As the rental market continues to evolve, co-living spaces are now a more popular option for renters priced out of traditional rental housing. Co-living spaces draw in tenants seeking affordability, flexibility, and a built-in sense of community. From young professionals and students to remote workers and city dwellers, renters are enticed to shared living arrangements that bestow convenience and cost savings.
But, nonetheless, co-living arrangements bring about opportunities and challenges for rental property owners and managers. Let’s take a close look at the rise of co-living spaces, a number of primal considerations for rental property owners and managers, and measures for successfully marketing these unique properties.
Understanding the Rise of Co-Living Spaces
Co-living is a real estate term that comes from the rise of housing startups extending homes designed to be shared by five or more adult roommates. These co-living spaces take considerable forms, from single-family homes renovated to accommodate non-related residents to floors in high-rise buildings converted into dormitory-style lodging and beyond. In more generic words, co-living can imply anything from master-planned communities to plainly living with roommates.
Several factors are driving the increase in popularity of co-living spaces. For instance, rising rent prices, mainly in larger cities, have forced certain renters to share space with non-related adult roommates. Cultural shifts have secondly an effect, as remote work culture and changes in social connectivity have inspired more renters to seek out community in new ways. Therefore, co-living tends to immensely attract most young professionals, students, city dwellers, and remote workers.
Key Considerations for Property Managers
Rental property owners and managers thinking to get into the co-living market will be faced with both opportunities and dilemmas. A lot of the key factors to consider include:
- Lease Structures & Flexibility: There are pros and cons to renting a single unit or property to multiple tenants. Yet, individual leases can offer renters more flexibility while extending rental property managers more stability in rental income and lower turnover costs. The other side of that advantage is the need to manage individual leases and lease renewals for a lot of people, which can considerably increase a property manager’s workload. The alternative is to offer group leases, which can reduce lease management, but, however, still has other potential mistakes.
- Furnishings & Shared Amenities: Another necessary consideration is how to design a co-living space for community living. While arrangements, without question, differ in most situations, residents of co-living properties hope to have communal spaces that can encourage gatherings. Property managers can appeal to co-living renters by having communal indoor and outdoor spaces. Granting furnishings, decor, and shared amenities can ascertain that residents are comfortable and that no one person has control over communal spaces.
- Tenant Screening & House Rules: Another part of co-living rental properties is securing compatibility among co-living tenants. As non-related adults, residents of a co-living property may wish to share their home with people who have lifestyles and personalities compatible with their own. This can be a dilemma for rental property managers as it comprises properly managing expectations and responsibilities related to communal spaces. Bringing on a clear set of house rules can help precisely define these duties and set expectations for conduct among non-related residents.
- Legal & Zoning Regulations: An additional consideration is local laws regarding shared housing. Plenty of municipalities have strict regulations about the number of roommates and/or residents in different housing types, so it is relevant to do your research prior to offering a co-living rental.
How to Successfully Market Co-Living Rentals
There are quite a few unique elements of marketing a co-living rental property, so it is very important to stress the features that attract renters to co-living spaces to begin with. For instance, in your advertising, secure to hone in on benefits like cost savings (mainly when compared to familiar and traditional rental homes), community engagement, and location.
Renters looking for co-living spaces are typically enticed to properties with easy access to urban centers and local arts and entertainment options. Secondly, they largely use social media and rental listing sites to locate and apply for rental homes. By utilizing digital marketing strategies and highlighting key features in your marketing, you can quickly attract the type of renters who are inquiring and searching about co-living rental homes.
Is Co-Living the Future of Rental Housing?
There are considerable reasons to explore co-living rentals as a unique and favorable option for your properties. Nonetheless, co-living may not be an excellent option for every rental property or location. Consequently, fully understanding all the benefits and challenges of managing co-living spaces is a primal first step.
If you’re interested in managing or investing in co-living spaces, please contact your local Real Property Management Investor’s Choice office. We are here to bestow the support you need to properly make informed real estate decisions in Franklin and nearby. Our team can offer competent guidance on market trends, investment strategies, and operational management. Reach out to us or call 615-810-9578 to explore more regarding this matter!
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