Rental by room in austin

[Geeta Sharma]

Hi friends, is there anyone who rent their property by room to get a positive cash flow? What’s the process and where do you list?

[Devin Dang]

Quote from @Geeta Sharma:

Quote from @Devin Dang:

Hi @Geeta Sharma! I am currently house hacking my single family home and cash flow positive. I live in one room in rent the other three. Co-living/rent-by-the-room strategy is growing and a great way to increase cash-flow with it being extremely difficult to make long term traditional rents work in the Austin market.

I only list on flexible housing/lease facebook groups and have lots of success.

What parts of the process are you most curious about?

Hi Devin,

I am experienced landlord with renting properties on long term basis but with house prices increasing everyday it’s very hard to even get enough rent to cover your mortgage. I found rent by room concept very appealing but not sure how to target the population only interested in renting by room. 

+1 to everything Ryan said! The biggest difference is the extra time on the initial set-up and systems to avoid conflict between roommates. For example, having a house chore chart that is built into the lease so it minimizes tension for dirty dishes, cleaning, ect. especially with 4-6+ separate leases under one house.

To answer your question about targeting this group, I'd say put yourself in the shoes of a 20-mid 30 year old younger millennial professional. Being within reasonable distance to a city, restaurants, HEBs as opposed to walmart, domain, gyms, ect. is generally a safer bet. They are likely looking for rent-by-the-room for the community so being intentional about creating and promoting an inclusive and productive environment. Bungalow has each new potential tenant go to happy hour with the current house mates and takes input from them in the application process, giving them a sense of ownership = happy tenant.

You'll be responsible for furnishing the common areas, so dont forget millennials love their instagrammable decor!