Moving to a new city? Your mind is probably brimming with questions right now – such as where and with whom will you live? The journey to your dream apartment is a pretty long one. You’re trying to find the best room finder, navigate interviews and make sure you can actually afford the place you want! So let’s get started, shall we? In this guide, you can compare HousingAnywhere with the HousingAnywhere alternative, Roomi, to learn more about these handy websites.

Now, take a breath of relief as we dive into finding the best room finder portal for you!

Features: What Filters & Preferences Do These Room Finders Have to Help you Find your Perfect Room?

A good room finder should offer you various search options that you can filter for speed and convenience. Typically, you should be able to filter by location, amenities, apartment types, price range, and more. This will help you simply jump on and input your preferences, making room finding fast, easy and stress-free.

Let’s compare the filters on offer with Roomi and HousingAnywhere.

No fee apartments

When moving to a new apartment, you want to reduce your costs as much as possible. However, most apartments have some fees in the form of brokerage. On HousingAnywhere, you have to pay 25% of the first month’s rent as a one-time fee. But the HousingAnywhere alternative, Roomi, has no-fee apartments available to explore. This means that all listings are free – all you pay is the rent!

Pet-friendly apartments

You can’t leave your furry or feathery best friends behind, which is why there’s a pet-friendly filter on Roomi. There are distinct pet categories, where you can choose apartments suitable for dogs, cats or other pets. HousingAnywhere also provides the option to search pet-friendly apartments.

Subletting

Subletting is the process of renting an apartment or room inside a rental to another person for a set period of time. This is often tricky because the subtenant signs an agreement with you rather than with the landlord. Roomi has simplified the process for you.

On the Roomi app, you know who you’re living with by asking potential roommates to complete a background check before they apply to your listing. Furthermore, everything is documented and verified. You can also keep your contact info private by chatting to potential roommates through the Roomi app or website. HousingAnywhere, and other websites like HousingAnywhere also allow subletting services. However, the process is not always as transparent as it is on Roomi.

Filtering rooms based on amenities

HousingAnywhere provides 5 amenities to filter your search by – a washing machine, air-con, dishwasher, dyer, and heating. But, you know what’s more convenient? A room finder that goes one step further and offers updated, important features, such as being able to find a non-binary roommate to live with. In fact, the HousingAnywhere alternative, Roomi includes all the filters HousingAnwhere has – and then some!

Filtering rooms based on Listing Type (Entire Place/Shared Rooms)

Both HousingAnywhere and the HousingAnywhere alternative, Roomi, allow you to filter on the basis of listing type. Again, the number of options varies between the apps.

For example, HousingAnywhere allows you to choose among a private room, shared room, studio, and apartment. Roomi not only checks if you want an entire place, your own room, or a shared room, but also allows you to choose how many rooms you’d prefer the listing to have.

Filtering rooms based on House Rules

Everyone has their preferences, and most people want to live with roommates that have similar values and lifestyles as they do. With this in mind, Roomi allows you to filter choices for potential roommates. You can filter roommate searches based on age, gender, and house rules — the pet-friendly filter comes in useful here, too. HousingAnywhere also provides a few options to filter based on house rules, but not quite as many as Roomi.

Pricing: Which App Offers the Best Free and Paid Features?

No one wants to fork out high fees for a room finder that doesn’t offer the best features. Roomi knows what matters to its users, and provides awesome features on both the free and paid plans.

The Roomi pricing structure in a nutshell:

1. Free Members on Roomi: Free to sign up and list a place to rent.
2. Roomi’s Gold Subscription: The Gold Subscription is available at $29.99 per month or $14.99 per week.

Let’s dive deeper to see some features that make Roomi stand out from other room finders such as HousingAnywhere.

Allowing Free Listings

On Roomi, it’s free to post an advertisement for a place to rent. Users can post up to two listings for free in any of the locations that Roomi supports. Likewise, it’s free to search for a place to rent. However, if users want to move more quickly, paying for Roomi’s Gold subscription plan is recommended. Here’s what you get with the Gold subscription plan:

• A ranking boost for 7x more views on your profile and listings
• 5 active listings to post all the empty rooms in your apartment

HousingAnywhere, on the other hand, charges a 25% commission fee on the first month’s rent for both parties – whether they’re moving into a new place or renting out a room.

In-App Messaging

Roomi, the HousingAnywhere alternative, offers secure in-app messaging to its users, keeping information shared between potential roomies private. Users can also request that Roomi deletes personal information after they’ve found a roommate match. They can do so under the General Data Protection Regulation by contacting Roomi customer support or by filling out a form. With Roomi, you can also message any lister for free – a feature that’s not available on HousingAnywhere.

<aside> ? Deep-dive: Is Roomi free to use?

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Security: How Do These Apps Ensure That Listings Are Credible?

If you want to live with another person in a new city, your safety is your topmost priority.

Roomi’s reputation as the best room finder is in part thanks to its commitment to the privacy and security of its users. Roomi protects you in the following ways:

1. The process of verifying your Listers account is a reliable way to ensure that the person living in the apartment you’re about to rent from is genuine. The verification process involves providing a copy of your lease, utility bill, or government-issued ID.
2. Your Roomi listing address is not visible to others on the app. Instead, only an approximate location is shown.
3. Roomi’s in-house content moderation team will review any listing or profile that violates Roomi policy.
4. If you’re uncomfortable or concerned about something you see, you can easily report it to Roomi’s 24/7 moderation team.

HousingAnywhere, on the other hand, does not offer such rigorous security measures. HousingAnywhere reviews on several portals even mention it as illegitimate and unscrupulous. Users have also written about HousingAnywhere scams on these portals.

So, which is the Best Room Finder for you?

A good room finder can make all the difference to your experience. There are a good number of roommate finder apps out there, but in our comparison of HousingAnywhere and the HousingAnywhere alternative, Roomi, there’s no doubt that Roomi comes out on top.

With its no-fee listing to advanced features and filters, Roomi simplifies the process of finding a place you can call home!

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