DC inauguration rentals. Tips on finding a FREE or cheap place!

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Since Barack Obama was elected President in November, there has been an emergence in Washington DC of a new type of entrepreneur.  Washingtonians are opening up their homes looking to "cash in" on the President's popularity, as Washington expects 3 million+ visitors come to DC for his inauguration. 

However, not all Washingtonians are looking to make a buck of this historical event.  Many are opening up their homes for free or on the cheap.  This article highlights tips to get you to DC on deal. If you are looking for a place to stay, there are lots of places to look. It may appear a little discouraging browsing through craigslist, but there are still deals to be had.  Several Washingtonians are opening up their homes unlike never before, providing a spare bedroom, the floor (for your sleeping bag), or reasonably priced condos/homes. Don't be discouraged!  There is hope! I recommend getting creative with your search. Be persistent.

Some tips -

1)  Make use of social networking sites - Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace.  Let your network know you are looking for a place.  They may have friends in DC who can accommodate you at no charge.

2)  Offer to swap your house or vacation home - You can do this on Viscape - or http://viscape.com -  for free, or sign up for a membership with homeexchange. On Viscape, check under rental properties. Filter out for "swap" to see the properties where the owner is looking to exchange their home.

3)  Find a private rental - Craigslist has the largest selection of rentals with 1000+, but searching can be onerous.  Viscape has the 2nd largest selection with 400 rentals. Viscape makes comparison shopping much easier.  If you don't know your way around DC, you can see your choices on a map. I saw a 2 BR condo recently by the National Mall going for $100 per night.  As the date gets closer, locals will be forced to drop their prices.

4) Look for a room to rent or couch to crash on - You can check out couchsurfing.com, which is a fee-based network. Here you can find a free place to stay. You can also look on Viscape for places to rent, but put in a filter for "room rental" to look for places where people are renting rooms to see if you can find a bargain.

5)  Rent a big house and get a group of people together to share the cost.  We call this "vacation home math", where sharing the cost of a big house can work out to be a bargain for the group. Make use of Viscape's trip planner to invite your group.

As the inauguration draws closer, the housing inventory will continue to grow.   At-market-listers will fill their vacancy while pie-in-the-sky listers will unfortunately miss their money making opportunity.  It is important that listers make sure that their homes are competitively priced.  You can check Viscape for comps to see how others in your neighborhood have priced their homes.  A typical rule of thumb is 1.5 to 2 times the rent for corporate housing rentals.  It is my prediction that come January, visitors will have the upper hand and will be able to name their price.