Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 25 posts · 13 votes
I’m researching the best approach for selling two Atlanta properties that currently operate as room-by-room rentals. For Realtors who have worked with co-living, PadSplit, or similar investor properties, what strategies have you found most effective for positioning and marketing these homes?
To be straightforward — it really comes down to how well the properties are performing. You can try to sell prospective buyers on potential future revenue, but at the end of the day, investors are focused on the actual financials.
That said, there are several things you can highlight that tend to resonate with buyers: occupancy rate (90%+ is strong; anything at 80% or below starts to raise concerns), member tenure (long-term members are a significant selling point — if someone has been in place for a year or more, lean into that; conversely, a high concentration of newer members will give buyers pause), capital improvements and what work has been done to the property (before and after photos are a nice touch), five-star PadSplit ratings if applicable, and of course, location. If the properties are near desirable amenities like the BeltLine, that's worth highlighting. Ultimately though, it comes back to performance. If you have T-12s, you'll generate serious offers. Without financials, expect weaker interest.
From experience, listing on the MLS isn't necessarily the right move here — you'll likely end up fielding inquiries from tire kickers asking about seller financing. The ATL co-living market is a fairly tight-knit group, and there are a handful of brokers who are well-versed in this space and actively transact co-living properties — they're the ones with relationships with serious buyers. On the marketing side, a few platforms worth utilizing: Facebook Groups: PadSplit Atlanta Host Group, Co-Living Properties For Sale, and the Official PadSplit Host Community. PadSplit also has their own marketplace where you can list directly for buyer visibility.
Pricing strategy is critical in the current market, and right now we're in a very psychological environment where price positioning can make or break a deal. To use a hypothetical — if an income approach supports a value of $325k, I'd actually recommend listing at $295k. Why? Because it sits below the $300k psychological threshold, and it's more consistent with what comparable sales are reflecting. The goal is to price slightly below market, generate immediate interest from serious investors, and create enough competition to ultimately drive offers into the low $300s — which is likely where you wanted to be anyway. The properties sitting on the market right now are the ones that were priced too aggressively out of the gate and are now dealing with limited showings and repeated price reductions.
What's the makeup of your two properties — bedroom/bathroom count, general location, and how have they been performing?
Specialist · Long Beach, CA · Member since 2011 · 877 posts · 397 votes
1w
These are best geared for an investor to purchase. Most likely, they won't appraise. So having a retail buyer is not realistic. Maybe start placing them on the classified section here. And if you have a database of investors, you should market to them as well
Real Estate Agent · Columbus OH · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1d
If they are filled and operating and they will need to have curb offers made, you are really looking for an investor in that asset class to purchase it, but generally you'll be limited by the appraised value if they are single family. some dscr lenders might be different though, but again it would be a more focused approach that was needed not a standard residential listing