General Landlording & Rental Properties
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
![](http://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/assets/forums/sponsors/hospitable-deef083b895516ce26951b0ca48cf8f170861d742d4a4cb6cf5d19396b5eaac6.png)
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Updated about 5 years ago on . Most recent reply
![Jason Stewart's profile image](https://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/no_overlay/uploads/social_user/user_avatar/1400683/1621511948-avatar-jasons681.jpg?twic=v1/output=image/crop=480x480@0x26/cover=128x128&v=2)
Tenant vs Roommate - Making a lease.
Hello Biggerpockets,
I just purchased my first single family home in Vancouver, WA. Its got 4 rooms and 2.5 bath. I am looking to house hack and need some help determining what needs to be done in terms of writing a lease correctly. I have a standard format one but it is not WA specific (got it for free after buying a Biggerpockets Audiobook).
I was told that you cannot rent until you've lived in the home for up to 12 months. However my agent said roommates are okay? Also I will be listing it as my primary residence and so will my girlfriend. I however deploy overseas for 330 days out of the year. Does this still apply to me?
If I do need a separate roommate agreement, do you treat roommate just like you would tenants? whats the purpose / difference between "roommate" and tenant?
Thank you for your time!
-Jason