Virtual Assistant · Lowell, MA · Member since 2015 · 12 posts · 0 votes
I am looking to rent my single family home to roommates. I am new to this, and I wanted to get BP members good advise. I have read some topics in the forum, but wanted to know if it's better to rent by rooms or to roommates?
Don't let Greg scare you too much, I've lived with others for something like 10-15 years and not had any bigger problems than someone was playing their music too loud at night. It really depends on your personality.
On the plus side, assuming your regulations allow you to take quick action, you can be far more flexable about who you rent to and skip some research. After all, if they don't pay you can just lock them out (depending on the state etc) I'm not saying don't do your research, but realize that because its owner occupied you have far more power. If a roomer's pet is destructive you can talk to them about it immediately instead of after 6 months of destroying your trim, for example. You'll also get to meet a lot of different people.
On the minus side you'll have to deal with interpersonal issues. Someone won't be happy with something, or might have a habit of slamming doors when they get home at 2am, or loud sex, etc. You'll also have more turnover by far. My current roomie has been living with me for just over a year now, but before him I had 4 in 2 years (I do month to month subleases since I find a new person in under a week).
I would not recommend going above 3 roomies unless you particularly enjoy dealing with roommate drama. I also would stick to unrelated parties. Friends take advantage of things in a way that can ruin friendships if you're living together and strangers don't. One tenant and their friends can be ok, but it's a bit riskier for you, since they could all go if you have to get rid of one.
What I was referring is by rooms for each person individual that don't know each other. Roommates that are friends and have a history of living together.
I did this and found it better to have the majority of the house be friends. I slowly allowed a new comer/stranger to enter and eventually it became his friends that moved in. I think in 5 years I had 20 some different people renting rooms from me in that house. Personally, it was a nightmare and I am glad it is over but collecting rent from the non-friend tenants was easier as your friends think its ok to pay you late or not pay you in full because you owed them $10 for pizza last week etc. You have to separate friends and business sometimes and if a friend can't pay rent are you willing to evict them?
Don't rent to your friends or relatives. Run it like a business. Check your state codes. Some regulations exclude this arrangement from the codes when the owner is sharing kitchen, bath with roomers.
The plus to that is if they cause problems you do not have to evict you can simply put their property on the curb and lock them out without notice. Check your landlord tenant state codes.
Do not expect this to be an easy go, living with others will be a never ending string of problems.
Don't let Greg scare you too much, I've lived with others for something like 10-15 years and not had any bigger problems than someone was playing their music too loud at night. It really depends on your personality.
On the plus side, assuming your regulations allow you to take quick action, you can be far more flexable about who you rent to and skip some research. After all, if they don't pay you can just lock them out (depending on the state etc) I'm not saying don't do your research, but realize that because its owner occupied you have far more power. If a roomer's pet is destructive you can talk to them about it immediately instead of after 6 months of destroying your trim, for example. You'll also get to meet a lot of different people.
On the minus side you'll have to deal with interpersonal issues. Someone won't be happy with something, or might have a habit of slamming doors when they get home at 2am, or loud sex, etc. You'll also have more turnover by far. My current roomie has been living with me for just over a year now, but before him I had 4 in 2 years (I do month to month subleases since I find a new person in under a week).
I would not recommend going above 3 roomies unless you particularly enjoy dealing with roommate drama. I also would stick to unrelated parties. Friends take advantage of things in a way that can ruin friendships if you're living together and strangers don't. One tenant and their friends can be ok, but it's a bit riskier for you, since they could all go if you have to get rid of one.
Wes is correct there is no reason to be scared. You are starting a business and recognise the fact that there will be issues associated with dealing with interpersonal relationships, you adapt and deal with the problems as standard issues of operating the business. One should consider all the possible scenarios of the arrangement and move forward.
As a example kitchen fires happen, it doesn't matter if you start it or a room mate you simply deal and move on. That is how you do business. You do not live in fear of having a fire any more than you do now.
They will fight, they will move in girl/boy friends, do drugs, drink, not pay, make noise, not clean up, etc. or they may be perfect angles. It's all part of the business.
I see how you guys do it! I am not doing this with friends or relatives, which is a good thing. I will mainly go for mature adults (male), and working. This is a good eye opener!