Renting out a room in my home. Yes and no’s.

[Shianna A.]

Hi BP!

My boyfriend is a huge BP fan, has a ton of books and we are trying to start out and get on track to financial freedom. We currently live in a house together with my sister (my sister and I own the house, given to us by our father) in a good city in Southern California not too far from the beach, where a room can be rented roughly around $700-$1000 a month. Houses can be anywhere from $2500-$3000, which we are planning to turn our house into a duplex, when we get enough to move out and refurbish the house (built in 1950’s, renovations happened but not too modern)

ANYWHO we want to rent one room out, where we have usually had someone move in that was a friend or someone we know, but now we are looking to those we don’t. My questions are when it comes to strangers renting out a room in your house you live in, what are things I should be looking for in order to protect the space, my family, and keep everything kosher and legal, and make it comfortable for my tenant too! I know the location of where my house is in demand as I have had many inquiries, even without photos of the room, but I haven’t pulled the trigger because I don’t want to bring the wrong person in and end up in small claims or worse for negligence.

Any tips, or recommendations would be extremely helpful. I want to go into this with full confidence and know I have protected my self, my family and tenant as well.

I appreciate all of your time and wish you a wonderful day!!

[Brad Hammond]

@Shianna A., I have a few thoughts for you.

1. Make sure you use a solid lease.  That will be your biggest line of defense in case you need to go to court.  

2. Do a background/credit check on your applicant(s).  I use Cozy for it and the applicant pays for it ($40).

3. Interview everyone to make sure they will be a good fit for you.  Look them up online and with their socials. 

4. Charge as much rent as you can for the room.  This will usually filter out some of the crazies and people who have constant drama in their life.  

5. Once you have someone in place, be a good human.  When doctors are sued, it is usually because they have poor bedside manner.  By that I mean even if you screw something up, do your best to make it right.  Getting your roommate little gifts and making them feel valued will go a LONG way.  

[Shianna A.]

@Brad Hammond

Thank you so much for your time Info!! I will keep this all in mind!

[Damaso Bautista]

@Shianna A.

Do research on your rental price because I think they are low.  Depending what part of Torrance you are in obviously.  

Have a strong lease and pick someone you are comfortable with.

Like suggested above charge at the high end of what it costs to rent a room and do a thorough background check.

Good luck!