Advice on living in basement and renting main areas

[Lissa Harre]

I own a 5 bedroom 3&1/2 bath house with a finished basement. I’m hoping to live in the basement and rent out the top 2 floors. 

How should I split utilities, HOA, ect?

Can I limit the rental to not include the backyard? The backyard is fully fenced but the deck to get to it is not structurally sound and I can’t afford to fix it. Also I have young children that play in the yard so I don’t want strangers using their space. My husband thinks this will limits our prospective tenants too much and we should just fix the deck and be done with it. 

What should I look for in a tenant to live peaceably? I’m concerned about unreasonable personalities that will either be very demanding or overly messy/loud/ect. 

What issues have you had with tenants in your home? 

Should I allow pets? Can I limit what kinds? Should pet fees be monthly or 1x? 

Parking: The house has a 2 car garage and a driveway that could hold 6 cars and no on street parking. Can I limit parking to only in the garage? If I park my car at the bottom of the driveway on one side they will have access to both garage spaces and I will never be blocked. 

Pros and cons of property management company? Is it necessary?