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Host

Housemate

Resources

Host

Housemate

Resources

Welcome a trusted Housemate into your home

Transform your spare bedroom into a source of safety, companionship, and in-home assistance.

How it works

We specialize in matching individuals seeking in-home companionship and assistance, known as the Host, with a thoroughly vetted Housemate. In exchange for getting to live in your spare bedroom, our Housemates provide 10 hours of practical help weekly. They can assist with housekeeping, reliable transportation, grocery shopping, tech support, meal preparation, and much more to allow the Host to age in place. This shared living arrangement fosters a variety of enriching experiences, from conversations over shared meals to simply enjoying each other's company during daily routines. The presence of an attentive Housemate can add an element of safety to the home as they keep an eye out for risks and can respond in the case of emergencies.

Let Obi Helpers connect you with a Housemate who is not just a renter, but a companion and a contributor to a vibrant home life. Before making a long-term commitment, you have the opportunity to experience this unique arrangement with a Housemate for a two-week trial period. This allows you to assess compatibility and witness the positive impact on your daily life without a long-term commitment.

Call us and tell us about yourself and what you are looking for, we take care of everything else.

Please note: Helpers cannot provide medical assistance or help with toileting.

Call us and tell us about yourself and what you are looking for, we take care of everything else.

Please note: Helpers cannot provide medical assistance or help with toileting.

Ready to get started?

Set up a consultation call with our team to get started and ask them all your questions.

Get Started

Have questions?

Call us at (737) 377-4665

Who are the Helpers?

Our Housemates are individuals who genuinely seek companionship with their Host. Many of them don't have family in the area and are excited about the opportunity to integrate into their Host’s household.

We intentionally limit the assistance hours of assistance our Housemates provide. This strategy makes the role attractive and high-paying, helping us attract the best fit for your home. It’s not just about the quantity of hours; it’s about finding someone who resonates with your intellectual curiosity, interests, or hobbies, fostering a deep and meaningful bond.

Our diverse pool of Housemates includes professionals and mature students from all age groups and various backgrounds, such as graduates from universities like Duke, UT Austin, and Austin Community College. They range from retirees to teachers, nursing students, and Tesla engineers, all in search of a safe housing environment, a well-paying part-time job, and the chance to do meaningful work.

To get a clearer idea of who you might be matched with, we invite you to read profiles of some of our Housemates currently living with Hosts near Austin. Please note that certain details are withheld for privacy.

Profiles of Three Active Housemates

Safety

To ensure safety, all Housemates undergo a personal interview and comprehensive background check. Based on your preferences we then select two top candidates from all the Housemates we interview. You have the option to meet either one or both in a proctored interview setting, giving you the freedom to choose who best meets your needs. The final decision of the candidate you want to move in rests entirely with you.

This work-for-housing exchange isn't a new concept. A similar model has long existed with Au Pair programs which allow young families to exchange a spare room for assistance with their kids. This model has also created affordable senior companionship throughout Europe for the past two decades. Programs like: Care and Share (UK), HomeShare (Ireland), and Support Match (England) have all successfully matched thousands of European seniors with assisting housemates. But this type of exchange has never been available to help to US adults until now.

This work-for-rent exchange isn't a new concept. A similar model is used in work-exchange programs for childcare, such as Au Pair networks. It has created affordable housing and household help for thousands of young families in Europe and the US. But this type of exchange has never been available to care for adults until now.

To ensure safety, we do a background check on both the housemates and hosts. We also interview all potential housemates and only introduce you with the most qualified ones.

Benefits of live-in support

Companionship

While there are numerous care options available, very few address the issue of loneliness or offer the continuous companionship that comes from sharing one's living space. We strive to pair you with a Housemate who has a compatible personality for meaningful companionship.

Minimize Coordination Time

You no longer have to find and hire people for the tasks you want help with. Your Housemate lives with you and does all the hours of support themselves.

Program Management

Our job is to create successful matches. Therefore, you'll only be charged after you've been matched with someone who you're excited to welcome into your home.

$85

billed each month your Housemates assists you

Complete background check and interviews for all Housemates

Housing exchange support and contract generation.

Monthly check-ins and support phone line.

All matches are initially six months long but you can choose to extend.

This equates to you paying less than $2 per hour of assistance or less than $3 per day. While your costs remain low you are actually paying your Housemate a competitive salary via rent reduction. Its a win-win.

Try it risk free

Give us the chance to find your ideal Helper. If you're not excited to match with one of our candidates for you, then we failed, and you owe us nothing.

Get Started

Frequently Asked Questions

Call us and we can answers all your questions: (737) 377-4665

What can my Helper assist with?

Helpers offer a broad range of assistance. They can help with light housekeeping, meal planning and preparation, grooming, dressing, tech support, providing reliable transportation, carrying heavy items, and managing errands such as grocery shopping. Helpers can further assist with online activities such as shopping, scheduling virtual meetings, or accessing digital resources, and aiding with overseeing contractors like maintenance staff or gardeners. They can also care for pets, assist with young children, help with gardening and handle seasonal tasks like snow shoveling and setting up holiday decorations. Helpers can assist with basic home repairs like changing lightbulbs, and manage household deliveries, mail, and inventory. In addition to practical tasks, Helpers can engage in meaningful companionship activities with you, including sharing meals, watching movies, and outdoor walks.

They are available to help with any tasks you might need, as long as they align with community standards. You will tell Obi Helpers what assistance your family member needs and we will match you with a Helpers who is comfortable with those tasks.

It's essential to note that Helpers are not professional caregivers. They are cannot perform medical tasks or assist toileting.

What is required of the room that I provide?

Hosts are required to provide Helpers with a private bedroom equipped with a bed and storage solutions for personal belongings. The storage can be in the form of a closet or a dresser. While Hosts are not obligated to furnish linens, they are encouraged to provide them if available. Helpers must also have access to a bathroom, which can be exclusively for their use or shared with others, and access to common areas. In addition, Helpers must have access to a kitchen, complete with all the essential tools for food preparation. This encompasses cookware and adequate storage space for food, including a designated area within the refrigerator. Hosts are responsible for covering all utilities and cannot impose these costs onto the Helper. This encompasses expenses for water, gas, electric, trash, and the provision of Wi-Fi. Any additional features of the Host's home such as parking, additional storage, garden access, housing in prime locations, large rooms, and other perks are not required but can assist in attracting more Helper interest.

To participate in Obi Helpers, there's also a stipulated minimum home value or monthly rent payment that Hosts are paying to their landlord that Hosts must meet. These number are detailed in the table below. The basis for these numbers lies in federal tax regulations. For a comprehensive understanding of these regulations please refer to the FAQ page linked here.

To find the value of your home refer to Zillow.com. You may also use your county's appraised value for your home. This can be found on your county's website or your annual property tax statement. For Travis County: Appraisal Property Search.

Hosts are required to provide Housemates with a private bedroom equipped with a bed and storage solutions for personal belongings. The storage can be in the form of a closet or a dresser. While hosts are not obligated to furnish linens, they are encouraged to provide them if available. Housemates must also have access to a bathroom, which can be exclusively for their use or shared with others, and access to common areas. In addition, Housemates must have access to a kitchen, complete with all the essential tools for food preparation. This encompasses cookware and adequate storage space for food, including a designated area within the refrigerator. Hosts are responsible for covering all utilities and cannot impose these costs onto the Housemate. This encompasses expenses for water, gas, electric, trash, and the provision of Wi-Fi.

Any additional features of the host's home such as parking, additional storage, garden access, housing in prime locations, large rooms, and other perks are not required but can assist in attracting more housemate interest.

To participate in Obi Helpers, there's also a stipulated minimum home value or monthly rent payment that hosts are paying to their landlord that host must meet. These number are detailed in the table below. The basis for these numbers lies in federal tax regulations. For a comprehensive understanding of these regulations please refer to the FAQ page linked here.

Who is and isn't a good fit to be a Host with Obi Helpers?

Obi Helpers is a versatile service suitable for anyone with a spare room in need of part-time assistance. Whether you're living alone, with a partner, roommates, or pets, and regardless of your housing type or ownership status, we adapt to your unique circumstances. While we primarily focus on the elderly, we also serve a wide range of needs and demographics, including childcare and assistance for younger people. However, certain limitations apply:

No Medical Rule: Obi Helpers are not professionally trained caregivers. As such, they cannot provide any medical assistance or hands with toileting except in the case of emergencies.

Physical Standards: Hosts must be continent and independently mobile on level surfaces for at least 50 yards, they can use assistive devices like canes and walkers for this [1]. Someone who requires assistance with eating, transferring from bed to chair and back, or toileting cannot participate in Obi Helpers.

Cognitive Standards: Hosts must meet certain cognitive standards to be able to participate in matching. While some cognitive impairment or slowing is considered normal with aging and does not automatically disqualify an individual from participating in Obi Helpers, there are certain standards that must be met. All Hosts must be able to reasonably manage their own schedule and communicate effectively with the Helper. Hosts cannot display any of the following [2]:

Significant forgetfulness of recent events or conversations
Being unable to recall information about themselves, like their address or telephone number, and the high school or college they attended
Experiencing confusion about where they are or what day it is
Showing an increased tendency to wander and become lost
Getting lost in familiar places or not recognizing close family members
Difficulty forming coherent sentences

Exception: An exception to the Physical and Cognitive Standards exists if a family member or caregiver lives full-time in the same household as the cognitively or physically impaired Host. In these cases, the family member or caregiver is treated as the Host, even if most tasks benefit the impaired individual. Importantly, Helpers can be invaluable in this scenario. They can handle all non-hands-on tasks, allowing you to hire a paid caregiver only for hands-on duties, which can significantly reduce your costs. Additionally, the Helper can coordinate and oversee the paid caregivers, easing the workload of those involved in caring for the impaired individual. However, it's crucial to remember that the Helper is still bound by the No Medical Rule, for which there are no exceptions beyond emergencies.

These standards stem from a safety concern, as situations can easily arise where the Helper is asked to help in ways they aren't trained for, risking the well-being of both parties.

If there's uncertainty regarding these criteria, our Obi Helpers team can offer guidance; simply email us at hello@obihelpers.com.

No Medical Rule: Obi Helpers are not professionally trained caregivers. As such, they cannot provide any medical assistance or hands with toileting except in the case of emergencies.

Significant forgetfulness of recent events or conversations
Being unable to recall information about themselves, like their address or telephone number, and the high school or college they attended
Experiencing confusion about where they are or what day it is
Showing an increased tendency to wander and become lost
Getting lost in familiar places or not recognizing close family members
Difficulty forming coherent sentences

These standards stem from a safety concern, as situations can easily arise where the Helper is asked to help in ways they aren't trained for, risking the well-being of both parties.

If there's uncertainty regarding these criteria, our Obi Helpers team can offer guidance; simply email us at hello@obihelpers.com.

FAQ

For more information about Obi Helpers including our built in safety measures and refunds policy.