Alittle more than a year ago, Chris Hawkins was living in a 450-square-foot in-law flat in the Marina. He'd bought the place in 1997 for $165,000 and fixed it up nicely, but when his upstairs neighbor, who lived in a two-bedroom unit, decided to sell, Hawkins contemplated making the financial leap for more living space.

"Initially, I didn't think I could afford it," says Hawkins, who had the same doubts when he purchased the smaller condo. "But then I started weighing my options."

One was to take the path of many who buy second homes in the expensive Bay Area market: Sell the smaller unit -- now appraised at $500,000 -- and use the equity to buy the larger one. Another, because he didn't really want to sell it, was to rent it out and stretch himself dangerously thin between two mortgages.

Neither option was very appealing.

Finally, Hawkins, 38, owner of a graphics design and print company, found a way out of his dilemma. He discovered a third option, one that more and more Bay Area homeowners and real estate investors are taking advantage of.

"I ended up doing some investigating," says Hawkins. "And I found out that as a furnished corporate rental, I could get twice the rent that I normally could for the smaller unit."

Corporate housing has been around seemingly forever. During the 1980s, some firms bought condos, had them furnished and used them to house visiting consultants and reassigned executives. They quickly learned that it was far easier to lease furnished apartments or condos from real estate management companies. It's was often cheaper than putting them up in hotels. It had the added allure of being tax deductible.

What's new is that some -- a very few -- corporate housing management firms are using individually owned units, such as Hawkins' Marina condo. For a fee, usually around 30 percent of the monthly rent, they supply a steady stream of temporary but reputable tenants. Just about all the owner has to do is sit back and retrieve the monthly checks from the mailbox.

"I very much like the service they provide," says Danielle Laurent, whose eight furnished units on Lombard Street are managed by AvenueWest Corporate Housing in San Francisco. "I don't have to manage it at all. I never worry. They just do everything."

What makes their job a little easier is that corporate executives aren't the only ones who use corporate housing. Some visiting professors, physicians, nurses, professional baseball players, actors, musicians and others are finding it an attractive alternative to staying in a hotel.

At about the same time Hawkins was weighing the decision to buy a bigger place, Jennifer Maley of Chicago was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. None of the surgeons she consulted felt confident that it could be completely removed.

Finally, she heard of a neurosurgeon at the UCSF Medical Center who was adept at removing Maley's rare form of tumor. Maley flew to San Francisco to see him. Because of her condition, he recommended she have the surgery as soon as possible. It was scheduled to take place in 10 days.

Following the 14-hour operation, she would be in the hospital for two weeks. After a brief time in a local rehabilitation hospital, Maley would need to stay in the city for a couple of months, longer if there were complications. And she needed to find something that had enough space to accommodate a caregiver.

"Everything was happening so fast," says Maley. "Initially, I considered staying in a hotel, but the cost would have been astronomical."

Finally, Maley -- a 33-year-old marketing and public relations professional with the Chicago Association of Realtors -- took the same option that Hawkins did: She called AvenueWest and started looking at corporate housing.

After looking at a number of one-bedroom units, most priced between $4,000 and $4,500 a month, she inspected a unit on Telegraph Hill.

"It was the last place I looked at," says Maley. "I walked in and noticed how quiet it was. And I knew that after brain surgery I would need peace and quiet."

The fully furnished unit, which had a sofa on which her mother could sleep during the convalescence, went for $3,700 a month.

"It's just nice to have your own place," says Maley, now back home in Chicago and recovering nicely. "Everything worked out well for me."

Corporate housing also works out well for Lisa Ledesma, a tech consultant with Logic Information Systems who seems to spend more time living in it than she does in her own home in St. Paul, Minn. Lately, she's been spending a lot of time in San Francisco, where she stays in a corporate housing unit on Telegraph Hill. It's a short jaunt to Levi Plaza, where one of her clients, Williams-Sonoma, is located. "Other people take hotels," says Ledesma. "I prefer corporate housing because I don't have to eat out. I can entertain. It's more of a home base. It allows me to have a life, despite spending six days every other week away from home."

Since renting out his smaller unit as corporate housing for $3,750 a month, Hawkins has had several tenants. One tenant, like Maley, was receiving long-term medical care. Another was a traveling physician on assignment in San Francisco for four months. A third was a venture capitalist from Europe.

"They've all been nice people," says Hawkins. "And I've made $1,500 profit a month on the unit."

"There's all different kinds of needs for corporate housing," says Eric Smith, who, along with his wife, Kimberly, own AvenueWest. "There are divorcees, relocating executives, patients awaiting transplants -- even movie stars who don't mind paying $10,000 a month in rent."

AvenueWest, says Smith, is only one of two corporate housing firms in San Francisco that cater to individual property owners. The other is American Marketing Systems Inc. Since founding Avenue West in 1994, the private element of the industry has grown tremendously.

To accommodate it, the couple started an Internet company, CHBO, six months ago. The Web site,, lists about 500 privately owned dwellings throughout the country. It is also designed to answer questions of those who are thinking about renting out their property as corporate housing.

Those who decide to do so can download guidelines that give advice on how best to furnish their units, what price to ask for month-to-month rental, etc. They can then, for a fee, list the property, along with several photos, on the site.

"When you're dealing with vacation rentals, the devil is in the details," says Smith. "What scares (property owners) the most is that they don't understand the details. Most of the people are just scared of the unknown."

The most important factor in determining a property's potential as corporate housing, say the Smiths, is location. Parts of San Francisco, San Jose and other Bay Area locations are highly marketable. In fact, San Francisco is on the Smiths' list of most popular cities, which also includes Boston; Carlisle, Pa.; Port Orchard, Wash.; Baltimore; Las Vegas; and New York.

"There's so many weird, unique properties in San Francisco," says Eric Smith. "And while the average length of stay in corporate housing is about 90 days, in San Francisco it's longer -- from six to nine months."

Smith says a great many corporate housing tenants are interested in finding a place from which they can walk to work. Because they want to feel safe during their stay, security is also important. Parking, and washer and dryers are also attractive amenities.

There are, says Smith, other things property owners need to take into consideration while considering corporate housing. Since it determines the bottom line, the biggest is how much down time they might have to experience. They might be getting $1,500 more in rent each month, but if the place is only being rented six months out of the year, that doesn't mean much.

Something else to take into consideration is that, in some areas, smaller units are more in demand than larger ones. This makes sense because many corporate housing tenants are traveling alone. Those who have a low risk-tolerance, says Smith, or are watching every penny, may not be comfortable in the corporate housing market.

For Laurent, downtime hasn't been a problem. Her eight condos on Lombard are nearly always occupied. She even has to reserve time for them for when her friends and family from abroad come to visit.

"I'm sure there is (downtime) on some others," says Laurent, whose tenants stay, on average, three or four months. "But I've been very fortunate."

It's worked out as well for Hawkins, who's had almost 100 percent occupancy on his Marina condo. He's happy now that he didn't sell it.

"The only downside," he says, "is that I only have one parking space: Now I have to park on the street, and I've got about $700 in parking tickets. That's kind of a bummer."

Corporate housing checklist

Location is king: If you've got a place relatively near where big firms congregate -- the Financial District, Marina, San Jose -- it's a real possibility. Because tenants and their needs vary, though, just about any well-furnished place in any nice neighborhood has potential.

How much risk? Make a realistic assessment of your risk tolerance. There won't be any long-term leases. You'll be renting on a month-by-month basis. You'll make more -- a one-bedroom condo that would normally go for $1,800 a month could bring in up to $4,000 a month or more as a corporate rental -- but there may be downtime.

Management fees: Don't forget that you'll be paying about 30 percent of the rent to the management firm. For this, they'll hook you up with tenants, collect rent, clean the unit and send you a check each month. You'll be responsible, however, for maintenance, insurance, etc.

Make it nice: Success also depends on how well the unit is furnished. A stripped-down room won't cut it. Tenants want the homey feel, which is why they're willing to pay more. A nicely decorated unit with comfortable, attractive furniture, a large-screen television, plants, etc., is important.

Those little extras: Amenities such as parking, washer and dryer also mean a lot. And fully furnished in this case means everything -- sheets, towels, appliances, dishes, silverware.

Safety first: Don't forget about security. Good lighting, locks or even an alarm system will help.

Consult the experts: These firms can answer questions and help you determine if corporate housing is the right choice:

AvenueWest Corporate Housing, (415) 362-9600

American Marketing Systems, (415) 447-2000

Corporate Housing by Owner, (877) 333-2426