Describing Your Home and Yourself Honestly

Here is an example. A home provider lists a sunny spare room and leaves out the steep stairs to reach it. A home seeker drives an hour to see it, climbs the stairs with a bad knee, and both of them lose an afternoon. A plain sentence in the listing would have saved them both the trip.

A room listing is an advertisement, but its job is accuracy, not salesmanship. A good listing or profile helps someone judge whether the home, and the household, fits their needs. It should help the right person recognize the fit, and the wrong person recognize that it is not one.

Photos that show the home as it is

You need a phone and some daylight, not a magazine spread. Tidying, taking photos, and choosing the best ones can take an afternoon or a few shorter sessions, and it is fine to ask for help.

Before you take photos:

• Tidy, but do not stage. Aim for a reasonably tidy version of how you actually live, not an empty showroom.
• Close closet and cabinet doors and the toilet lid, take out the trash, and gather pet toys.
• In the room you are offering, put away personal photos so the other person can picture their own things there.

Light and angles:

• Open the curtains and turn on the lamps. Soft daylight works best.
• Stand in a corner to show the size of the room, and hold the phone level and sideways.

What to include: the bedroom, the bathroom they would use, the kitchen, shared living spaces, and any outdoor space they can use. Five to 10 photos is plenty.

What to show honestly: stairs, a shared bathroom, a small closet, a steep driveway, or a dog who greets everyone at the door. A photo that hides a limitation only moves the disappointment to the first visit.

What to leave out for privacy: your house number, street signs, mail, mirrors that show your reflection, and anything else that reveals your exact address. Share the address once you have met and feel comfortable.

What to describe about the home and daily life

Home providers, write about the home and the household, not about the person you hope will move in. Useful details include:

• The room: size, furniture or unfurnished, closet space, and whether the door locks.
• The bathroom: private or shared, and with whom.
• Getting around: stairs, step-free entry, parking, and how far it is to a bus line or grocery store.
• The kitchen: shared or separate cooking, how much fridge, freezer, and pantry space is theirs, and any limits on hours.
• Who is in the home: other people who live there or visit often, and any pets.
• House rules: smoking, overnight guests, quiet hours, and the thermostat.
• Money: the monthly rent, what it includes (utilities, internet, laundry), and any deposit. If a program or platform charges fees, such as registration, membership, or background check fees, say what they are, who charges them, and who pays.

If you hope for household help in exchange for lower rent, say so plainly and specifically. Trading help around the house for lower rent can create employment, tax, and insurance obligations whether or not anyone intended it, so get advice before either of you agrees to it. Our guide "Help around the house is not caregiving" explains where help ends and care begins.

Describing the home and household ("quiet home, no smoking, cat in residence") is good practice. Wanting to live with a certain kind of person can raise fair housing questions, and a preference is not necessarily lawful just because it is shared privately rather than in a listing. Before you describe the person you hope to share with, read our guide "Choosing who lives with you, fairly" and talk with a local fair housing organization, or your program if you use one.

Writing about yourself

Both home providers and home seekers write a short introduction. Aim for a few short paragraphs that follow these steps.

1. Say hello like a person. A few sentences about what fills your days.
2. Describe how you live. When you get up and go to bed, whether you work from home, how often you have visitors, and how quiet or social you like the house to be.
3. Name your must-haves plainly, such as no smoking indoors or quiet mornings. Keep this to the two or three things that truly matter.
4. Say what you hope the arrangement feels like, in terms of daily life: shared dinners now and then, or friendly but mostly separate.
5. Add a clear, recent photo of your face. Skip heavy filters.

Here is an example of a short profile: "I'm a retired bookkeeper who walks every morning, volunteers at the library, and never misses a mystery novel. I'm up by six and in bed by ten, and I have family over for Sunday dinner most weeks. I don't smoke, and I'd like the person I share with not to smoke indoors. I'd enjoy a shared meal now and then."

If faith, family, identity, or culture is part of daily life in your home, you can describe it as part of how you live.

For home seekers: what to say about what you need

Your profile is also where you describe the home you are looking for. Be specific about what you can pay each month, when you would like to move, and what you need in a home, such as a step-free entry, a bus line, or room for a small dog. Mention your work schedule, and have two or three references in mind. If there is something in your past you expect will come up, our guide "When your past is not perfect" talks about how to raise it.

A last honesty check

Before you post, read your listing or profile as if you were the other person:

• Would a visitor find anything that surprises them?
• Is the rent the full amount, with extras and any fees named, including who charges them?
• Is anything out of date, such as a new pet, a changed schedule, or a new phone number?

Update it whenever something changes.

A photo that hides a limitation only moves the disappointment to the first visit.

Last reviewed September 25, 2026