Rent by the room - not much interest!

[Kate B.]

I am renting by the room and having a very hard time getting interest to fill 2 empty rooms. I dropped the room price significantly and its lower than what the current tenants are paying. Utilities are included, dogs welcome.  I even removed the min qualifications from the listing just to get interest.  I have a friend renting by the room in the same area for $100 more per room and had a few people review my ad and tell me its good.  Is anyone else having issues filling right now, is it time of year, pandemic, what could it be?

[Natalie Schanne]

@Kate B. - Are your rooms furnished with a bed, dresser, desk and chair at a minimum? Are you published everywhere with good (bright) pictures and text? (Emphasizing free washer and dryer, shared kitchen, multiple fridges, common area tv, cable, wifi, etc.?) I also emphasize areas in my posts to hit keywords like neighboring towns, big employers, distance to grocery, and restaurants etc.

Websites for leads include Airbnb (can set 30 day minimum, don’t allow instant book if starting further than 14 days into the future), Zumper, Zillow rental manager (trulia hotpads), cozy.co, Facebook marketplace, Facebook local groups / school groups, any community/church classified roommate websites, craigslist, Nextdoor, sign in the yard or on a nearby busy Cross street like Room for Rent $700. Some people don’t like dogs. My rent by the room is no smoking and no pets for everyone. I had two tenants with dogs and one with a cat and many times it deters other renters. But I’m assuming you have a dog and are happy to host more dogs.