What: SilverNest aims to be a combination of AirBnb and Match.com for empty-nesters, who would like to rent out a room for money or chores.
Commissions & fees: $50 listing fee, plus monthly fees ranging from $10 to $15, depending on the plan
Husl $core: $$$$
Where: Aurora; Arvada; Boulder; Colorado Springs; Denver; Fort Collins; Littleton and Longmont, CO; Los Angeles; Miami; Phoenix; San Diego; Tampa and in Southern California’s San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys.
Requirements:
- A spare room;
- pass a background check;
Review:
SilverNest aims to be a combination of AirBnb and Match.com for empty-nesters, who would like to rent out a room for money or chores. Both homeowners and housemates used to be able to sign up for free, but the site now charges homeowners a $49.99 listing fee, which is refunable if the site doesn’t find you a renter within 60 days.
If the site does find a renter for you, Silvernest will encourage you to buy a monthly service plan, which will give you automatic rent collection, a sample lease, advice and the ability to relist when your renter moves for $10 per month; a $15 per month fee is charged if you want the plan that includes legal advice.
On the renter side, there are no fees unless homeowners ask for a background check before renting to you. (And they should.) In that case, the renter pays $29.99. The background screen includes: National Criminal record search; County Criminal record search; Eviction History; Social Security number verification; Terror watch list search; Sex offender registry search. But it does not include a credit check. The site promises to have this feature soon. In the meantime, you should do one on your own. (Here’s a good story that runs through the steps: How to run a credit check on a renter.) The background screen lasts for 90 days, so if one potential rental doesn’t work out and you find another, you don’t have to pay again, as long as its within that 90-day window.
You can also rent out rooms through Airbnb, however, that site specializes in shorter-term rentals. You may also be interested in our blog post “New options for the house-rich, cash poor.”
What their customers say:
We were unable to find user reviews, but our editor interviewed a SilverNester for a story for CBS News here.
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[…] in their homes, so she knew there were also longer-term rental options. She turned to a site called SilverNest to help find a […]
I have used Silvernest one year ago and again in the past month to rent a room. The firm has increased its prices by exactly 100% in that year for the services I used. In raising its rates, the portal is trying to monetize products that are available at no cost online. I found the experience this time to be very disappointing and will use an alternate service going forward.
I have finally got on …paid …now im not in system ..and having to start over….forgit it …$30 education… go else where…
I’m on Silvernest now to rent a room in my apartment and find it very frustrating. None of the so-called “matches” are at all appropriate. They include males — I requested female only — and, more to the point, their budgets for a room are about half what I am charging. The worst, however, is that I have no access to prospective renters so I can approach ones I think look suitable. Instead, I have to wait to be chosen and so far the results are more than disappointing. For a site targeted to older homeowners, this is an egregious shortcoming. I hate thinking I’m getting passed over because of my age — 60+ — but it is highly likely. I’m not getting the opportunity to “sell” myself as a roommate or the apartment, which happens to be beautiful, with crisp, friendly copy. Everybody on spareroom.com is less than half my age but their formula makes more sense.