Rooming/Boarding House.  Transient Lodging.  Looking to connect with anyone (in ANY state) that has experience (good, bad, ugly) with Rooming Houses.  I am a seasoned investor, but wanted to acquire a little more information about the process for some clients of mine.  Thanks in advance for reaching out!

Hi Rick,

Have you seen the blog by Bill Biko?  I think it's EducatedLandlord.com.  He has an ebook about rooming houses.  Both the blog and book are really good.  he's also good about answering questions by email.

Rooming houses are my next step.  At this time, I rent RVs and run them similarly to how I would run a rooming house.  Weekly rent being the main thing.  My renters tend to be shorter term than a house.  A lot of my renters are in town for construction jobs.  I'm near Houston.

I think rooming houses could be very lucrative.  Of course, they must be managed properly like any rental.  

I know of a 9 bedroom house in the perfect area I could get for a song(under 20,000).  But it needs extensive rehab, and I don't have the experience to tackle such a big job.  I've also considered simply renting a  house to use.  That would be cool because I wouldn't be responsible for maintenance and the upfront costs would be so low.  Of course, convincing an owner to let me do that in their property might be hard.  But how much market is there for 6+ bedroom houses?  

Right now, I'm trying to get my sister and husband on board as partners, but they think I  need to wait.  I had some serious mental issues in the past year and a half and messed up some things.  Trying to get back to my old self.  Waiting is hard.  I'm an ambitious person.  

Anyway, hope this helps.  

If you are not resident in the building, it is highly likely that the city will require a license and inspection.

I've had experience with rooming houses for about 5 years. Would love to answer any questions you might have. In short, crazy cash flow with problems that can be minimized if you are proactive.  

My partner and I have 10 years of experience with room and board housing. Like Jason Owens said, really good cash flow and if you run it properly (assess and screen tenants, buy in the right neighborhood close to amenities and build a relationship with your tenants so that they stick around) you'll avoid the nightmare situations. 

If you have any questions, I'd be glad to help.

I also have 5 years experience with rooming houses. Roughly 70 - 80 rooms going at all times, around 20 properties. Let me know if I can help.

Andrew, that is impressive. What systems do you have in place to make it all work? Do you provide food? What client base do you serve (students, adults with disabilities, seniors, etc.)? What are the rents like out in your part of the country?

Sorry for the all of the questions. I've never seen or heard of anyone operating so many rooms at once.

@AndrewClark, I am interested also.  Do you self manage them?  Any advice for out of state owners?  How much do you charge?  Do they pay deposits?  Ceasor did you get your rooms going?

Hi BP, Interested in knowing about rooming houses, but only in Seattle, as the codes are different from place to place.  Let me know, as I have my eye on one currently but don't want to jump in, then only later find out that its illegal. 

Thanks!

Does anyone know how this works in Jersey City? Lot of room rentals all around NYC obviously, as rent is sky high. Rooms generally rent around 900-1200/m so its quite lucrative. Specific example, and curious to know EXACTLY if that 4 person rule is the norm here too:

2 family house, 3bed 1bath 1st floor rented fully w lease, 4bed 1bath 2nd floor rented out to 3 strangers and landlord lives in 4th room.

Is this legal (landlord lives there), does it require rooming house license, does landlord need lease w tenants or just their paid month to month rent and security deposit is enough?