{"id":30397,"date":"2021-08-24T12:18:43","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T19:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liv.rent\/blog\/?p=30397"},"modified":"2023-08-24T23:21:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T06:21:52","slug":"gather-colivings-jonathan-chawla-reducing-vacancy-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liv.rent\/blog\/landlords\/gather-colivings-jonathan-chawla-reducing-vacancy-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask An Expert: Gather Coliving’s Jonathan Chawla On Building Community & Eliminating Vacancy Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to \u201cAsk An Expert\u201d where liv.rent<\/a> introduces you to the folks that know the ins and outs of the Canadian rental and real estate markets.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s an expert in creating affordable, convenient, and communal renting experiences for people in their 20s while helping landlords of four or more bedroom homes to eliminate their vacancy<\/a> and turnover costs with his company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s learn more about coliving and how Jonathan\u2019s company uses liv.rent to help create a seamless rental process to save time and energy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

Table of Contents<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

Meet Jonathan Chawla<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

What is “coliving?”<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Challenges & opportunities with coliving\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Advice for landlords to reduce vacancy costs\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Why use liv.rent?\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Meet Jonathan Chawla<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meet Jonathan Chawla, the Founder and CEO of Gather Coliving<\/a> \u2014 a property management company for community living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did you start your company?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think a lot of entrepreneurs got started by solving a small problem that affected them \u2014 and then find more people that want that problem solved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike many others, I grew up with a lonely childhood, and that has been part of why I have been motivated to create community for other people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Vancouver<\/a>-based Gather Coliving provides quality, affordable living while reducing the pain points that come with setting up and sharing a home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renters get a furnished home, flexible leases, and roommates that are open to friendship. And, Gather Coliving’s landlord clients have their vacancy<\/a> costs eliminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Read more:<\/b> Ask An Expert: Klaus Rode On Toronto Rentals<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is “coliving?”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Gather<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the surface, coliving is essentially a shared house where rooms are rented out. But it’s much more than that to Jonathan and to the people who live in the spaces they manage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor 99% of Homo sapiens<\/em>\u2019 evolutionary existence on the Earth, we\u2019ve lived together in communities of 20 to 30 people. These were the people we ate with, lived with, and died with. They knew us deeply, comforted us, occasionally argued with us, but they were people that we trusted, cried, and laughed with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite all of our modern advantages over our ancestors, we live fairly lonely lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the last century, we\u2019ve been building real estate around the nuclear family. Part of this is influenced by the ideology of romanticism, which tells us that one person, our partner, will complete us and end all loneliness. But as everyone finds out, that is simply not true, we need a community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan says that the mission of Gather Coliving is to create real estate products that reflect our need for a tribe and make this accessible to the massive, underserved portion of the market that needs rooms for under $1000 a month<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it\u2019s more than just renting out individual rooms within a house, it\u2019s about meeting the need for affordable housing and creating opportunities for belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Read More:<\/b> Ask An Expert: Klaus Rode On Toronto Rentals<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Challenges & opportunities with coliving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What are the difficulties?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The people who are attracted to coliving are often single, young professionals and older students that are new to Vancouver<\/a> and looking for friends. As such, they tend to stay for a year or two while finding their footing in the city before moving on. So, there is some expected turnover to manage with a coliving situation, which Gather Coliving helps with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan says that there aren\u2019t many drawbacks to having mature adults living together. And, he\u2019s been coliving for the past seven years, so he knows the ins and outs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like any group or family experiences, any time you have humans involved in anything together, there are going to be disagreements. But they are rarely hard to resolve. \u201cIt\u2019s not very difficult to avoid most disagreements when everyone does their dishes and isn\u2019t loud after 10 p.m. on weekdays,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the most part, I find it to be a richer experience living with people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n