House hack with a roommate

[Alex Verdugo]

I have been looking for a multifamily for my first deal for quite a while now. Unfortunately there aren't many that pop up on the MLS and they don't stay long. Especially in my price range. A realtor friend of mine suggested a SFR as my first investment just to get things going. I'm going to look at a 3/1 and have the idea of renting out one of the rooms to someone. This is not the most ideal start to my investing but A start is better than NO start. As this is the case, is there anything I need to watch out for? I'm sure the screening process will be the same for tenents that I would have even if I purchase a multifamily.

Is there anything I need to do differently if my tenent is also my roommate?

Should I treat it like any other roommate where everything is split done the middle? Or a "your food/ my food" type deal?

One thing I will certainly be doing is charging the standard room rent.  If they know I'm the home owner, do most tenents expect a reduced rent?

Deposit? If I'm living in the house with them as a roommate, should I charge them a deposit on the room? I can't imagine that something would get broken that i didn't notice and if they are the only other person living in the house, it kinda narrows down who's responsible for the damage. Still, better safe than sorry?

I'm still looking for a place, I just want those ducks where they belong.