Advice for Finding a House Hack Roommate

[Josh Abrams]

Hi! I wanted to reach out for some advice on finding a roommate for a house hack. First a little background - I recently purchased my first property in Nashville (3 bed 2.5 bath) and will be moving in in December as it is a new build. I will be house hacking the property as well. I currently rent an apartment with my friend who I played college football with, and he will be renting a room from me in the new place. I am 24 years old, he's 22, and we both have full time jobs (actuary and teacher).

My biggest questions are where should I post my ad, and what should I include (and not include) in it? Should it mainly concentrate on the specifics of the property - rent price, utilities included, W/D in unit, new build, proximity to downtown, restaurants etc? Or since I will be living in it and not just looking for a traditional tenant, should I also be marketing myself and my roommate? I will be giving my roommate some say in who I take in as the extra roommate as he will also be living there. I was thinking maybe a short paragraph or two about what we do, our hobbies, what we are looking for in a roommate, etc. Or should the ad be kept more professional/formal and ask those interested to reach out for a short phone call where they can explain what they are looking for, why they are interested in the property, etc., and we can get to know each other and see if it would be a good fit?

I would love to learn some dos and don'ts from personal experience if possible. Being that this house hack is my first of many rental properties, I want to start off on the right foot.

Thanks in advance!

Josh