renting rooms in my house

[Amy Zemser]

Hi BP friends, 

Since I have 5 rooms available in the upstairs portion of our huge Victorian, and I'd like to save some more money toward buying our second investment property, I've decided to rent out the rooms upstairs.  At $550/month, I could potentially earn around 30k per year if I get good people in there.  I do have a few questions and welcome your input. 

1. Is there anywhere I can find a boilerplate lease for this sort of thing? Since I will be renting to young people (students, medical interns), I plan on providing a month-to-month lease.  

2. How do I manage the utilities issue? I am willing to offer water and most electricity at no extra charge, but I'd like to put something in the lease that requires payment towards oil and air conditioner usage over a certain point. If people run their air conditioners all day, this isn't fair. It's complicated because it's all in our house and difficult to break up.  Does anyone have advice on this one? 

3. Should I allow laundry usage in the house?  I don't want to.  We are a family of 5 and I don't like the idea of other people using our washer/dryer.  I think it's too much.  Or do you think this is necessary when one rents a room in the house?  

If I rented all the rooms for a limited period, say two years, I'd be in amazing shape to get cash for our next property. Our home is large enough to accommodate our family and renters, but I'm curious to hear what you think.    

Best, 

Amy

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Hot plates are a fire waiting to happen.  The induction cooktop is more energy efficient and much safer since only the pan gets hot.  I also have Magic Chef micro/convection counter top ovens that I got at Costco for about $150 in most of my places.  You can cook a 12 pound Thanksgiving turkey.  

I would use a standard MtM lease and link to very thorough House Rules.

I would include a base electrical usage and split the overages equally.

Three children?  I would contemplate using one of the  5 rooms as the common area for 4 tenants.  Easier to have their shared kitchen and lounge area away from your family.  You could probably charge more for each room if they have an area away from the landlord.  

The parking impact on the neighbors is what will probably get you in trouble with the city.