In cities across America, there are millennials struggling to find affordable housing and baby boomers who want to stay in their homes as expenses rise.
But what if these two generations could come together to save money on housing costs? Trulia says they can.
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Boom-mates: How to lower your housing costs
According to the real estate website, extra rooms are an opportunity for retired or soon-to-be-retired boomers to supplement their income and offset cost-of-living increases by up to $14,000 a year.
For young adults, renting a room instead of a one-bedroom apartment could save them up to $24,000 annually.
Trulia’s analysis found that thousands of homes owned by older Americans have nearly 3.6 million unoccupied rooms that could be rented out.
Cities in Virginia and around the D.C. metro area are the biggest places to look for empty nests, Trulia said.
Multi-generational living has more than just financial benefits. Money expert Clark Howard once rented out a garage apartment to a young woman and remains friends with her two decades later!
“We were privileged to have that opportunity and we made nice money,” Clark said. “For her, it got her a lot cheaper rent than she would have been able to do in a traditional apartment.”
Don’t have a garage apartment? If you live in a part of the country where basements are common, often you can set up the space to be semi-private with a separate entrance for the tenant.
“As a way to defray living costs, bringing in a renter can be a win-win for you and that renter,” Clark said.
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Listen to Clark talk about “boom-mates” on The Clark Howard Show Podcast
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