I found a duplex and it goes like that: first floor and basement has utilities together and combining both of them it's a 5 bedroom, 2 kitchens, 2 bath. and could easily rent it for 1400 and that's very cheap. second floor and attic will be the same as the first floor. so reting those two out, I will make 2800 monthly, but I have other option. renting the bedrooms and could rent them 500 each going cheap, I will make 5000, in this case I will have to pay all the utilities, TV and Internet, snow removal, landscaping, etc... what would you guys do? considering these facts. - if I rent per bedroom it will be harder to manage it. - the turn over might be higher. - people drama. any experience with this situation? please share.

@Wilder Osorio , depending on your utilities you may fare better renting units. There are pros and cons to each. I have a 3 flat where the bottom 2 units are rooms and the top floor is the entire apartment. With rooms you have the added expense of utilities, as you said, but also the added management of conflict resolution, utility control (lock box on the thermostat and making frequent visits to inspect), common area cleaning, theft of food, more traffic, etc.

After doing the math, a good tenant is more stable and cost effective than renting rooms. I'm leaving my third floor family in place. The only way rooms would work in your favor is if you can manage to do a year lease and collect security deposit. But even then, you can only charge for damage in their individual room and not the common areas.

Hi Wilder,

Personally, I would rent it out as a duplex and take the $2800. I think you'll have a lot less issues than if you were to rent it out as single bedrooms, for all the reasons you mentioned. But it also depends on the area it is located, if it near a university or the demand is great for renting individual bedrooms, you could try it! However, I think splitting up the basement and first floor sounds like you'd have a greater chance of success!

Also, have you ran a rental estimate report for your area to compare what the average rent is for a 5 bed/2 bath vs. if you were to split up the duplex? Before listing, I would run one just to make sure you're listing it for a competitive price, you could potentially list it for more!

Good luck! 

Renting rooms can lead to drama