Finding tenants by the room - Need some advice

Original post

Hey everyone,

I've been getting lucky with getting tenants since I rent by the room, but lately it's been a bit slow these days. I've been using FB and other platforms like Furnished Finder and will try Airbnb for a short term tenant until I find a long-term one. Any other suggestions or should I keep trying until I find a long-term tenant?

Thanx ya'll!

Reply by Eniyah Brown-Moore

Hey Cosmic! I have 2 Coliving properties so I know all about this problem. I will say, keep trying! Facebook is my go-to platform in my market, but one thing that has helped me was to switch up how I market my rooms for rent and the language, emojis, and phrases I use. The book House Hacking by Craig Curelop has some great insight on this!

Reply by Cosmic Nova

Hey! Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it. I've been using Facebook as well and doing my best to switch up the language and make it more marketable. I've had several people interested. Just depends on who will stick around and not flake.

Reply by Christopher Shipley

1st, make sure you get a vacation rental license. This will at least help you with the first 30 days if you need to ask them to leave. After 30 days, most local law enforcement will require you to do an eviction.

2nd, I started upgrading my clients. I wanted to help people, not saddle the ones that were working hard and trying to better themselves with others who were not working (other than elderly or disabled) and just looking for a place to flop down and party. I started requiring 3 months proof of continuous income. This alone changed the entire game for me. After that I required that all guests pass a very basic background check (registered sex offenders and active warrants) and because of the nature of sharing homes only registered guest can enter the home. No outsiders whatsoever. I allowed up to two people per room max and again both had to be checked.

3rd and lastly all signed documentation that they understood that they were choosing to rent as roommates and understand that they are considering themselves a single family unit. The agreement also outlines the rules of the home and I hired a cleaning service to come in once a week to clean the common areas and for the safety of all I have cameras in the common areas.

Had no problems since.

Hope this helps and don't forget to check the local laws and ordinances in your area.

Reply by Cosmic Nova

Thank you Christopher. I've saved your advice in one of my folders. I plan to do a short term rental with either a dome, modular home, or both in the near future and rent by the week, but I'll experiment and see what works best for me.

I'm currently in Texas, so the rules are different based on the county. I'll be sure to check for the red tape before implementing anything.

Again, thank you for the advice!