First house hack - thoughts on how to rent out the rooms

[James Jordan]

Hello Bigger Pocket Forum-Goers,

I just got under contract on my first house that I am planning to house hack in Puyallup, WA. The house is a split level 2-1, 2-1. But there is no "real" separation between the upstairs and downstairs "units". The downstairs has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and is going to have a kitchen. Same with the upstairs. The only things shared between the upstairs (where I am going to stay) and the downstairs, are the laundry units which are downstairs in the kitchen area.

So now the part where I am looking for advice: What is the method I should use for renting out the rooms? The house is close to the only major hospital in the area but I am not sure how to advertise for traveling nurses only looking for 1 room and a private bathroom if I cannot really offer that since there are two rooms downstairs and I want to fill all extra rooms that I am not staying in. I would say the MOST ideal situation is where I am doing short-mid term rentals for all 3 rooms, I am just not sure who to advertise to or if I should maybe try to advertise to a small family that can just take the whole downstairs and do more of a mid-long term rental. What do y'all think?

[Rod Hanks]

@James Jordan 

If there isn’t a true separation between the upstairs and downstairs, I’d probably think of this more as a room-rental house rather than two separate units.

Since you’re living there, renting individual rooms is usually the simplest approach. In areas near hospitals, traveling nurses can be a good fit, but they typically want a private bedroom and sometimes a private bath. If the downstairs bathroom would be shared between two rooms, that’s still workable—you’d just want to be clear in the listing that the bathroom is shared.

For marketing, a lot of people use sites like Furnished Finder, which is very popular with traveling nurses and other mid-term renters. Airbnb can also work if you set minimum stays (like 30+ days) to avoid constant turnover. The key is having the rooms furnished and making the setup clear in the listing.

Another option is exactly what you mentioned—rent the entire downstairs to one tenant or a small family. That’s simpler to manage and reduces turnover, but it may produce slightly less total rent than renting rooms individually.

Since this is your first house hack and you’ll be living there, I’d lean toward whatever setup feels easiest to manage day-to-day. Sometimes fewer tenants and longer stays are worth more than squeezing out the absolute highest rent. Also make sure to check local rules around room rentals and owner-occupied housing so everything stays compliant.