Considerations for house hacking with pets

[Kevin Duong]

I'm currently house hacking with a mid term rental strategy and considering renting out two rooms in my property to a single tenant. The property is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom townhouse. My girlfriend and I occupy one of the bedrooms in the home. 

We're contemplating allowing pets, as there will be no other roommates besides us and we don't have any allergies.

Questions:

- Considerations for Allowing Pets: What factors should I take into account when renting to tenants with pets?

- Commonly Allowed Pets: Which types of pets do landlords typically permit in rental properties?

- Pet Policies and Agreements: What are the best practices for creating pet policies and agreements to protect my property?

- Insurance Implications: How might allowing pets affect my homeowner's insurance, and what steps should I take to ensure proper coverage?

- Legal and Regulatory Concerns: Are there any local laws or regulations in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that I should be aware of regarding pets in rental properties?

- Tenant Screening for Pet Owners: What criteria should I use when screening potential tenants who have pets?

I appreciate any insights or experiences fellow investors can share on managing rentals with pet-friendly policies.

[Jonathan Greene]

Doing MTR inside of your own house is not something I think trends that well. I know people who do STR in their house, but it's as private as possible. I think you can accomplish it, but you would want to check the inventory in the area for MTR because most MTR will want to stay privately. @Jamie Banks may be able to help - do you know anyone who does MTR in the same house?

[Robb Almy]

Hi Kevin,

I have a couple of rentals in Fredericksburg and I allow pets (charging a pet deposit and monthly pet rent to cover damages and wear and tear). I allow pets on a case by case basis that way I have the ability to say no to a pet I do not want. To my knowledge, there are no city ordinances prohibiting domesticated animals but you can always contact the City. For the insurance, I would suggest you contact your agent but it has not affected my insurance to have pets. I do have a tenant with a support animal that is allowed and pet rent cannot be charged. 

Hope that helps. Happy investing!

[Alan Asriants]

Personally, I think that renting by the room opens up a can of worms for a lot of people. Like someone else mentioned, doing a short term rental in a secluded basement that is very private and walled off is one thing, but sharing the same refrigerator, kitchen thermostat, etc. with a complete stranger seems like it will introduce more problems than what the money is actually worth. This is especially true if you start bringing in a strangers pet. Well, you may not have allergies you don't know how obedient dog is or animal. What if they jump around a lot? What if they trash the place? What if they don't listen? What if they bark all the time? These are all real problems, and a lot of people fail to consider them. You can certainly make more money. We can also have more of a headache as well. Just gotta ask yourself if it's worth it

[David Spurlock]

Quote from @Kevin Duong:

I'm currently house hacking with a mid term rental strategy and considering renting out two rooms in my property to a single tenant. The property is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom townhouse. My girlfriend and I occupy one of the bedrooms in the home. 

We're contemplating allowing pets, as there will be no other roommates besides us and we don't have any allergies.

Questions:

- Considerations for Allowing Pets: What factors should I take into account when renting to tenants with pets?

- Commonly Allowed Pets: Which types of pets do landlords typically permit in rental properties?

- Pet Policies and Agreements: What are the best practices for creating pet policies and agreements to protect my property?

- Insurance Implications: How might allowing pets affect my homeowner's insurance, and what steps should I take to ensure proper coverage?

- Legal and Regulatory Concerns: Are there any local laws or regulations in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that I should be aware of regarding pets in rental properties?

- Tenant Screening for Pet Owners: What criteria should I use when screening potential tenants who have pets?

I appreciate any insights or experiences fellow investors can share on managing rentals with pet-friendly policies.

 I'm considering doing the same thing. Let me know how it goes for you

[Sylvia Santelli]

Hey Kevin,

I am an MTR investor and co-host in North Dallas, Texas.

I have not done rent by the room--- but make sure you seek out advice from the rent by the room forums. There is risk with every single strategy--- but there are also people who figure out how to make it work really well. I remember listening to on of the bigger pockets podcasts and it was the first time I heard rent by the room strategy work really well. Ultimately, good to hear from both sides (pros and cons)  It's not the right one for me and my goals-- but if it helps you get to the next stage, it might be the right one for you. Good luck!

[Guy Gimenez]

You need to think about not just the potential income but also the potential problems such as city ordinances, state law, insurance, potential eviction issues, etc. I think this is one of the riskiest strategies. It can be good when everything is clicking, but it can also be horribly bad...and dangerous when you end up with a problem occupant. Imagine someone harassing your girlfriend, damaging your property, using or selling illicit drugs, dog biting you or your other tenants and creating a flea or noise issue, or any number of other potential issues. It would be a huge mistake to jump into a strategy without understanding how to deal with problems that may very well arise, more especially when the property is in tenant-friendly states.