My House Hacking Journey: Pt. 2.5
By: Geoff Lane
Tags: Financial Freedom, Real Estate Investments, Housing, Advice, Real Estate

2.5??

Happy Monday everyone. Yes, you read that right. There’s a 2.5 to this series. Why instead of making this part 3 have I demoted it to 2.5? Well, I thought it would be useful to publish a lil’ short-and-sweet something that covers one’s options when it comes to establishing living arrangements in a completely different city with about a week’s notice (yepp this is the situation I currently find myself in).

Before you go on, just know that the sites in the following paragraphs serve as viable options for those looking for short-term living arrangements. If you’re looking for something more long term, you could always sign a six month or year-long apartment lease. For me that isn’t an option, as I want to find a house to hack ASAP.

So. First, take a deep breath. You got this! If this dummy can do it, you can. After all, you don’t need to be smart. Really, you just need to know where to look. There are a bunch of ways you could go about this and they’re all legit, as I’ve gotten bites from all of the platforms I’m about to cover.

First, you’ve got roomies.com. This is probably going to be your cheapest option on the list, unless you get lucky with one of the other options. Basically, this site is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a free roommate finder, and all you gotta do is make a profile and reach out to other people you could see as a potential roommate. Some people reach out to you as well. For me, this isn’t really my cup of tea as I want something more private. In other words, a room to myself.

That brings us to the second option on the list. An oldie but a goldie: Craigslist. Now I know what you’re probably thinking. Sketch. I thought so too. Until I poked around and found that there are some totally legit people looking for young professionals to rent to, even on a short-term basis. Just Google Craigslist followed by the city you intend to move to and then under the “housing” category, you want to click on “rooms/shared.” Barring any extremely remote locations or really small towns, you should get some pretty solid options!

However, if you’re irked by Craigslist and prefer Facebook’s less sketchy version of it, hop onto Facebook Marketplace and under the “Categories” tab on the left, look for “Property Rentals” and peruse the available options. Just like Craigslist, you shouldn’t have any problem finding some properties that fit your criteria!

The next one on the list is a little less known — at least I had never heard of it. It’s called roomster.com. It costs a little bit; $9.99 a week if you want to do anything more than just look at listings, which is kind of stupid because of course you’re going to want to do more than that. Presumably, the whole point of you hopping on there would be to find a room, and fast. And to do that you need to be able to converse with the people on there who either reach out to you, or you reach out to. Another added cost is the ID verification they have you complete. People renting their room to strangers want to avoid sketchiness as best they can, and a great way to mitigate said sketchiness is to make sure you are who you say you are. That said, the app will run you about 25 beans in total. Annoying, I know, but it might be worth it if you can connect with someone willing to rent their room for less than people on Facebook or Craigslist. And *fingers crossed* it’s looking like that’s going to be the case for me.

Of course, there’s always Airbnb. Month-long stays aren’t too bad IF you plan them ahead of time. For me, that wasn’t an option since I had to find something in about a week. But if you’ve got more time than that, definitely check it out! You never know, you might be able to snag a hidden gem.

There are even more options out there, but I can only speak to the ones listed above as I personally had luck with them. I hope this list helps those who find themselves in a similar situation. Remember, wherever there’s a will there’s a way. You’ll find the damn room, trust me!