How to advertise student rentals?

Question

Hey all! I live near a nursing school and was thinking about doing a house hack \ student rental type of thing where I rent by the room but I was wondering how I would go about advertising the property? And how would I even describe what the situation is to potential tenants?

Ryan Deasy · Answer

@Eli Rollins hi Eli, renting by the room is all i do. in the ad i describe it as a “shared space”. as soon as someone contacts me, the first thing i say is “this is a shared space with roommates, is that ok for you?” you will have some confusion and some burden of educating people who do not understand the concept but, trust me, it’s worth it.

i use craigslist, apartments.com and zillow. the person who said zillow doesn’t post room rentals is sort of correct. i actually just posted an ad there yesterday. the zillow platform, when you’re making an ad actually asks if it’s a room rental and you can check a box. once you post the ad, you’ll get an email saying zillow doesn’t allow room rentals but they went ahead and posted it on trulia and another one of their sites that they control. thus, it’s still worth it.

let me know how else i can help.

Eli Rollins · Answer

@Ryan Deasy Ok Interesting thanks!

Eli Rollins · Answer

@Steven Wilson So you said to make sure all of my tenants actually attend the college. So could I say something like "Attendees of (college name here) only" without violating fair housing laws?

Theresa Harris · Answer

@Eli Rollins Most universities and colleges have a web page you can post to with rentals-for houses, apartments or rooms.

Eli Rollins · Answer

@ Jonah Hartsburg Thanks, This is very good information! I didn't know there were college specific ways to market listings

Steven Foster Wilson · Answer

@Elizabeth Colegrove if you rent by the room you are limited to what platforms you can advertise on. For example Zillow does not let you market a "room" for rent.

I have done college rentals on OSU campus per room. The biggest thing is making the students feel comfortable. Thats why I use Facebook to advertise, they can see who is marketing the place, that Im not some creep. Then I make sure all my tenants are attending the local school (you don't want an older man living with college girls)tell the tenants this, this will make them feel more comfortable about sharing a living space. Reassure interested tenants that you have quiet hours, or other house responsibilities that make your place a good home.

- Think of things that they might be worried about living in a shared space, then help put those worries to rest with best practices & rules

Jonah Hartsburg · Answer

Great idea! I don’t have direct experience in renting rooms, but I’ve worked in property management in a college town and currently rent the other side of the duplex I live in, which is right next to the local university. Most schools have a school-specific Facebook marketplace group(s) where students/faculty/alumni post ISO and for-sale items. That’s a good place to get the word out and post listings. Also, there are often bulletin boards in schools where you can hang flyers (although sometimes those need approval before posting). I would also check with the housing department of the school and see if they have any suggestions. While they are technically a competitor for housing, there’s a good chance they would be friendly and offer advice in the interest of their students and the community. Then word-of-mouth is an excellent source for students as they want to live cheaply with their friends and give referrals to incoming students.Another initial suggestion is to make sure to review Texas Fair Housing laws and make sure your advertising and screening process aligns with those laws. I am definitely not offering legal advice but would double check to make sure you don’t run into any future troubles. Also, check the housing guidelines with the school to see which students are allowed to live off-campus without a legal guardian. The school near me just enacted a policy somewhere along the lines that students have to be 23 or older to live off campus unless they live with a guardian or are married (marriage incentives, right?). The local landlords are still trying to figure out how to find a loophole with the policy.

How to advertise student rentals?

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