All Forum Posts by: Nicole Marshall

As @Spencer Cornelia said, you are the leader of the house. So yes, it IS your job to be the mediator. I have had roommates who others would consider "weird" (socially awkward) - that shouldn't automatically rule them out in your screening. I find the socially awkward ones just stay in their room most of the time.

To touch on your points about Roommate 2:

1. I specify in my lease that overnight guests are to be approved by me. I do stress that friends are welcome to hang out, but not if it seems like they are also living in the house.

2. The common area is called that for a reason. They are paying for the use of that as well. Sounds like R1 is just making up things to justify their actions.

3. Fridge space is a commodity. I have an extra fridge for this reason (in the garage). The extra fridge is for bulk items or food prep containers. I try to keep the main fridge semi-uncluttered. I understand not everyone has the option for a second fridge. This would bother me as a tenant, so you should talk to R2 about the fridge space.

4. This is a legitimate complaint. I specify in my lease that each roommate is to not bother other roommates, which includes loud noises. Talk to R2 about this. Subtitles work wonderfully.

I also agree that it sounds like R1 is just making noise to justify why he shouldn't have to pay a full month rent. I actually had a roommate do this to me once, and I told her if she was looking for cheaper rent she could move over the bridge (room rentals are generally cheaper on the mainland vs the barrier island where my house is). She moved out on her own 2 months later.

Roommate conflict is not fun, but it's going to happen. You'll get better at screening roommates and judging compatibility the longer you do this. 

You should start by looking at the forms the Brevard County Clerk of Court has on their website: http://www.brevardclerk.us/evictions.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

@Spencer Cornelia

Oh my goodness, the amount of things I've had to add to my house rules! One tenant blamed me for her bike chain rusting because I don't have storage room for it (she bought the bike after she moved in). She wanted me to pay for it. I was like, "Uh, no." She ended up being a PITA with everything after that, but luckily decided to move out on her own. I've had to add a rule about not parking too close to the mailbox. I had one tenant just up and leave, left all his earthly possessions (which wasn't much since the room was furnished). That had never happened to me before, and there are lots of ambiguities on what to do with the stuff they leave behind, so I made sure to add a line about what will happen to the stuff they leave behind, how long I'll hold it for, etc.

The biggest thing I think I've added (and not necessarily from a bad experience), is about my tenants having to evacuate during a mandatory evacuation during hurricane season. My house is on a barrier island so anything more than a tropical storm and we get mandatory evacs. That's something I make a point of during my interview with a potential tenant. And that I'm not responsible for any fees incurred due to the evacuation.

@Kyle Tipton I do the same for the shared areas, but I generally like refinishing furniture haha. Let's me have a creative outlet. Roommates are free to use the whole kitchen, dishes, etc. They are responsible for their own toiletries/laundry, but that's basically it. I supply garbage bags, paper towels, etc, for the kitchen. It's not worth it to argue over whose turn it is to buy garbage bags.

I've considered buying houses around FIT (I actually almost did before I bought my current house). I even went to FIT (undergrad and grad), so I know the location/demographics very well. However, the housing market has increased too much over here for it to be viable. Most students are pretty savvy as far as what they would pay for a room - from what I've seen they are more likely to go out and find other people to rent a house together than they would be to rent a single room with people they don't know. Also, timing is imperative. A student is not going to rent a room in the middle of the semester, and most students rent before the fall semester. You need to buy the house, rehab if necessary, and rent it out before the fall semester to reduce your holding costs.

I have had students, but not during the school year. Melbourne is a major tech hub, so I've rented to interns during the summer months, if I have a room open at the time.

I live in the house in which I rent the rooms, so being on-site has its benefits. I would be hesitant to do this without living there (it's an expensive asset, after all). I currently have 2 guys and 1 girl renting (1 guy and 1 girl even share the same bathroom), so co-ed isn't a problem. If the potential tenant has an issue, move along to the next one. I do have a keypad on the front door, easier for everyone. They don't have to worry about a key and I don't have to worry about changing locks. I also put keyed handles on the bedroom doors (I was changing out all the door knobs in the house anyway). I don't really find that anyone uses it, but it's there if they want it.

Also, be aware of your local housing codes. In my city, I'm not allowed to have more than 4 unrelated people living in the house. I count as one of those people, so I only rent out 3 rooms. I have a den that I've considered airbnb-ing, but it's basically my catch-all/storage room. I guess my disorganization is costing me money right now, but it's also keeping my sanity. There's a balance there somewhere.

I own a 4/3 house and rent out 3 bedrooms. I've furnished all 3 rooms, all second hand furniture. Most I've refinished myself to look nicer, or fix any stuck drawers, etc. I've spent ~$400 furnishing all 3 rooms and they look nice and photograph well for ads. You don't need to go crazy. A dresser, queen bed, and nightstand will do. Some of the stuff I've found on the side of the road - clean, sand, prime/paint. I found an Ikea bed frame once - it was missing the slats so I just got plywood cut to replace those. You can get creative. An end table could work for a night stand. A large desk could double as a dresser if you add shelves in the chair space. I scored a super nice 9-drawer mahogany dresser for $45 (new would probably be ~$2000, used maybe $500); Cherry/mahogany isn't really my thing, but it was a nice finish in great condition so I left as-is.

I live near the beach, so it's very easy for me to rent out my rooms. I rent to young professionals and heavily screen them (credit/background, calling references, asking pointed questions during the interview to gauge personality/compatibility with current roommates). The hardest part is finding your niche in your market. Once you find that, you're good to go.

You might want to consider furnishing the room. No need to go crazy. A simple used bedroom set and mattress will do nicely. I found it much easier to rent rooms once the rooms were furnished. Also, it's easier to photograph to add nice pictures to your advertisements. My vacancy rate is pretty much at 0 since I've had the rooms furnished (I say basically, because sometimes I've had people move in a few days after the 1st of the month).

I rent 3 bedrooms and furnished all 3. Some of the furniture I even got for free (like when my parents decided to get a new mattress for their guest bedroom... free mattress!). Nice curbside dresser with a fresh coat of paint! I've probably spent $400 total to furnish 3 bedrooms. That's about half a month of rent for one bedroom.

I am also on board with this being scam. Most people don't accept anyone to rent a room without meeting them in person. However, since I live in FL, a lot of my potential tenants are moving to FL for a new job/life, so I make sure to do a background/credit check for everyone and double-down on checking income/references/past landlords. I did have a roommate from Canada one time, but he was only in the area for a kayaking training camp that was conveniently taking place at the riverside park down the road from my house (within walking distance for him).

I've been doing this for a few years, and honestly, experience is the best teacher. Clearly lay out your expectations. I have found the majority of my roommates through Craiglist. I don't do facebook marketplace, mainly for the ridiculous amount of responses that go nowhere and the amount of people that simply just DO NOT READ the ad.

I live in the house, so I lay out in my ad what I'm looking for. Someone who has a professional job, works during the day, is not a partier/night-owl, no pets, single-occupant only. Make up a list of questions to ask during the showing. Be up front about ANY issues with the house (for instance, I am renovating, and make that VERY clear when I show rooms and in the lease agreement). I have potential tenants submit to a background/credit check (through Cozy) - the PT pays for it.

Good luck!

I include the utilities cost as a $100 flat fee included in the rent. I have 3 roommates in a ~2000 sqft house (in Florida, so summer bills run higher). This includes electricity, water, and gas. I don't include wi-fi, trash pick-up, lawn, or pool maintenance, since I'd have to pay that regardless of whether I had roommates or not. Luckily I have not experienced what @Kenny Dahill has with a roommate taking advantage of included utilities. I find that including the utilities in the rent is easier for everyone, and roommates can budget accordingly, without the varying cost from month to month. Plus less of a headache for me to split it up!

You can list on Zillow, they will cross-post to Trulia, Hotpads, etc. However, I find the majority of my tenants (for room rental) through Craigslist. Do you have a college/university nearby? If you know someone that attends, you can ask them to post on their alumni/student forum. Also if you know anyone that works at a large employer, sometimes that have internal classifieds section on their intranet, and your friend can post for you. There's also the NextDoor app.