, so the rent roll shows occupied units under a signed term. We will sign the estoppel certificates and subordination agreements lenders ask tenants for, and share our insurance certificates.
- Lease-up on new or renovated units
- New construction and gut renovations can take a season or more to fill one unit at a time. We can lease several units in a single agreement, so a floor or a building goes from empty to producing rent in one step.
- Specials advertised on every listing
- Filling units one at a time often means a public special on each, and the next applicant expects the same. With us there is one privately agreed rent-free start, spread across a multi-year lease.
- Turnover cost and downtime
- Each move-out means paint, cleaning, listing, showings and days with no rent. We hold units for years, and the turns between our own guests are ours to clean and pay for.
- Collections and tenant risk
- Instead of screening and collecting from many households, you have one business counterparty on one lease. Our guests sign their agreement with us and pass our identity and background checks before they get a key.
- Management time
- One lease, one monthly payment and one contact, whether we rent two units or twenty. We handle minor repairs ourselves and only call you for major building issues.
- Slow leasing seasons
- Residential leasing slows in the winter. Corporate, medical and insurance housing runs all year, so we sign when the local rental market is quiet.
- Units that are harder to place
- Larger two-bedroom units, furnished units and units in buildings with high asking rents can sit. Those are often exactly what our guests need: crews, families relocating and traveling professionals.
Is your building a fit?
We do our best work for owners who need several units producing rent on a dependable timeline.
Refinancing or preparing to sell
Within the next year, with units vacant or on short leases.
Leasing up new or renovated units
And want a block occupied now rather than one at a time.
Close to hospitals, universities or business districts
Where traveling nurses, contractors and relocating staff need to stay.
Comfortable with furnished, working-guest stays
With your consent written into the lease from day one.
Open to furnishing the units and a rent-free start
We repay the furniture through the rent. In return you get every unit leased at once, for years.
For mortgage brokers and loan advisors
If a client’s refinance or sale is held back by a handful of empty units, we may be able to lease them before closing.
- What we ask of the owner
- Furnished units, a rent-free start and utilities inside the rent. We repay the furniture through the rent, and the terms are agreed once for the whole block.
- A block of units under one lease
- From a few units to a full building, on a multi-year term. One tenant, one monthly payment, one signature to collect.
- Paperwork for the loan file
- The signed lease, our company documents, insurance certificates naming the owner, and the estoppel certificates and subordination agreements a lender asks tenants for.
- A quick yes or no, and an early look
- Send us the address, the unit mix and the closing date and we will say how many units we can take. Lenders treat a lease to one company in different ways, so we would rather your underwriter reads our lease form before it is signed.
Questions owners ask about block leases
Will my lender accept a lease to a corporate housing company?
Every lender underwrites differently, and some look closely at a lease where one company holds several units. We make that review easy: we provide our company documents, insurance certificates naming you, our operating history and signed estoppel and subordination agreements when asked. Talk to your lender or broker early so the lease is written in a form they are comfortable with.
How many units will you lease?
Anywhere from a single unit to a full building. Our Cleveland lease covers ten units in one agreement. Block leases are where we can offer the most to an owner.
How long are your leases?
We sign multi-year leases. Our current leases run through 2027 and 2029. If you have a closing date or a loan term to work around, tell us and we will shape the term to fit.
Who pays for furnishing and setup?
It can work either way. We can furnish and equip the units ourselves, or you can furnish them to our specification and we repay the cost through the rent over the lease. Our Cleveland lease works the second way: the owner bought the furniture upfront and we pay it back monthly.
Does this affect my other residents?
Our guests are screened professionals on stays of weeks to months, under a no-party, no-smoking policy with noise monitoring and smart locks. Units are cleaned several times a week and kept in show condition.
Have a closing date and empty units?
Tell us the building, how many units and when your lender or buyer needs to see them occupied. We will tell you quickly whether we can help.