How do I properly lease a room for a househack

Question

Currently in the military and I'm do to close my first single family in the next couple days. I have a fellow member that's I'm going to be renting a room in the house for and would like to set up a proper lease agreement and possibly run a tenant screen (I assume would be necessary for legal purposes). What are some other things I should be doing or setting up to protect myself legally and financially.

*Lease Agreement

* Tenant Screen

*Checking/Saving Account for rent

*Insurance?

*Lease Agreement

* Tenant Screen

*Checking/Saving Account for rent

*Insurance?

Nicholas Coulter · Answer

@Jaziel MaldonadoRoman Few things I would note!

1. Lease agreement should have all the legal things needed to protect you, house rules, dates, payment method etc. There are free state leases as a pro member with BP!

2. I would screen all people in the house no matter what coming into the house through a proper background check - you can do this through rent redi! It runs a credit and background check on them for you and the tenant pays so you dont have to be the middle person. Craig Curelops Invest2FI podcast has a discount code for the software on it!

3. I have a seperate account to collect rents and a seperate account to account for security deposits so there is no co mingling with the funds and can be paid back to tenants quickly.

4. I would talk to your home owners insurance and see whats best. I just have a much larger umbrella policy to keep me covered!

Hopes this helps!!

Malkia Ra · Answer

I am an experienced house-hacker.First, it pays to consult with an experienced real estate/landlord-tenant attorney in the area you plan to purchase to receive a lease template and to ask general questions regarding your legal obligations as a landlord.  Every city/county/state has different laws regarding landlord-tenant obligations, so understanding them from the outset is imperative.Always have a lease... friend, family or otherwise, I would not suggest ever skipping this.  Lease periods can be month-to-month if you prefer not to lock anyone in for the long term.There are many platforms you can use for tenant screening.  A simple Google search will generate a few options.  I'm a fan of TurboTenant.Regarding a bank account for rental payments, do what works for you.  You can use your existing personal account or establish another for rental payments.

Discuss your intent to rent space in your home with your insurance provider so that you have the appropriate coverage.  In addition, ALWAYS REQUIRE your tenant to purchase renter's insurance as a condition of their lease.

Ke Nan Wang · Answer

I'd always say ask attorney's for legal advise. I've not done this personally but have many friends who have done this (All of them no written lease just a verbal) so people here in the forum can correct me if I'm wrong.

Let's assume you want to go through the legal paper work because you are preparing for the worst. However, in the state of Florida, legally speaking, I think it's easier for the property owner to get rid of an unwelcome roommate if there is no written agreement. It's called unlawful detainer. It's a much faster way to get rid of someone off your property than if you have to go through the eviction process.

You need the following to satisfy the definition of unlawful detainer:

• The guest is not paying rent or contributing financially to the dwelling situation.
• There is no rental agreement between the parties.
• There is no claim on the part of the guest of a legal right to stay.

Assuming you have similar state laws in WA, then you can easily setup a verbal agreement with your roommate. The roommate pays and stays. If you want to get rid of the roommate and the roommate refuse to leave, go the unlawful detainer route.

If you setup a LL and tenant relationship, then when things get ugly, you have to deliver proper notice and go through the eviction process to remove the tenant.

Just my two cents.