What to do with beautiful in-law suite?

[Eric P.]

My wife and I are finally ready for a first home purchase.  One home we saw is 4,000sq/ft beautiful Victorian style on a few acres with a 900sq/ft in-law suit with all new appliances, hardwood and private entrance.  A similar apartment in this area would rent for about $1,100

So I'm wondering if this can be rented out?  I'm pretty sure in NJ there are laws against renting an in-law suite.  Could this be made into a duplex, maybe rent as a hair studio or something, lease it out for storage, get a "roommate", turn it into a home office for tax deduction, or just rent it to a friend or family member for a cash deal?

We could afford the home without renting, just wouldn't want to waste the space.

[Andrew Davis]

Hey @Eric P. ,

In-law suites can be fantastic ways to keep your mortgage payments low.  Have you thought about renting it out using Air BnB?  You could furnish it and rent it out short term for at least $75 a night (I just did a quick Airbnb search on your area).  So at 20 nights a month that's $1500, not bad.