Post by High Priestess on Nov 19, 2018 15:35:23 GMT
That's what one East Bay, California area startup is hoping to convince homeowners to do. They call their startup "Roomily" and are trying to market it as an Airbnb-alternative, offering "affordable housing" to those in need.
www.goroomily.com/
www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/19/not-airbnb-how-a-new-kind-of-home-sharing-startup-wants-to-create-more-affordable-bay-area-housing/
What do you think of this? Do you think it will catch on?
It's an interesting idea, but I think it's one that probably involves some ignorance of the landlord-tenant issues, particularly in areas with strong "tenants' rights" like NYC and the Bay Area, which have driven many homeowners away from renting out to long term housemates and/or anyone who needs a place to live for an indefinite length of time...such as...the rest of their life.
There is a way that this sort of thing is badly needed -- and it hearkens back to the old days of boarding houses, which were much more common in the early part of the 20th century across America. And yet, one of the reasons for the decline of boarding houses were the kinds of problems associated with low-rent tenants.
What I think would work better than trying to convince more softhearted homeowners to take in low rent tenants in their private home, is to build real affordable housing -- meaning, real boarding houses, real SROs, the kinds that used to exist in the past.
I think offering a "Spare room" for a "cheap rent" is something that may appeal to kindly hearted retirees or those with a social justice mission, others may read the writing on the wall and understand that when push comes to shove, and problems with housemates arise, due to legal protections afforded to tenants, it's not the tenant who can easily be shoved out of the home. A few too many stories of elderly lady homeowners abused by bad charity case tenants may make others think twice before opening their homes to people they could well have a hard time getting out again.
www.goroomily.com/
www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/19/not-airbnb-how-a-new-kind-of-home-sharing-startup-wants-to-create-more-affordable-bay-area-housing/
Instead of addressing the Bay Area’s housing shortage by building, an expensive process that can get bogged down in delays and opposition from neighbors, Oakland-based Roomily intends to tap an underutilized resource — people’s spare bedrooms.
The startup, which launched a pilot program last month to match homeowners with people looking for cheap, long-term rooms to rent, is part of an increasingly popular movement to use the millennial-driven “home-sharing” craze to address the region’s housing needs.
The startup, which launched a pilot program last month to match homeowners with people looking for cheap, long-term rooms to rent, is part of an increasingly popular movement to use the millennial-driven “home-sharing” craze to address the region’s housing needs.
What do you think of this? Do you think it will catch on?
It's an interesting idea, but I think it's one that probably involves some ignorance of the landlord-tenant issues, particularly in areas with strong "tenants' rights" like NYC and the Bay Area, which have driven many homeowners away from renting out to long term housemates and/or anyone who needs a place to live for an indefinite length of time...such as...the rest of their life.
There is a way that this sort of thing is badly needed -- and it hearkens back to the old days of boarding houses, which were much more common in the early part of the 20th century across America. And yet, one of the reasons for the decline of boarding houses were the kinds of problems associated with low-rent tenants.
What I think would work better than trying to convince more softhearted homeowners to take in low rent tenants in their private home, is to build real affordable housing -- meaning, real boarding houses, real SROs, the kinds that used to exist in the past.
I think offering a "Spare room" for a "cheap rent" is something that may appeal to kindly hearted retirees or those with a social justice mission, others may read the writing on the wall and understand that when push comes to shove, and problems with housemates arise, due to legal protections afforded to tenants, it's not the tenant who can easily be shoved out of the home. A few too many stories of elderly lady homeowners abused by bad charity case tenants may make others think twice before opening their homes to people they could well have a hard time getting out again.