House hacking advice (Renting out a spare room)

[Ryan Van Fleet]

I current live alone in a three bedroom town home. I'm looking to rent out one of the extra rooms, furnished, month-to-month to expedite my investment savings.

I'm wondering how people have handled this in the past. Do you set up a lease? Can you treat this like a normal rental and write off maintenance and other costs? Will this affect my state homeowner's credit? How would you go about selecting a tenant? I'm mostly concerned with theft and mistreatment of my dog. 

Thanks,

Ryan