Potential house hack....a bit skeptical

[Michael Maloney Jr.]

Hello bp, So just a Quick story, last summer one of my friends needed a place to stay after he sold his house. He rented a room for me for 300$/month. It was great. I soon came to find out 300$ was cheap and I should have charged a little more but that's beside the point. He soon found his own place and moved out and I missed the income. So I got to thinking about turning my primary residence into a possible house hack for a longer term. But I can't shake the thought of the unknown Joe Shmo off craigslist living/sharing my house with me.... Question 1: do people advertise on Craigslist for a room to rent in their primary residence? And share the whole house with someone you don't know? (It's a crazy world out there with a lot of unknowns). Question2: I have an upstairs with a one bedroom and full bath and a spot for a living room area or whatever with a sliding glass door accessible from the outside, all i'd have to do is build a staircase. Should I close that off from my downstairs and turn that into its own unit? And do it that way? Only problem is there's no kitchen up there... Question 3: If I were to do that unit upstairs what would I have to do to make it legal? Would it need a separate address? Honestly I have no idea what it needs. A bit lengthy but I appreciate the read and advise in advance! -Mike