Anyone Doing Co-Living Rentals in the St. Louis Market?

[Andy Horobec]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been hearing more about co-living as an investment strategy — where multiple tenants rent out individual rooms in a single property, often sharing common spaces like kitchens and living rooms.

I’m curious if anyone here in the St. Louis or St. Charles County markets has implemented co-living as part of their rental strategy?

• What types of properties work best for it here?
• Are there specific neighborhoods where it performs well (or doesn’t)?
• How have you structured leases and managed utilities/expenses?
• Any zoning issues or challenges I should be aware of locally?

Would love to hear about your experiences (good or bad) and any advice you’d give to someone thinking about trying this model!

Thanks in advance — looking forward to learning from you all!

[Chase Busick]

@Andy Horobec, I think the co-living situation is great for some & indifferent for others that depend on the situation.

In general, I'd always ensure that any potential property consider still meets the general criteria for what you consider is a deal as if you were renting it out as a regular SFH.

Many people got caught up with this in regards to AirBnB, then I feel like oversaturated the market. Then eventually these great AirBnB's were a lot more upkeep, a much more active business than many people were expecting, then with the mix of market trends of lower occupancy during lower periods of travel crippled their ability to stay afloat for those just starting out compared to those that have been doing it for a while & have better quality residences at better prices.

For Co-living, the property has to be worth while, the layout has to be setup good, the tenant pool may be a little more limited due to people having to rent with possible strangers, etc. Not to say that it doesn't work, because it does. I have seen in California, Colorado & Oklahoma where people have done it in order to have a lower payment comparatively to renting something out by themselves. Most of the time it is like house hacking but for rentals. The Colorado one, happened to be a hostel style living house for travelers looking for a one night or longer stay. Some apartment complexes will do the co-living setup too in order to provide more affordable housing (I've only seen at apartments close to universities where most of the people are within the same age demographic - with the exception of onesies & twosies.

You may need to be mindful of the neighborhood, here & there.

Structuring the lease may be charging a flat rate for most utilities.

May want to follow the occupancy limits still for your local market.

Hope this helps, I'd still try to connect with more people in St. Louis market about it too, & hear about their opinions, experience or general outlook on co-living itself.