Rent By Room House Hack in NC

[Ty Suggs]

Hello BiggerPockets Family! I'm looking to get my third deal using my VA loan and was highly considering the "Rent by room" strategy. Todd Baldwin and a close friend had a big influence on my decision. I was just curious if anyone in eastern North Carolina had any experience with this method?!

[Pat Lulewicz]

Incredible opportunity around Raleigh. So many rentals are unaffordable. Studios are in the $800s and 1 BRs are over $1,000 in most cases. Best to find a property that has 1 bathroom/resident to minimize the headache and arguments. Alternatively, build in the cost of a cleaner coming to handle common area when running your numbers...helps the arguments over hair on the bathroom vanity + great marketing of amenities you offer (and makes your home clean for you if/while you're living in it on the tenants' dime).

Just be conscious of the tenant base/mix, especially if you're living there. A night nurse might seem like a great idea since they'll be at work a lot and less stress on the property but if they sleep during the day and you have a conference call you need to talk on or have a pet, this can cause rifts in the relationship and viability of the tenant quickly.

Otherwise, just make sure to do full background/credit checks and leases on the front-end, be a friend/roommate whenever you can, and a landlord ONLY WHEN NEEDED.