How to find shared housing in the East Bay for a young adult
My son, who is 20, is looking for a room to rent in shared housing in the East Bay. He's been searching on craigslist for months, with no luck. My questions: 1. Are there other rental websites he could be searching on? 2. Do you know of any shared rentals he could apply for? and 3. Do you know any other young people looking for housing who he could work with on finding a place together? Thanks!
Oct 7, 2019
Parent Replies
First of all, is his budget reasonable? It is going to cost a bare minimum of $1,000, and probably closer to $1,500 for a room in a desirable area. Next, keep in mind that everyone wants to live with women. Women want to share with women, and men want to share with women. Sorry the world is so sexist, and sorry to be the one to point this out. His best bet might be to rent a whole house or apartment himself, and then find roommates. It is certainly a big responsibility, but it also gives him more control. He may want to check NextDoor or FaceBook for rentals. He may also want to try putting "room wanted" ads on CL, ND and FB. If he does place ads, he should make them short and sweet.
- check out roommate sites like spareroom.com
- It's not as common as in NYC but he could hire a broker to find places.
-If he really want to think out of the box, could he qualify to buy a below market rate unit? Here's the link to SF's program as an example but perhaps there are similar programs in the East Bay. https://sfmohcd.org/current-bmr-homeownership-listings
Hello!
It should be no problem for him if he is within the "budget" and has a couple of good references!
Tell him to try:
Facebook Market rentals
Trulia
Roomies.com
It is true that most people (specially older) will prefer a woman than a man but most definitely not all! Good luck to him!