Creative House Hacking

[Matthew Fleck]

I am 6 months into my first house hack/live-in flip and so far I have met all of my short term goals... but now it's time to turn it up a notch.  I am house hacking a 3 bed/2 bath and rent 2 of the rooms.  So far I have had 3 different roommates.  One is a friend who moved in shortly after closing and is still with me today.  He will be moving out in March though (4 months notice!).  The second was a friend who just needed a place to stay for the summer.  This worked out great because it gave me a chance to fix a few more things before marketing it to the world.  The third was found through Airbnb.  I posted with a 30 day minimum booking requirement and had the room booked for the next month within 24 hours of posting. He has been with me for the past 3 months and plans on continuing to stay.  I am now in the process of converting my garage into 2 more bedrooms and an additional bathroom.  With one room empty in March and two more being built,  it's time to start creating some systems around marketing, screening tenants, and ensuring they enjoy their time here.

What are some strategies that you have used to attract like-minded roommates and ensure that the good ones stay?

The first photo in my listing is a picture of the garage gym to hopefully attract individuals who value health and fitness.  I also plan to put together a welcome binder that includes information about the surrounding areas (bus schedules, restaurant recommendations, shopping, local activities, etc.)