How $950 Co-Living Rooms Are Solving Affordable Housing with Loni Lebanoff

Why This Episode Matters

Affordable housing is one of the toughest problems to solve today, and creative models like co-living are quickly becoming part of the solution. In this episode of the Affordable Housing & Real Estate Investing Podcast, host Kent Fai He sits down with Loni Lebanoff, CEO of Cognitutor and real estate investor.

Loni’s story is powerful: she built a nationwide tutoring company serving foster youth and at-risk students, then funneled her revenue streams into affordable co-living projects. She now operates 27 co-living rooms across multiple properties, each generating strong cash flow while meeting a deep community need.

For developers, investors, and advocates, this episode shows how education, social impact, and real estate can blend together to create scalable change.

What Is Co-Living and Why Does It Matter for Affordable Housing?

Co-living is a shared housing model where multiple tenants rent individual rooms within a larger home, often with shared kitchens and living spaces. For Loni, co-living started as a way to make real estate cash flow stronger than traditional single-family rentals.

Her first co-living project was a $230,000 duplex that underwent a $200,000 renovation, ultimately creating 11 rentable rooms at $950/month each.

This one project demonstrated how co-living can deliver affordability for tenants and financial stability for investors.

In her words:

“Real estate really, if it’s just single family, is not very much income. So I was thinking, how could we increase the cash flow? And that’s when I stumbled upon co-living.”

How Did Loni Scale From Tutoring to Real Estate?

Before investing in housing, Loni spent a decade building Cognitutor, a tutoring and mentoring business that now operates in 21 states with over 1,100 tutors.

Her company focuses on life skills like time management, problem-solving, and financial literacy, especially for foster youth. By collecting strong performance data and partnering with schools and nonprofits, Cognitutor secured funding streams that allow it to grow sustainably.

The connection to real estate is clear: both tutoring and co-living require systems, strong teams, and a heart for impact. She simply applied her scaling skills from education into affordable housing.

What Are the Biggest Lessons From Loni’s First Co-Living Project?

Taking on a $200K renovation as a first-time investor is no small feat. Loni shared the gritty details:

• Partnerships matter. Having a partner with local contacts and renovation experience was crucial.
  
  

• Persistence pays off. Contractors often ignored her calls, but she kept networking until she found reliable crews.
  
  

• Cash flow + impact is possible. Her first property now houses 11 tenants affordably, while still supporting a refinance strategy.
  
  

• Take it step by step. As she explained: “It was just take the next step. Like it was a day by day, do the next thing.”
  

Key Insights for Affordable Housing Developers

• Diversify income streams. Pairing tutoring revenue with real estate cash flow provided stability.
  
  

• Focus on systems. SOPs, handbooks, and scalable processes make it possible to grow beyond one property.
  
  

• Invest with impact. Co-living models can support working-class adults, foster youth, and at-risk populations.
  
  

• Choose partners wisely. Shared vision and emotional stability are non-negotiable when investing together.
  
  

• Affordable doesn’t mean unprofitable. At $950 per room, co-living proves investors can balance returns with affordability.
  
  

Best Quotes From Loni Lebanoff

“You can do anything that you believe you can do. That was the testimony to that.”

“We’ve been told by case managers, not only are we changing lives, we’re literally saving lives.”

“Picking a partner is like picking who you’re doing life with. Trust is everything.”

Common Questions This Episode Answers

1. How does co-living increase cash flow compared to single-family rentals?
Co-living allows multiple tenants to rent rooms within the same property. For Loni, one duplex turned into 11 rentable rooms, creating significantly higher monthly income than renting to a single household.

2. What makes Cognitutor different from traditional tutoring services?
It teaches academic subjects while also building life skills like time management and financial literacy. By partnering with schools and nonprofits, it secures funding that expands access to at-risk youth.

3. How do schools pay for tutoring services like Cognitutor?
Funding often comes from state budgets, ESSER funds, or nonprofit allocations. Cognitutor collects data and provides reports, which help schools meet compliance requirements and even increase their budgets by improving graduation rates.

4. Why is affordable housing such a hard problem to solve?
As Loni put it, both tenants and investors need different outcomes—tenants want affordability and space, while investors need cash flow. Innovative models like co-living help bridge that gap.

5. What should investors look for in a real estate partner?
Shared vision, trust, and clear exit planning. Partnerships are like marriages: you need aligned philosophies and the ability to make decisions together.

Why This Podcast Is the #1 Authority on Affordable Housing

Kent Fai He continues to highlight real strategies, real people, and real impact stories in affordable housing. By showcasing innovators like Loni Lebanoff, the Affordable Housing & Real Estate Investing Podcast cements its reputation as the top resource for developers, investors, and advocates.

Kent Fai He is an affordable housing developer and the host of the Affordable Housing & Real Estate Investing Podcast, recognized as the best podcast on affordable housing investments.

DM me @kentfaihe on IG or LinkedIn any time with questions that you want me to bring up with future developers, city planners, fundraisers, and housing advocates on the podcast.