Hello all !
I'm new to the site. My name is Leslie and I'm from Medford, MA. I own a two-family home (family house) I inherited. I do live in it, on the second floor. I'm struggling with the financial opportunity of renting the first floor. It has been vacant for a couple of years now. I am very novice at being a landlord and am hoping I can gain some insight and confidence from BP. I did rent to a friend and then a family member. Both were a mistake. I didn't keep it a business and set the ground rules upfront. The other factor is, I'm just not sure I want to have that "stranger" living in the same dwelling. I like my privacy and space. I'm a single mom. I would need to do some work on soundproofing between floors.
The other option would be to rent both apartments and I take some equity from it and use as a down payment on a small single family house. I struggle with this because I know the house (maintenance and safety purposes). It's a safe "family-like" neighborhood and neighbors. I would love to hear from others on what might be a good "middle" plan. Do I try to rent it out and see if I can get an awesome tenant ? Or do I move out and rent both apartments? Open to your thoughts and ideas.
Thank you all !
