What is your thought on renting out rooms to renters?

Question

It is common in Vanouver BC for owners to rent out rooms to people due to the cost of the mortgage. I am now in Tacoma and came across this gem of a house. 8 bedrooms 5 baths 4 thousand square feet. The house has not been updated since the 1980s.

I wonder if such a huge house like this could be also sectioned as seperare rental apt units?

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Tacoma/4408-Merry-Ln-W-98466/home/2729726/nwmls-1039003

Gail K. · Answer

In 2015 the "average" cost of a personal care home ranged from $1500 to $3000 for room and board.  This will vary across the nation.   In a personal care home a resident is typically expected to be able to dress themselves with minimal assistance, make their own beds, bathe themselves with minimal assistance, etc..  In many cases they are fairly independent but may need help with making sure they take their medication as prescribed, do not wander off, etc..   These residents can no longer live by themselves but are not at the point where they need a nursing home.

Gail

Gail K. · Answer

My experience (not as a landlord but rather working in a VA Medical Center where a fair number of our elderly veterans were placed in personal care homes/assisted living facilities and/or nursing homes) was this:

Personal care homes room charges are paid for by the elderly person residing there.  Room and board charges for each person are not cheap but are less expensive than those of a nursing home.  Each resident typically paid anywhere from $800 - $1500 per month.  Multiply that by 4 or 6 folks or more living in a home (and yes, staff must be present at all times but nursing staff are generally nursing assistants, often paid a bit above the minimum wage; perhaps $10 per hour in my area)  and you can understand why this is a money making project for folks running such places.

Thus, a landlord who agrees to rent out a unit to someone wishing to run a residential home out of it might wish to consider this when setting the rent for this owner.

Maintenance would depend on how many residents would be residing there.  Room costs for residents can vary whether they are renting a private room or doubling up with another person.  The landlord would need to be aware of the safety needs of these residents especially in areas of walkways, porches and bathrooms; however, a licensed residential care owner should be aware of what is required to pass inspection.

Gail

Rudy Manna · Answer

Curious about the trade-offs with renting to adult care homes.

- How are the rental rates? is it better than regular rentals?

- How is the maintenance costs? I will like to assume that with elderly  people living your maintenance costs will be somewhat higher.

Look forward to your perspective.

Gail K. · Answer

Whenever one of my four or five bedroom houses are up for rent I get at least one or two calls from folks wondering if I'd consider renting these out as personal care homes.  Having worked in the medical field before recently retiring I have to say these personal care homes are increasing in number as "baby boomers" are aging and are having to address options besides actual nursing homes.   There are MANY aging folks who live by themselves, either through choice or because a spouse/partner has passed away and any children involved do not live close enough to monitor their health needs so other options often need to be addressed; this is where a personal care home MAY come in.

At any rate you might check your area for the requirements a personal care home must provide in regards to safety issues for its residents.  Keep in mind if you do go this route make certain the person renting from you is licensed by the state;  there are folks running homes without a license and they tend to end up cramming folks into these places.    Not too long ago we had one in my area; the landlord was unaware of the number of people residing on his property.   The neighbors finally reported the issue to License and Inspections and the Health Department  when they saw one elderly woman in a wheelchair getting her "shower" by being wheeled out into the backyard and hosed down with a garden hose.

Gail

Rudy Manna · Answer

after care, adult care and such programs will be attractive tenants since they will be long term tenants, but then can I really plan for this? Can I buy a house that fits the need of a adult care house? Any experiences?

Sounds a good idea, but then is it big pool for such tenants, or is it one off that comes across occasionally?

Catherine German · Answer

Just my opinion but no to room rental but yes to a care home or even a home for "after care" such as faith based prison release programs, clean and sober houses, etc. I had someone call me this week regarding needing a place for her adult care home because I had a 5 bedroom home for lease in Puyallup.

Shelley Greene · Answer

I wonder what building code a property has to have in order to be a residential care home. I can see this being an amazing home for adults with dementia/Alzheimer's, with the décor and the area it's in (very nice part of town). The décor for the residents and the nice area of town for the family members having to put their loved ones into a care facility.

Peter Grote · Answer

I'm not sure about renting rooms if it's not close to one of the colleges but this home could definitely be used for a remake of The Brady Bunch! The '70s decor was really something!  I have seen homes on craigslist offering rooms for rent but they've been a few blocks from UPS or SPU.