How to not get screwed over by roommates

Question

I just bought my first home and I’ll be house hacking. I’ve never had a roommate besides my ex-husband which obviously doesn’t count. But I work a lot and am not home much so I think it will be good, especially because they will pay most of my mortgage.

I will be renting out 2 of 3 rooms(I’m living in the 3rd. I would love to hear horror stories, happy endings, and great screening tips that have saved you headaches while living with strangers in your home.

let the stories begin!

Piper D. · Answer

When I bought my first house before I was married, I rented out one of the rooms.  Cleanliness issues for sure was the biggest thing I dealt with!  I think people have different ideas of what constitutes a clean house.  I'm not a "clean freak" by any means, but it got a little old when I was the only one running the dishwasher (I had a roommate who would load it full then NOT run it?) and cleaning the common areas, like a previous poster has mentioned.  To me, some of this stuff is common sense, but apparently that's a flower that doesn't grow in everybody's garden....

Especially when it comes to sharing a bathroom- if you have 2 full bathrooms I would keep a bathroom for myself and let the tenants share a 2nd bathroom between them, especially if you think things not being clean would bother you in the slightest. When you advertise the room advertise it as a bedroom with shared bath with a 2nd tenant- that way whoever rents it is already cool with the idea and knows up front they will have to share.

I recall one roommate I had in college where we both had dogs- the landlord had made a huge exception by allowing us to have 2 pets in the house, yet I was the only one who picked up waste in the yard or vacuumed up dog hair inside.  If you're allowing pets I would put stipulations in your lease regarding cleanup of waste and shedded hair.  In my opinion allowing a stranger AND their pet is just another potential layer of issues to be had, and I would avoid it as the homeowner if you can.

I would also definitely put something in your lease about overnight guest rules, quiet hours, parking spaces, etc.  I think it might be kind of hard to put cleanliness "rules" in the lease and actually enforce it.   Every time I tried to discuss the issues I always ended up being the bad guy.  It's hard to screen for this unless someone is outwardly a total Pigpen though- the ones I had issue with in my home had clean vehicles and apparently were just very lazy with their living space and/or thought that I would clean up after them like their mother...

You may want to delegate lawn care and snow removal to a landscaping service so its one less thing for everyone to worry about.

Definitely spell out all of your stipulations in your lease, and if I had to do the roommate thing all over again in this day and age, I would screen just like I would for renting out an entire unit as far as background check, references, etc.  Especially with some eviction moratoriums still in force and the backlog of court cases, the last thing you want is a roommate who you can't get rid of!  And personally, I would make the lease "month-to-month" if you think you can get away with it, just in case things aren't working out like you thought they would.

Abby Weinstock · Answer

@Caitlin Daniel, like @JD Martin said, setting clear expectations regarding the use and maintenance of common areas is important. Same thing goes with all house-related responsibilities. Who is taking out the trash and recycling? Who is shoveling when it snows? Who is responsible for yard maintenance? Also, identifying what is going to be "shared" and what isn't. For example, each person should purchase and label their own groceries, and no one should be taking anyone else's without permission. The other issue that needs to be addressed up front is how guests are going to be handled. For example, are overnight guests permitted? For how many nights at a time? What happens if someone decides they want a significant other to move in with them? What if one person wants to have a group of people over late at night and someone else needs to get up early for work the next morning? Lots to discuss with potential housemates.

JD Martin · Answer

The only roommates I ever had was when I was in the Navy, since I almost always had an apartment but had to have roommates to afford the rent. Usually I aimed for friends of mine, which was a mixed bag, and in hindsight I would have tried to be more matter-of-fact about it and had responsible people that lived like me instead of people I liked that were incompatible. For example, most of my roommates were slobs and left the common areas dirty all the time. I'm not a clean freak but I like having clean dishes in the cabinets and someone taking the trash out instead of letting it overflow, so this was a constant point of friction since they didn't care. Common HVAC was a source of friction; I like it cold, others liked it hot.

I think you need written agreements and clear expectations right from the start, and screen them like you would any other tenant that was living in a house whether you were there or not - use online screening tools, have a written application, a rent payment & collection policy, pet policy, etc all in your written lease. Back then, I just did things on the fly and it rarely worked out well for anyone.

Joe S. · Answer

The more I read the more I realize house hacking is not for everyone.

Marian Smith · Answer

@Caitlin Daniel month to month, no drugs, no guns, no smoking at the very minimum.

Caitlin Daniel · Answer

wow! That’s exactly the kind of stories I needed to hear to make sure I protect myself with the right set up! Thank you!!

keep it coming  :-)

Colleen F. · Answer

@Caitlin Daniel  Month to month and know what pushes your buttons.   Keep your own bathroom if you can and have a visitor policy.

And make sure they have rental insurance and comprehensive on their car and an abandonment clause in the lease.  Why?  My son had a " roommate" who went to columbia for 3 months and left his stuff and a car in the parking lot paying no rent the whole time. A tree fell on the car and the HOA had it towed.  Guy thinks its the HOA or my sons issue and is really ticked off when he comes back because he has $1600 bill and towing charge and a wrecked car the insurance won't cover. Goes to my sons work and assaults him. My son is fired. Falling objects are covered under comprehensive and Healthy trees are not the responsibility of the property owner if they fall it is an act of god. Comprehensive is like $25/year.

How to not get screwed over by roommates

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