Temporarily At Home

If you needed a place to live in Florida for a few months, would you rather pay too much for a hotel room or enjoy the independence of a fully furnished, temporary rental property in the heart of the city? Brian Bombei, president of Sunchoice Corporate Housing, has created a distinctive business revolving around the smarter second option.

“I founded Sunchoice in 2007 when I noticed a change in the real estate market from home-buying to that of renting,” Bombei says. The company grew quickly as it fulfilled a need in Tampa, Florida, providing off-base housing for military personnel stationed at MacDill Air Force Base.

Sunchoice now specializes in offering furnished temporary accommodations to those who have relocated to Florida indefinitely and are looking for permanent housing, or to those people residing in the area during a short-term work project. The company has a special build-to-order process across hundreds of property locations, allowing flexibility for the customer in terms of move-in date, unit size, length of stay, location, and budget.

“Once a location is chosen, the company will ‘wrap’ an unfurnished apartment or condo with all of the ancillary services that makes it a home away from home, including furniture, housewares, and all utilities,” Bombei says. Permanent residents often live in the communities as well, giving the temporary residents, who stay anywhere from one month to one year, a more at-home feeling.

A Preferred Employer Program (PEP) is also available, where Sunchoice partners with other real estate-related companies to provide employers and universities with all the relocation and real estate planning for their employees and students. “The PEP is a one-stop-shop employee-benefits program that is available for free to any organization to make use of our vast resources—with the goal of making a transition to Florida as smooth as possible,” Bombei says.

Currently, Sunchoice works with more than 80 different property communities. The company works with a licensed, registered real estate broker who acts as the inventory manager, finding the best pricing, availability, and specials within Sunchoice’s extensive network of upscale communities. “We find that working with this broker as an extension of Sunchoice, we can pass the savings along to our customers,” Bombei says. When adding a new property to its network, Sunchoice looks to fill a need in its overall portfolio, such as proximity to popular work, shopping, or transportation areas; availability at certain price points; and more. New developments providing temporary housing include Millennium at Westshore (in Tampa), Fusion 1560 (in St. Petersburg), and 55 W (in Orlando).

Not just companies but also individuals look to Sunchoice for temporary housing, including military personnel, athletes, traveling nurses, and vacationers. “It is always a kick speaking with a well-known athlete on a hometown team who needs housing during the season,” Bombei says.

But regardless of who is in need of a temporary home, Sunchoice has found success by taking the time to carefully observe each client’s individual needs. “Every customer has a different set of requirements,” Bombei says, “which is why our team of dedicated professionals takes pride in taking care of customers one at a time to ensure all of their expectations are properly met.” ABQ