Recent experiences with Furnished Finder?

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Used it once and plan to again.. the tough part is all the vetting is done on one's own. So I could see the experience going many different ways. I tried to dig into all sorts of data to verify the person was real and owned the property, talked to them, and nothing set off red flags so the plunge was taken. Still felt a little nervous until getting there and.. the door opened. Whew! Had a fantastic stay

I know some nurses that have used it in the US and had good things to say. Not sure about overseas though.

It can be a good place to find mid-term places to rent. Just be aware that it's not a platform like Airbnb with any sort of protections. It's more like using classifieds or even couch surfing (though there is a money exchange in this scenario).

My tips for not getting ripped off are to make sure you sign an official lease with all details listed out. You will likely have to put some money down in advance to secure a spot. If possible, try your best to see the place in person.

I had good experiences with it in Asheville and Atlanta. We were travelling with pets and it took some convincing and lots of messaging to find a place.

I've used it 5 times in the past year for 2-4 month stays, and it's worked out great each time. As others have mentioned, there's more vetting involved than using AirBnb or other sites, because you aren't renting through FF itself.

First and most recent experiences ended up being a rental site and a landlord with several units, which of course really helped with vetting. They had their own lease contract, ways to pay rent, etc. Finding them was the only thing done on FF; after that it was just like dealing with any other vacation rental site (except rent was far closer to an annual contract, even though it was only 3 months).

The other experiences were individuals renting out their place. FF does provide a way for owners to verify identity, which helps. There are property reviews as well, but they seem to be pretty rare. I'll video chat pretty quickly in the process. One person didn't really do contracts, but wrote up the terms; the other two had their own contracts.

You can either search on your own and reach out or use the booking request feature. You can get a ton of responses with the request feature. It's useful, but you also get a lot of scams that way... people who want you to 'fill out this form' that's probably a phishing email, things like that. I found two places with the request tool though, just have to be cautious of idiots.

Properties have an availability calendar, but I've found many owners don't keep it updated. You also have to watch for one listed price, but other prices in the description based on time of year, or in the description it'll say "only available in the summer months", etc.

The vetting goes both ways, too. Property owners have a profile to fill out and it could be a red flag if an owner doesn't fill out anything. You also have a profile and it helps a lot to fill it out.

Overall, it's a bit of a love/hate relationship at times, but no horror stories or issues besides the time it can take to find a place.

I love it! Sinara ABnB fees! -- started nomading last sept. with the gf. used ABnB through the winter but started using Furnished Finder for more inventory closer to the date of arrival. only annoying part is most require deposits and leases signed - and each is trial and error when it comes to payment - I've venmo'd people before, I've had tradition leasing software - it's like a weird hybrid between traditional leasing and STRs.

definitely recommend though!