Questions for all House-Hackers

[Logan Gilbert]

House-Hacking will most likely be my first vehicle of RE investing, it seems like a great way to get started with so many people having success doing this. I had some concerns about it, hoping BP can help me figure this out.

1. Do you prefer to rent the rooms out to friends/acquaintances OR do you rent them to strangers? I can see both having pros and cons.

2. A problem I can see coming up eventually is maintenance. For example: the brand new kitchen sink breaks. Say my friend used it last and claims it "was not him who broke it" when obviously I know it was him. (How do I go about getting him to pay for this if he refuses? Do I attempt to fine, evict, argue, put terms in lease, etc.) I can see this being a problem that will no doubt come up.

3. I have a lease copy from my old college apartment, can I copy majority of this? I of course will make changes to it to fit my needs, but is this legal for me to basically copy/paste this? (I think yes)

4. I want this to be as professional as I can make it, how do you typically structure lease terms? 1 year, 6 month, month to month, etc.

My plan is to offer Month-to-Month, 3- month, and 6-month leases. And of course I will charge a little more per month for the shorter term lease. I will do Longer term if need be, but with no big discounts. All advice is greatly appreciated!