Why do some people charge $0 for rent on roommates.com

I don’t get this, why would you not charge rent at all? Is it because you figure you can save money on utilities (splitting utilities 2 ways can save $120 a month) and that is more important than rent, is it a hoax to put your listing near the top, is it just for the first months rent, is it a typo or what? I emailed a guy who did that and I doubt i’ll get a response so i’m asking here now.

Just a WAG, but maybe they’re looking for, um, other sorts of compensation? Ever see the Mike’s Apartment website?

I’m about 99% sure that it’s just to grab your attention. Many people sort by lowest price so of course those jump to the top. But I, like many people I assume, just skip all the crap under a reasonable amount so it kind of defeats the purpose.

I saw a listing for 0 dollars that claimed he wanted someone to teach him English. His ad came across as very creepy, though. I gave him a miss.

One listing was for 100 dollars a month, and the guy said it applied to the first 3 months - to give a chance to make sure the situation would work before bumping it up to a normal amount. Sounded a little more logical, but his ad was also creepyish.