Looking to rent my home to roommates or by rooms

[Shirley Fanduiz]

I am looking to rent my single family home to roommates. I am new to this, and I wanted to get BP members good advise. I have read some topics in the forum, but wanted to know if it's better to rent by rooms or to roommates?

[Wes Brand]

Don't let Greg scare you too much, I've lived with others for something like 10-15 years and not had any bigger problems than someone was playing their music too loud at night. It really depends on your personality. 

On the plus side, assuming your regulations allow you to take quick action, you can be far more flexable about who you rent to and skip some research. After all, if they don't pay you can just lock them out (depending on the state etc) I'm not saying don't do your research, but realize that because its owner occupied you have far more power. If a roomer's pet is destructive you can talk to them about it immediately instead of after 6 months of destroying your trim, for example. You'll also get to meet a lot of different people.

On the minus side you'll have to deal with interpersonal issues. Someone won't be happy with something, or might have a habit of slamming doors when they get home at 2am, or loud sex, etc. You'll also have more turnover by far. My current roomie has been living with me for just over a year now, but before him I had 4 in 2 years (I do month to month subleases since I find a new person in under a week). 

I would not recommend going above 3 roomies unless you particularly enjoy dealing with roommate drama. I also would stick to unrelated parties. Friends take advantage of things in a way that can ruin friendships if you're living together and strangers don't. One tenant and their friends can be ok, but it's a bit riskier for you, since they could all go if you have to get rid of one.