Co-living and room rentals are changing how investors think about a single-family house. Instead of one tenant and one rent check, the property is rented room by room, with shared common areas and a different set of numbers.
In this episode of The Charlotte Business Podcast, host George sits down with Dominique Rice, founder of Summit Bridge Consulting, and Ashley Jeffers, Room Rental Strategist and Educator, to break down how co-living and room rentals work in Charlotte, NC, and how real estate investors can unlock more from a single-family property.
Dominique helps investors develop and launch profitable co-living and room-rental properties, from property and deal analysis to renovation planning, contractor coordination, design and furnishing, and launch strategy. Ashley focuses on operations, management and scaling. Together they co-host the Room Rental Profits Mastermind.
They cite PadSplit data showing roughly 500 rooms listed in Charlotte against about 5,000 people searching for a room in a single month, and explain what that gap means for investors.
The conversation opens with how each guest got here. Dominique moved from flipping houses into co-living, Ashley moved from wholesaling into room rentals, and the two explain how they ended up partnering.
Dominique and Ashley define co-living and room rentals, then cover average tenure, at-will leases and what PadSplit commitments look like. They walk through what makes a property a good fit, and what full conversions, permits and ADUs involve.
The middle of the episode covers the Charlotte room rental market, zoning, occupancy limits and local rules, how co-living compares with Airbnb when neighbors push back, and what to check with an HOA before you buy.
They explain how to tell whether a room rental will actually be profitable, including the $65,000 per bedroom rule of thumb, the most expensive mistakes investors make, and how to handle community backlash.
Ashley and Dominique describe who really lives in a room rental, the community and companionship co-living can offer, and what daily management looks like, including the systems, automation and technology that keep it manageable.
The practical advice: find a co-living friendly realtor, target deals that have been sitting 90+ days, price rooms before you buy, know when to buy your second property, and consider creative financing and the BRRRR method. The episode closes with details on the Room Rental Profits Mastermind, the Charlotte Four segment and advice for Charlotte entrepreneurs.
If you own a single-family property, are looking at your first investment, or are curious how room rentals fit into Charlotte's housing picture, this conversation gives you a grounded starting point. It is for education and general information only, and is not financial, legal or investment advice.
Dominique and Ashley co-host the Room Rental Profits Mastermind on October 17 in Charlotte, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Heist Brewery. It is a half day covering acquisition, operations and scaling, with a 90 day roadmap for attendees.
Dominique Rice is the founder of Summit Bridge Consulting, where Dominique helps investors develop and launch profitable co-living and room-rental properties, from property and deal analysis to renovation planning, contractor coordination, design and furnishing, and launch strategy.
Ashley Jeffers is a Room Rental Strategist and Educator and co-host of the Room Rental Profits Mastermind, focused on operations, management and scaling room rental properties.
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