All Forum Posts by: Justin Segarra

@Justin Segarra

you got great responses about screening so i want to respond to something else you posted

"fear is not being able to find good tenants in a reasonable time frame"

homeownership and investing is a very, very long term play and it is absolutely worth it to WAIT for good tenants.  i am glad you mentioned this because everyone has different concerns.  so here's my advice:

fill immediately with bad tenants to avoid vacancy? nope nope nope

wait a few weeks or whatever to get good tenants and screen properly? yep yep ye

Hey @Justin Segarra! You've already got most of it covered in here. Ill also throw in that there are usually a bunch of Facebook groups specifically for finding roommates. I would search your cities name and "roommates" or "creative housing". Here in Denver I think we have 3-4 groups that have numerous posts a day

Quote from @Justin Segarra:

Quote from @Brandon P.:

Hello Justin, 

My wife and I took the plunge two years ago into house hacking and it has been great so far. Not everything has been perfect, as we are always growing, but we created good systems to find and keep good tenants.

The biggest hurdles are: 

-Are you located in an area that people will rent by room? - Your demand 

-Are you willing to put in the time to come up with photos and descriptions of your place to post online. - Your marketing 

-Are you willing to funnel through applicants in a professional manner, doing background checks, etc? - Your intake 

-Are you willing to create boundaries and rules for your leases? - Your structure 

Once you accept these responsibilities you will be able to better ensure a smooth execution of house hacking. 

DM for any more questions or details. 

Best, 

Brandon 

Yes I live in an a pretty large military town, theres a few universities here and major hospitals. I see listings all the time on Facebook marketplace for rooms to rent, even though they’re not the greatest quality listings. I have a friend who’s a photographer so I’m 100% willing to invest in a solid listing. What I would love to know you would funnel potential tenants and how you would do a background check, also what kind of rules have you set in place for your own house hack? . Thanks in advance  

Great question. I've house hacked two single family homes in Reno, NV and have tried 5 different rental platforms. 

My favorite by far is Turbotenant. 

It runs background checks, credit reports, eviction/criminal reports, template leases, a Docusign-like program to sign lease agreements, rent collection, tax consolidation for EOY tax time, etc. 

It's extremely robust and I run both of my rentals with it. Highly recommend the paid version (very worth it). 

Best of luck to you!!

@Justin Segarra 

I have had a ton of luck with apartments.com . I list my rooms for rent here and then they put the listing on several of their affiliate sites. I get a couple interested leads a day.

Apartments.com is also where I have tenants fill out a background and credit check, set up automated rent payments, and upload renter's insurance. It's pretty sweet and free for me.

I also like Facebook marketplace and craigslist. 

I also have some nice auto messages I use to do the initial "screen" to save my time from the tire kickers and the "is it still available" annoyers.

Here is my first message:

Yes it is! We require a 550+ credit score as well as a current job paystub or a co-signer who meets these requirements. The move in date is December 7th and is a month to month lease at $650/month (not including 50-70 a month for utilities). If all that works for you, when is a good time you can see the house? and what is a good number to reach you?

Here is my second message:

I have a couple questions for you to make sure its a good fit for you. Please answer these then we can go from there: What is your Job? Only you? Pets? Move in date? Estimated length of stay? Any questions for me? --

Sometimes my first message (if they seem more serious and put a little effort into their first response):

I saw your inquiry for my house at {{address}}. It is still available. Would you like to set up a time to see it? Than I go through those two messages above.

Tips:

1. great photos

2. good description. be clear what you require to cut down on wasting your time.

3. Pre-screen with email or text before you waste your time showing the room

Hello Justin, 

My wife and I took the plunge two years ago into house hacking and it has been great so far. Not everything has been perfect, as we are always growing, but we created good systems to find and keep good tenants.

The biggest hurdles are: 

-Are you located in an area that people will rent by room? - Your demand 

-Are you willing to put in the time to come up with photos and descriptions of your place to post online. - Your marketing 

-Are you willing to funnel through applicants in a professional manner, doing background checks, etc? - Your intake 

-Are you willing to create boundaries and rules for your leases? - Your structure 

Once you accept these responsibilities you will be able to better ensure a smooth execution of house hacking. 

DM for any more questions or details. 

Best, 

Brandon