When a string of hurricanes ravaged the East Coast this past fall and a cluster of wildfires burned the Los Angeles area in January, tens of thousands of displaced people suddenly needed shelter.
A Twin Cities-made website specializing in mid-term rentals — stays of longer than a vacation but not more than a year — hopes to help these refugees and others find temporary, but stable housing while rebuilding or searching for a permanent place.
Real estate investor Jon Wolf launched [MiniStays](https://ministays.com/?stay=yes) just five months ago to cater to business travelers tired of hotels, digital nomads who could work from anywhere, families in transition or people who wanted a vacation home without the obligation of owning it.
Being a haven from natural disasters wasn’t an initial motivation; the timing was fateful.
“We’re helping solve a need,” Wolf said.
Wolf was a regular landlord before MiniStays but soured on it after a long-term tenant trashed one of his Minneapolis properties. The city’s [strict restrictions](https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-cap-on-short-term-rentals-upsets-operators-developers/600013349) dissuaded him from making it a short-term rental, and he was on the verge of selling it when someone suggested the idea of a mid-term rental (MTR): a monthly rental for those who need a furnished but ultimately ephemeral landing pad.
Wolf quickly rented the three-bedroom duplex to a traveling nurse who stayed for three months, left the place in perfect condition and paid about $700 per month more than he’d net with a long-term lease.
“I was completely hooked,” said Wolf, who promptly converted all of his long-term rentals into MTRs.