In the world of real estate investment, monthly room rentals present a lucrative yet under-explored opportunity. Properties listed on platforms like Furnished Finder (opens in new tab) allow landlords to diversify their income, meet fascinating individuals, and contribute to the housing shortage solution in high-demand areas. In a recent episode of The Landlord Diaries Podcast, episode #147, Edward Kusell-Zigelman shared his journey into room rentals, revealing how this approach can be both financially rewarding and personally fulfilling.
Why choose monthly room rentals?
Edward highlights several advantages that co-living or monthly midterm room rentals offer compared to traditional long-term leases or short-term vacation rentals like Airbnb:
High-quality tenants: Platforms like Furnished Finder attract professionals, such as travel nurses and business travelers, who are typically reliable and respectful.
Longer stays, less turnover: On average, tenants stay for about 3 months, reducing the hassle and cost associated with frequent turnovers.
Autonomy and control: Monthly rentals allow landlords more autonomy in managing their rental processes. Without the complexities of short-term bookings or the rigid commitments of long-term leases, landlords can directly interact with tenants and tailor the rental experience to both parties’ needs. This flexibility makes it an appealing option for those who appreciate having control over their rental arrangements.
Location, location, location
Edward's story illustrates the importance of location. His 1920s Craftsman home in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood is central to hospitals and tech hubs, making it ideal for professionals needing temporary housing. While location can dictate desirability, it can also inform your rental pricing strategy. Pricing your room rental slightly below the market rate for a nice one bedroom apartment in the neighborhood can filter out less committed tenants, ensuring that your property attracts those who will treat it with respect.
Co-living or room rental tips and best practices
Understand your routines: Be aware of your own schedule and how it might align or clash with a tenant's routine, which is critical for maintaining harmony in a shared space.
Transparent communication: Clearly outline which areas are private and which are shared. Use notes or house rules to lay out expectations around privacy and shared space usage.
Effective screening: Edward advises getting background information, conducting interviews, and checking references to ensure you’re comfortable with your tenant. This sets a strong foundation for a successful rental experience.
Leveraging Furnished Finder
Furnished Finder (opens in new tab) provides all the tools you need for successful room rental hosting, including tenant screening, legal documents, and online rent payments. Edward emphasizes the simplicity and transparency, noting that landlords keep 100% of the rental price without hidden fees.
For those interested in learning more about monthly midterm rentals, visit Furnished Finder’s landlord resources (opens in new tab) page.
Financial Benefits and Personal Growth
Renting a room not only supplements income but also enriches personal life. It offers a cultural exchange and a chance to build new connections. For those in expensive cities like Seattle, being proactive in using your home as a resource can help offset the high cost of living.
Conclusion
Edward Kusell-Zigelman’s insights from The Landlord Diaries podcast reinforce the significant benefits of monthly room rentals. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just exploring room rentals, these strategies can guide you towards a successful and rewarding landlord experience. For more stories like Edward’s, or to explore room rental opportunities, dive into Furnished Finder’s room rental playlist (opens in new tab) on YouTube. Whether you choose to rent by the room or the entire space, join the conversation in expanding housing availability and achieving financial peace of mind. See you again next time on The Landlord Diaries.
Episode 147 Transcript
One of the reasons why something like Furnished Finder is great is because you find, a lot of working professionals who can afford living in a nice place, will take care of it and are super respectful I do think for the most part quality of tenants is very high. And so that's important piece for people who might be hesitant or thinking about doing it. Welcome to The Landlord Diaries, where we talk about midterm rentals and the opportunities behind them. We'll share landlord stories, talk about maximizing investment potential, and discuss how to live the very best landlord life.
This podcast is proudly brought to you by Furnished Finder. The largest online marketplace for midterm rentals. Remember to like and subscribe if you enjoy our content. If you've ever considered renting out a room in your home, stay tuned. Edward Q Cell will show us just how simple and rewarding it can be.
With almost two years of consistent room rental bookings through Furnished Finder and eight five star reviews, Edward Kusell-Zigelman has built a reliable income stream hosting, traveling professionals. Interns and individuals relocating to Seattle. In this episode, Edward breaks down his approach and why room rentals can be a smart entry point into real estate investing.
Edward, thanks for joining us today. How are you? Yeah, I'm good. Thank you. Let's have a fun conversation about room rentals and start with what inspired you to start renting out a room in your home on Furnished Finder. Sure. one of the main inspirations was to get another income stream, and I have this beautiful home, so I figured that would be a good way to do it.
I had been working at Amazon in Seattle for a few years and wanted to set off on a different path for myself and get back into education. I now run my own tutoring business and work as a adjunct faculty member at the local university. But that also meant I had to supplement my income in different ways
The home was an obvious choice, so Furnished Finder was one of the first things I discovered in that process. Academics is actually one of our growing categories on Furnished Finder. We were founded with Travel Nurses in mind, but we've grown to so much more and corporate travel. Business travel is actually about 35% of our current tenant types.
lots of fantastic guests on Furnished Finder. you've hosted everyone from interns to traveling professionals. What kind of tenants have stayed in your home and how long do they typically stay? I've had a variety of tenants. I have had traveling nurses, so one of them was an MRI tech who worked at the local hospital, and I live close to Kaiser, so that helps as well.
I've had a lot of tech people, not surprisingly being in Seattle, I've had people as young as 23, my current tenant who will be moving out soon, he's an intern at Microsoft. And then I've had, I had somebody in their, late fifties, had a family every night who's on the phone with his kids and his wife, who's super cute, and he was coming here to work at Amazon and look for a home to move into.
That gives you a general sense some working temporarily and some looking to move more permanently, to Seattle. I accommodate both those. And as far as time, I think the average has been. It's very common to see about three, two to four months I think is quite common.
But I have had a couple that stayed longer about eight or nine months. And so that can come up and that's great too 'cause it's a little bit less work on the, transition and turnover. most common is around three months.
And Edward, why in your opinion, are room rentals such an underrated strategy for investors and homeowners who have the extra space or maybe it's not their primary residence even? Yeah. I don't know. I'm not in the business per se, and I don't work in real estate outside of this.
one of the reasons why people don't get into it is my case is unique in that I live in the home and I have two stories.
And so while there are shared spaces like the kitchen and dining room, I think some people might be apprehensive about renting out their room to. a stranger, I don't have that apprehension and I really like it.
And I've had great experience with roommates. So maybe one thing is just knowing that there are good people out there, that can live in your home. I also think. One of the reasons why something like Furnished Finder is great is because you find, a lot of working professionals who can afford living in a nice place, will take care of it and are super respectful and there is some betting process that goes on there.
I do think the quality of tenants is very high. that's important for people who might be hesitant or thinking about doing it. There's the obvious options, I guess Airbnb for short term rental. And so this speaks a little bit to the underrated point, but I think that Airbnb is really, there's a lot more hidden things going on there, let's say, even though I think that's great for what it is.
And I. I think with this you're getting that longer term tenant and don't have to worry as much You have more autonomy in running it yourself, which I appreciate. that could be another benefit but it's a little more under the radar. Obviously Airbnb is a household name at this point.
Your home is actually a 1920s craftsman home. In a very sought after area of Seattle. So what about the layout makes it so great? For room rentals and are there anything that someone needs to be aware of if they have an older home that they're renting out?
As you pointed out, it's in a great location. It's in a neighborhood called Capitol Hill, which is very central to Seattle. And even though I've only had one traveling nurse it is close to a lot of hospitals and medical centers. So for at least that explicit purpose, it's great.
location is awesome as far as the layout goes. it is two stories and I stay in the bottom area there's both a bedroom and bathroom in each story, so there's total privacy for myself and the tenant. I've installed a door. That separates and is kinda like a thicker, soundproof kind of door, but just helps a little bit dampen the sound for both of us
Maintenance is important. It is a well taken care of old home. There isn't any maintenance beyond what would be expected, for that type of home. I'm very on top of any kind of maintenance or requests that come up.
since I live in the home, I'm aware of what's going on, I take care of it and it's immediate service. So that does help. In terms of that tenant relationship. it helps me because if something goes wrong, I'm not really using that space much otherwise.
So if something's going wrong and the bathroom's clogged up or something, I can fix that right away. Edward, I like that you're not a real estate investor per se, and you don't do this full-time because that's how I think the majority of the landlords unfurnished finder are.
And, but there's just so much opportunity for a little bit of extra income, like you said, to fill those spaces, provide housing for people in the area to serve the community. So I think, not only is that. Not uncommon at all, but it's a great use of extra space to help pad that income, get a little bit of supplemental cash flow like you're saying.
So what would you tell someone if they're considering doing a room rental? what do you think someone should consider before they're listing their home? what kind of expectations do they have? there is a big spread in terms of. The roommate experience.
And so it does help if you are open to that. And at the same time, you also have some control And what I mean by that is something simple, like how social someone is let's say extroverted versus introverted. I've had roommates, that just stay in their room the whole time and super respectful still, and they do their thing.
And so I think being able to balance as the owner. Somebody who's wanting to be on their own versus somebody who comes out and be social. It does help a lot if you're open to both experiences. I think this is, I don't think about this 'cause I'm used to like, I mostly working home, but I do go out quite a bit in the evenings.
sometimes I work in person during the day. I have a varied schedule, something to think about would be your schedules and routines, right? That may seem obvious, but I do think it's super important to understand what are your routines, what are your expectations around when you want privacy or not, or full privacy
And then talk about those things with whoever's coming to your home. I've had people who are there five days a week working remotely. There's a big tech culture here, so that happens a lot. But I also have people who are out almost every day and working in person, and all of those have worked.
if somebody's in the home all the time and you're gonna be in the home, you probably need to be open to bumping into them more and having those interactions throughout the day.
Is important to you in terms of privacy, socializing, how much you're gonna see your roommate and what your schedule is. You have a great listing on Furnished Finder, so I'd love to dive deeper into, some of those room rental tips. prices vary on Furnished Finder because not every state, city, or area are created equal,
We do have a pricing worksheet available. That is a great tool for helping you decide how you should price your room rental or your entire space. you price your room rental right around $2,050 that may fluctuate throughout the year. How has room rental business been financially a great opportunity for you?
That helps not only meet new people, you've made quite a few new friends, How does this help with your day-to-day life?
Looking for a simple, professional way to manage your monthly rental. Furnish, finder's, landlord tools brings everything together, tenant screening, lease templates, property insurance, damage protection plans, and online rent payments all in one place. Stay organized, save time, and stay in control. For more information, explore landlord tools today.
getting some income is super helpful for paying whether you have a mortgage or don't have a mortgage or just need, money for any reason So certainly it's super helpful. one thing that's relevant to this is. The price point of my place relative to prices in Seattle
And so I think that was a big decision point and something I experimented with at the beginning. I started out even higher than that at one point and did get a couple bites, but those didn't really work out. I wasn't getting as many bites as I thought. that was probably a little high price.
I ended up lower than I'm currently at one point. that was working. But not much lower. And then I slowly move the price up little by little, and it's still below market in terms of your own one bedroom, one bath. Place of maybe 700 to 900 square feet in this neighborhood or in similar neighborhoods in Seattle.
So for people listening out there who are not in Seattle San Francisco or New York, you probably think it's exorbitant and it is. Seattle's quite expensive. that does allow me to charge a relatively high price point. It's important to note that all utilities. Internet, et cetera, are included in that price.
I like that because it's less thinking and I don't want to manage collecting payments for utilities or the internet it. just makes things easier for me administratively. I have a boilerplate lease from. The state of Washington.
But then I have a page where I've written out my specific criteria and we agree upon those beforehand and they read them as well. I send this all on, I'm super transparent with them. in there I put a thing that says if for whatever reason the use of electricity goes beyond a certain amount, then I can charge more.
So it just protects me in the case of crazy water use or something like that. But that has never come up. I live in a home, so I have tons of control over that. in terms of price point, I'm slightly below market for nice one bedroom apartments in the neighborhood. I think that makes it attractive keeping it at or near the market rate helps attract the right type of person. if I were to, charge 1200 a month, well under market, like a very small studio on Cap Hill, if you're getting a really good deal or grandfathered into a cheap price, you're probably going to attract people who are struggling to afford that, which is fine.
That's just the place they're at. maybe they're in college and it makes it harder for me to find the types of tenants I'm looking for, who I know will take care of my home or have more assurance of that. I think charging a price point filters out.
People are more serious about it. And I did notice that when I had a lower price point, there's a lot more churn there's more people. Checking out, 10, 15 places at once, and they weren't convinced of mine. maybe they're just looking for a deal, as opposed to a nice home to live in.
So I wanna attract people who are looking for a really nice place to live, where I'm gonna treat them well and they're gonna treat the space well. there's a mutual understanding and price is one of many data points you can use to filter out the right type of person. on Furnished Finder, you're in control of your pricing,
You can adjust it as much as you want, which can be advantageous, especially as you learn more about the tenant types you are attracting or different travelers interested in your space. and what I really like is I never have to think about, okay, if I'm charging $2,000, then I take out booking fees, commissions.
The traveler's paying this, I'm charging $2,000, I'm going to get $2,000. It's just so much more simple. And I love your note about not forgetting utilities and internet. That is absolutely expected. Sometimes I wonder when I see properties that are really priced on the low end if they're remembering to include those costs.
our pricing worksheet for everybody who's interested is on our resources page of furnished finder.com. that will help you walk through all of those and make sure you're not forgetting anything like, insurance or taxes or all that. 'cause it's easy to forget, but you wanna make sure that you have all of those.
So I think You've had a really smart approach to pricing, especially 'cause it can sometimes feel a little bit overwhelming to people. I like how you've taken control of that. Now let's talk about how you take control about which tenants move in. in a hot market like Seattle, lots of tech, lots of interns, lots of people coming and going to be with those big companies for a while where they're doing some sort of contract or program.
Let's say you have an interest and it all looks great. Tell us about your tenant screening process. I do think I've lucked out, two years is definitely a significant amount of time, but not like that significant for me to have a huge data pool on this.
I don't get, 10 or 20 inquiries all the time. I'm blocking out the calendar you will get a couple that come in early, say two, three months before the date they wanna move. Who are anxious to figure out their living situation, which is totally understandable.
And with those folks, I'll take any call if they seem reasonable, me. Assuming they seem reasonable, tell them about the situation when it's available, try to understand a little bit about them and what their motivation is, if it's really early, I just tell 'em, Hey, I don't know yet what's gonna happen.
As it gets closer, we can talk more. More people will start to reach out one week, but I would say two, three weeks before is the peak time I usually get like three to five people total. So I just wanna have a more cross section of that.
It's really hard for me to lock something in that far in advance, tenants who are so early are checking on many options. So they're not ready to commit either. their lack of commitment makes me hesitant as well.
'cause they may change within that time. Whereas if I get somebody three weeks before, they're usually like, Hey, I really know what I need. I really know what I want, what location I'm in. And so it just makes the whole process. Quicker. that's one of my first things I'm assessing for is just how serious is this person about this spot?
And I can tell part of that just based on the fact that they're super responsive. They're reaching out and texting me. I usually will give them my number once they've reached out on Furnished Finder. I do have some people that come in from out of town and so they can't come physically view the place if they're in town then I do have them come look at the place 'cause I want them to see it.
I want them to understand where they're gonna live. if they can't do that, then I do a video call so they can see and we get a sense of each other. that helps with a timeline and how many people are usually inquiring about the place. As far as my screening process, let's break it down, into informal.
the informal process is the call, getting to know them, understanding what they do for a living, getting a general sense of who they are their ability to pay. And how they're gonna treat the place. I am vetting that just based off personality.
And I think, you have to, know yourself and what you're comfortable with and if you're a good judge of character. I've had amazing tenants with varying personalities. sharing the lease.
Getting some background information, preferably a background check and a couple referrals so you can call and make sure the person is who they say they are. all those steps are important and you don't sign anything or take any money or deposits until you've gone through those processes.
And I share that with my tenants as well. I share my LinkedIn, I share a contact if they did wanna reach out to somebody, my background check. So it's full transparency across the board One thing to remember is that with Furnished Finder, we set you up for success.
when you get that yes on Furnished Finder, you're not like, uhoh, what do I do next? I have a booking process. we have all those tools for you. That protects you, keeps it safe and keeps you in control. You know who as Edward's saying, you know who's going to be in your home because you can have conversations with them first.
We've got tenant screening. We've got leases and legal documents. We have rent payments, so everything you need for a successful stay is on Furnished Finder. One thing I'd love to hear from you in setting those expectations, Edward is privacy and shared spaces.
What do you set in your conversation and in your home, maybe through notes or house rules on what that privacy and shared space balances? Yeah, I think that's super important and they, get to see the space as much as possible.
I do say in the lease as separate notes that they have access to the bathroom, their bedroom, and office exclusively. I can't go in there without permission, so that's clear. I also state what the shared areas are so that it's clear up front, the kitchen, the dining room, the TV room, things like that.
I'm also part of a small HOA even though we don't share walls in that traditional way, there is an outdoor common area where we have a shared courtyard and a parking space. So I make sure it's clear what the rules are for the HOA and their use of it.
And so all those things are, again, transparent upfront. The washer dryer is in my area downstairs, and I let them know they're allowed to use that. just, hey, knock, or if I'm not home, you're allowed to use it.
specifying, and that could change, I could say not able to use that anytime. Unless I am home or explicitly drink these times. I suppose if you want more structured around it, I'm pretty loose with that as long as they're polite about coming into my space. I think making those things as clear as possible in the lease.
And then also desk policy. So that's gonna vary. Everybody's gonna be different, maybe they have a partner or a family member that wants to come by now and then, so just being super clear on that, I personally do a twice a week policy in terms of if you wanted to do a group dinner or host or something like that, I'm totally open to that.
It doesn't come up super frequently, but we just talk about that. some of those are more verbal agreements and vary from roommate to roommate. But I think you should make absolutely explicit. What are the private spaces? What are the shared spaces? Have that in writing, make sure that's agreed upon upfront, and any kind of general rules around quiet hours, whether that's for you personally or based on neighborhood criteria, things like that.
Edward, it's. apparent that you've thought through all of these details, that's a common theme here, right? renting your room does not have to be scary. It doesn't have to be intimidating. It doesn't have to mean an invasion of privacy. It doesn't have to mean living with strangers.
You can turn these people into, a great part of your life and great relationships, but the key is clarity, right? Setting boundaries, having a good tenant screening process, having a good lease. Having a good listing. All of these things, Bernie Shriner is gonna help facilitate. And I think that is proof, what I'd really like to wrap up with today is how renting part of your room, part of your home. Has positively impacted your life? What has it allowed you to do that might have been more difficult, whether it be financially or otherwise that you wouldn't be able to do if you had not chosen this route?
The first and perhaps the most obvious one is I'm super thankful for having more financial peace of mind. it's nice to be able to use the assets that you do have to support your finances.
So that's huge. I think Furnish fund is particularly nice because of the longer durations, right? So it just makes that a little smoother. that's a huge one. And then I think the, cultural exchange, if you wanna call it that, but it's I really love, I lived abroad and worked in education for a long time part of the reason I love that space is because you get to work with people so much and while a roommate relationship is very different than a student relationship The types of people you might meet when you're abroad and traveling and the mindset you have. I do think sharing your home is a really beautiful way to get to know somebody. you see so many different personalities and, people who are invested in different professions. I love that piece of it and getting to know people, even if it's just a little bit for the time that they're here.
I like to open up my home and have somebody come in and, feel comfortable in the space and do whatever they need to do here in Seattle. I think that's really cool. think it is nice, this is not, my principal motivation, but I do think it's also nice
Say city that is really expensive has a bit of a housing shortage, right? So it is nice to also be able to use my space to increase the amount of housing that's available. And so I think those are three things that come to mind. it's just overall a very positive experience. It helps out with your finances.
It's a great way to meet people and open up your home to a new experience. I think that's a great way to wrap up this episode. quick reminder that Furnished Finder has over 300,000 listings available in all 50 states. If you wanted to travel to Hawaii or Maine, there are properties available there, and 22% of Furnished Finders inventory is room rentals.
So whether you choose to rent by the room or entire spaces, we make it. Straightforward, simple for you. You can connect you're in control. If you have any questions, please put it in the show notes. We'd be happy to address those either in a response or in a future episode. if you'd like to connect with Edward his listing will be in the show notes.