Renting to a Roommate

[Maksim Easley]

Hello BP. I am a 21 year old college student and I recently bought a 2 bed 1 bath condo to house hack. I have a friend that is most likely going to rent the spare bedroom on a month to month basis. I have never rented anything out before so my question is, how should I go about it? Should I get a contract and if so, would one on BP work or should I have an attorney create one for legal purposes and talk to an accountant on how to get the most out of it for tax benefits? I assume I should have him pay me by check or money order, is that correct? Any and all advice/information is appreciated. Thank you in advance.