Considering renting a room in my house out

[Jon M.]

Hey Folks! This is my first ever post. I'm from Virginia, just finished reading Brandon Turner's book on Rental Property Investing, just recently joined BiggerPockets, and I'm looking to take a small step to get things started. My wife and I live in a nice large, relatively new, 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath townhouse. We hardly ever use 3 of the bedrooms unless we have guests stay over, which happens infrequently. Anyway, if the tenant/arrangement is right, we are interested in renting out a room in our house. I've been periodically looking for a good match on Craigslist where people post that they're looking for a room. I finally found someone who looks like a good option and have been communicating with her. She'd only be using the room 2 days a week. Her job, wilderness therapy, has her staying/sleeping onsite for 5 days a week. She doesn't smoke or have any pets, has very little in terms of personal belongings, isn't interested in drinking or partying, and is willing to pay $300 a month. Anyway, she sounds ideal for our first ever tenant - a good way for us to test the waters out/ease into this. I'll also mention, we've recently had my 18 year old sister live with us and a couple of friends/a married couple for a few months. So, we understand the adjustment to our privacy. Okay, so, if we do this, how should we approach it? I did a bit of googling around and it sounds like I should at least do the following: 1) have her pay for a credit/background check through a site like Cozy. 2) draft up a month to month lease for her to sign (should I do week to week?). I'd like to find some good template to start with. I'm not sure if there's less or more that should be included due to this being for a room in my house. 3) have her give me some references in general as well as past landlords and follow up with them. 4) ask her to provide proof of income. Is this overboard...under board...? :c) Any thoughts/comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks! Jon

[Debra Worrell]

Renting or boarding a room can be a little tricky. Obviously the person you rent the room to must be a good fit for your household. I would talk to your potential boarder and ask what her needs are as far as lease. Is she comfortable with week to week or month to month? She might feel more secure with a short term lease (3-6 moths) for the security of knowing she won't have to relocate on short term notice if your situation changes. In the lease, I would include what amenities in the home she is entitled to use. Does the rent include her utilities, are there house rules that are a violation of the lease? (Getting a pet, tidiness, chore contribution, and anything misc) What are common areas of the house? Anything that may have annoyed you about your other boarders, I would address in the lease. But most of all just be fair. I think that is the best way to keep your boarder happy and yourself sane! Rules in writing, no confusion, no miscommunication. Hope this helps!