Medium-Term Rentals
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Room rental questions
Hello everyone! We're looking to rent out our property on a room-by-room basis to travel nurses or co-op students. The master bedroom, complete with its own bath, is available for $850, while Bedroom 2, with a detached private bathroom, is priced at $800. Renting the entire property comes at a flat rate of $1500.
We've received interest from a female nurse specifically for the master bedroom, but she prefers not to share the space with a male tenant. While we're uncertain if we'll find another female tenant for the same timeframe, we're considering our options for the best course of action.
Should we rent the master bedroom to her in hopes of securing another female tenant for the same period? Or should we accept the potential loss on the second room if it remains unrented? Thank you for your input!
We have done some by the room rentals. All of our spaces are co-ed. But we also allow our current housemates to interview potential new ones and give us their opinion. We still make the final decision. We have not had any gender-based conflicts. Thus, if we were in your shoes, we would offer the space to the candidate, but share that the house is going to be co-ed. She would then have to choose if she wants the space or not. Best wishes.
Totally agreed with @RonBrady
Let her know that the space is co.ed and that you will be open to find a female tenant but that you cannot limit yourself to it. Its her choice to apply or not.
When selecting roommates or tenants for coliving they must be flexible regarding tenants that you carefully vet in other terms, but gender is something that I've learned the hard way to not consider as a criteria.
Let us know how it goes.
@ron brady @Clara Arroyave thank you for your input! We will do that. For room rentals, do you allow pets? This is a duplex. We do allow pets in the upstairs unit. But if there are two dogs in the downstairs unit for the two bedrooms, I assume that would be chaotic?
Quote from @Robin Evans:
@ron brady @Clara Arroyave thank you for your input! We will do that. For room rentals, do you allow pets? This is a duplex. We do allow pets in the upstairs unit. But if there are two dogs in the downstairs unit for the two bedrooms, I assume that would be chaotic?
We allow dogs in one, cats in another and no pets in another. We charge pet rent of $45/pet/month. When our current pet-owners move out though, we will stop allowing pets. It turns out that when we ask about which cat scratched the upholstering or which dog chewed on the railing, it was always the other resident's pet. The hassle is not worth the pet rent for us.
Quote from @Robin Evans:
@ron brady @Clara Arroyave thank you for your input! We will do that. For room rentals, do you allow pets? This is a duplex. We do allow pets in the upstairs unit. But if there are two dogs in the downstairs unit for the two bedrooms, I assume that would be chaotic?
Definitely no pets.
The wear and tear on hardwood floor - carpets has no recourse beyond the deposit damage if there is pee or replacement costs needed. If this is your first unit, try to make it as seamlessly as possible for you and for the tenant.
@Robin Evans Do you have only those leads, or are you receiving a steady flow of leads? I highly valued the first traveling medical professional who passed all our vetting processes. So, I was willing to fulfill the request, just like the one you mentioned, but I had the choice of FF leads. This led to a glowing review of the property and landlord (me) and an extension of the stay. As a result, the property became more desirable and attracted more high-quality traveling medical professionals. So, in the beginning, it was worth accommodating the request for my situation. However, if my leads were scarce, I would not have been able to do so. I hope that makes sense.
#2 Medium-Term Rentals Contributor
- Real Estate Consultant
- Reston, VA
- 474
- Votes |
- 501
- Posts
#2 Medium-Term Rentals Contributor
- Real Estate Consultant
- Reston, VA
This will depend on your goals. I've had success with renting rooms but it's impossible to know how long it'll take to get the other unit rented. However, it seems in your case renting by the room will get you a higher rate overall. Renting rooms usually helps you have a higher occupancy but if all rooms aren't rented you net less money. Whole homes, in my experience, have more vacancy, especially larger homes but the overall dollar amount is higher in most cases. I'd suggest running your numbers based on a few scenarios to see what works best for your overall goals for the property.
@Clara Arroyave @Ron Brady Roger that! We will not allow pets for the room rentals to avoid headache. Thank you for the input!
@Jamie Banks thank you for your input! Considering the area and condition of the house, room rentals seem to make more sense. Either way, it is better than vacant. If we Just rent one room out, it will cover our mortgage and utilities and still some cash flow. It is a matter of more or less cash flow. If we can rent both out, it will be bonus.
Same lease with language adjustments based on the room rental and having house mates.
Quote from @Robin Evans:
Do you guys use a different lease than the regular rental for the room rental?
I use a regular lease but add a room leasing addendum that include some house rules and penalties, you can have it if you want. Send me a DM.
Quote from @Robin Evans:
That is awesome, glad to hear you are 100% occupied.