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General Questions
What is an ADU?

An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is a self-contained, long-term legal residence with a full kitchen, bath, and separate entrance.

An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is a self-contained, long-term legal residence with a full kitchen, bath, and separate entrance. A guesthouse is typically a smaller, detached, non-rental structure designed for short-term visitors, often lacking a full kitchen. ADUs offer higher rental income and property value, while guesthouses often have lower construction costs and simpler regulations.

 
Key Differences at a Glance
  • Kitchen & Living: An ADU MUST have a full kitchen, bathroom, and living area, making it a complete, independent home. A guesthouse usually only has a bedroom and bathroom, sometimes just a kitchenette.
  • Usage & Legality: ADUs are designed for long-term, permanent housing (rental or family), while guesthouses are meant for temporary, non-paying guests.
  • Value & ROI: ADUs often provide a better return on investment (ROI) due to rental income potential and increased property value.
  • Permitting: ADUs are recognized as legal, independent dwelling units under state laws in many areas, often making them easier to permit in states like California, whereas guesthouse regulations vary heavily.
When to Choose Which
  • Choose an ADU if: You want to generate rental income, create a separate living space for family members, or significantly increase your property value.
  • Choose a Guesthouse if: You want a cozy space for visiting friends/family, have limited space, or do not need a full kitchen or long-term tenant.
Note: Regulations vary by municipality; in some areas, a guesthouse may be classified as an ADU, say.

A condo is a form of ownership where you own the interior airspace of your unit but share ownership of common areas. A townhouse is an architectural style—a multi-floor home that shares one or two walls. The critical difference is that townhouse owners usually own the structure and the land it sits on.

Our Compare Tool is a great feature that allows you to compare properties side-by-side, in a vertical listing fashion.

How to Use Our Compare Tool

To add a property to our Compare Tool:

When viewing multiple property listings,

Click on the plus icon “+” found at the top right of the main image (next to the favoriting Star).

When viewing a property, you will find the compare plus icon “+” below the rental price.

When you add a property to the Compare Tool, you will see a Compare banner appear on the right side of your screen. Click the Compare banner To see the comparison queue.

At the bottom of those listed to be compared, click the Compare button. An overlay will pop-up and show you the properties side-by-side in a vertical fashion.

Properties can be removed one by one by clicking the X on the image from within the queue or within the comparison pop-up.

Properties may also be removed from the Compare Tool queue by clicking the X on the property images or by clearing the whole queue by clicking the “Clear All” button on the bottom right.

Step #1 - Register as an Owner/Landlord or Agency

Note: Only agencies can create agents.

Start by clicking “Add Property“. You will be prompted to buy a package to post if you haven’t already.

Click on “Buy Packages“.

Once your transaction is done, you may add a property(s).

Note: You have 30 days to list a property. The property stays up until you take it down.

Click “Add Property“.

Fill all of the appropriate fields:

Note: You have 30 days to list a property. The property stays up until you take it down.

Property Information

Property Name: This is REQUIRED and MUST BE UNIQUE. We suggest using the street address.

Note: All following fields will appear if filled.

Property ID: If you have one.

Display Layout: Choose the type of layout for the top section of your property listing; Gallery (Default), Grid, Standard, Video, or 360° Virtual Tour.

Property Size: Enter the square footage. Note: ” sq ft2” will be added to the end.

Number of Bedrooms: As needed.

Number of Bathrooms: As needed.

Property Description: This is the main description area within the property’s page.

Property Excerpt: This is shown on property search responses.

Price Settings

Price: A “$” and a “,” for thousands seperator will be added.

Old Price: This will appear on the left of the rental price, made bold in red, and with a line through it. (i.e. 5000)

Price Prefix Text: Appears before the Old Price and/or the Price.

Price Postfix Text: Appears after the Price.

Location Settings

Note: If you wish to display an approximate location, only input the street name without including the street number for the “Address” or “Location On Map” fields. This will show a general view of the street on the map.

Address: Enter a street address or just a street name.

City: Select a city from the drop-down. If you do not see your city and would like to request one to be added for your use, first save this property and progress to return to later, then click here to request your city or cities.

State/Country: You can enter your state here. Country is not necessary, as we are only in The US for now.

Location On Map: Start entering the street number, or just street name, and select the correct address from the pop-up selections (If you need to erase what you entered, click the “Reset Marker” to the far right.)

Latitude & Longitude: These will fill automatically when you fill the “Location On Map” field.

Show Notice: If you are being discreet with the street number, you can choose to inform the user to contact the owner/landlord, agency or agent to obtain the precise location by selecting “Yes” from this drop-down list. Default is “No“.

Selecting “Yes” will display the following message:”* The exact location will be provided after a touring request is processed“.

Show Map: This defaults to “Yes‘, but you can turn off the map feature within the page by selecting “No“. This will place a button that says “Show On Map” that  upon click opens a new page with the property map.

Image Gallery Settings

Upload Gallery Images: Click “Upload” and your Media Library will open where you can drag and drop or click to upload your property images.

Note: The first image in the gallery will be displayed as the main image and within lists.

  • Drag & drop the images to rearrange them (ONLY ON DESKTOPS AND LAPTOPS/NOT AVAILABLE WITH TOUCH SCREENS/PLEASE USE A TRACKPAD OR MOUSE).
  • To delete images you must delete all images from the property by clicking the ‘Remove‘ button and re-add those that you want from your Media Library. (Sorry for any inconvenience. This should be corrected with the next update.)
Video Settings

Upload Self-hosted Video: Click “Upload” and select a mp4 file from your device.

(Videos will start automatically and without sound. Only mp4s are accepted at this time. Maximum size is 128mb.)

Video URL: Enter a link to a video here; YouTube, Vimeo, Rumble, etc.

360° Virtual Tour URL: Link to a Virtual Tour (Iframes are allowed)

Feature Settings

The following sections, Features Subsection 1, Features Subsection 2, and Features Subsection 3, have pre-made fields with pre-assigned icons for you to use. They will not appear if left empty.

Beneath each section, you will see a “Custom Features” section. Click on the “Add New Feature” button to add a new custom feature, select an icon, and enter your desired text.

If you have a custom svg icon that you’d like to use in these areas, select “Custom SVG“. Enter the “Label” and “Text“, then contact us so we can insert your icon for you.

Floor Plans Settings

Floor Plans: Click “Add New Floor Plan” to enable a floor plan area. Click “Upload” to open your Media Library and select or upload an image.

You may add as many Floor Plans as needed.

Important: Be sure to enter a Label to allow the floor plan to appear.

Nearby Settings

Use this area to add listings of how far local landmarks ae from the property. (Schools, shopping centers, Libraries, etc.)

Note: The “Label” inserts a colon”:” after the Label and the Text area is embolden. 

Assign This Property To An Agent

If you are an Agent, you will see this drop-down area to select and assign properties to your agents.

The convenience of shopping online brings with it a heightened risk of scams and fraud. You should always be mindful and vigilant before providing anyone your personal information or sending payment of any kind. We work hard to provide our users the freshest, most comprehensive library of rental listings, but fraudsters are also working to scam you out of your hard earned money. When we work together, we can take steps to make our online marketplaces the safest they can be. Be aware that we do not participate in any rental transactions and cannot refund your money if you are scammed. While we work around the clock to ensure that you have a positive experience using our site, we cannot guarantee that our sites are 100% free from false or fraudulent listings.

What We Do
  • Immediately review listings that are reported as suspicious and remove them if appropriate.
  • Fully and transparently support law enforcement investigations of listings fraud.
  • Independently investigate suspicious and fraudulent listings and pursue legal action when necessary.
What We Ask You To Do

Watch out for scams!

Here are some of the most common red flags:

  1. Rent offered below market.  Scammers know that innocent renters will be less cautious if they are motivated to close quickly on a deal so they don’t lose out on something too good to be true.
  2. Request to wire money.  Legitimate landlords do not ask renters to wire money to any account, especially an account located abroad.  Nor do they ask for money by Western Union, MoneyGram or other money transfer service.
  3. Request to use another listing service or escrow account to transfer money.  Scammers may impersonate other legitimate listings services, like Airbnb or HomeAway, or request that money is sent to an escrow account to make renters believe they are dealing with a legitimate entity.
  4. Claim of affiliation with us.  Scammers may impersonate TheRentGuide.com to make it seem like we participate in the lease transaction or transfer of funds.  We do not participate in any transactions between landlords and renters, and we will never ask renters for money to use our site or any of our services.
  5. A dramatic landlord story.  The landlord has received a job assignment abroad and must rent the unit ASAP.  You are invited to drive by the building, but no one can show it to you because everyone is already living abroad.  And you need to commit in the next 24 hours because dozens of people are waiting to sign the lease.  A legitimate landlord will meet you in person and allow you to tour the property before asking for a deposit to secure the rental.
  6. Can’t or won’t meet in person. For whatever reason, the landlord/agent refuses to meet you in person at the property. They may even send you an access code to unlock an electronic lockbox to gain entry by yourself to the house, condo or apartment you are looking to rent.

Report scams immediately and with as much detail as possible (including copies of the communications with the scammer and money transfer details) to:

  1. Us by calling 1-805-558-9505 or send us an email here
  2. Your local police department
  3. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
  4. The Federal Trade Commission
  5. If you sent money by Western Union or Money Gram, those vendors’ customer service departments may be able to stop the transfer:


Review These Real Life Examples Of Rental Listings Scams To Make Sure It Doesn’t Happen To You:

Rental scams are on the rise and there are individuals who will say and do anything they can to get money from renters.

Examples scammers may use to convince renters to wire deposits or rent payments:
  1. “I contacted my attorney and told them I will be renting my house to you and your fiancé”.
  2. “The tracking number for the FedEx package with the keys will be sent to you so that you know when to be expecting the parcel. We are giving you this based on trust, so please don’t disappoint us. You will need to make payment for the security deposit to enable shipment of the keys and documents to the address you have provided us”.
  3. “I have emailed the Leasing Document to you, so you’ll have to make a down payment now so we can take the rental home off the market and ship the keys to your address”.
  4. “Here are the tracking details for your package. Please make your deposit via Cash App, Zelle, Bitcoin, or Bank Wire Transfer”.
  5. “Your package is on hold by Customs, demanding $1,850. How much can you sort out now? Note that any money paid will be put towards rent. If you can come up with the additional $1,600, you will have five months of payments that can be put towards rent”.
  6. “I have contacted TheRentGuide.com. They will contact you soon with the payment invoice”.
Examples Scammers May Use To Avoid Meeting With Renters:
  1. “I resided in the house with my family, my wife, and my only daughter before and I am currently in South Carolina to help save lives down here due to the whole pandemic going on now”.
  2. “The condo you inquired about is still available for rent. My family and I traveled to Texas and some other cities for a program for the Department of Defense Military Healthcare System, VA/DoD Healthcare Affairs”.
  3. “As I am not around to show the inside, you can go check out the house and the neighborhood from the outside and get back to me if you really like it for more information”.
  4. “My wife is sick and I need to stay with her. You can check out the house from the outside and tell me what you think”.
  5. “I am currently out of the country. I own many properties and I’m just looking for someone who will take care of my property and my things. Money is not a problem”.

Note: Scammers will always try to request funds before granting access to the property. Beware of Scammers who sent you fake TheRentGuide.com invoices and who request that you send funds to a third party via Cash App, Zelle, Bitcoin, and Bank Wire Transfers. When in doubt, contact TheRentGuide.com Support by sending us an email here or by phone at 1-805-558-9505.