{"id":16921,"date":"2016-04-08T14:16:49","date_gmt":"2016-04-08T21:16:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/?p=16921"},"modified":"2022-08-17T21:25:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T21:25:44","slug":"how-to-avoid-a-nightmare-when-renting-out-a-room-in-your-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/travel\/how-to-avoid-a-nightmare-when-renting-out-a-room-in-your-house\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid a Nightmare When Renting Out a Room in Your House"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all seen them \u2013 scary movies of someone renting out a room in their home to a perfect stranger only to have it turn into a nightmare. While these are mostly Hollywood scenarios to the extreme, the fact is, the risk is there as more and more struggling homeowners are opting to rent out a room in order to meet their mortgage, utility bills, and keep their homeowners insurance<\/a> and auto insurance<\/a> current.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, allowing someone you may not know into your home could come with consequences \u2013 from having some of your stuff stolen to safety concerns. That\u2019s why, before you rent that spare bedroom to just anyone, take a few precautions and follow the simple steps below to ensure your experience doesn\u2019t become one you\u2019d rather forget.<\/p>\n

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  1. Take inventory of your available space<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In other words, does the room you intend to rent out have access to a private bathroom and entry? It may be necessary for you to move out of your master bedroom, if it\u2019s the only room that has a separate entry and bathroom. Your privacy or theirs should not be taken lightly. Think about that before you let someone into your space.<\/p>\n

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    1. Kitchen privileges<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Decide in advance \u2013 before you do anything \u2013 if your new boarder will have kitchen privileges. This isn\u2019t something you can address later on or things could<\/p>\n

      become unpleasant should the person help themselves to your left over pizza without asking or use your pots and pans to cook foul-smelling exotic dishes and leave everything unwashed in the sink.<\/p>\n

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      1. What are local rents going for?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Research how much similar rooms or apartments are going for in your area to make sure you\u2019re not asking too much or too little. Sites such as Rentometer.com<\/a> are helpful in setting a fair rent based on local rates and your zip code.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Place an ad and be specific<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          When placing an ad in your local newspaper or Craigslist, be specific. Include pictures, if possible, and make sure you\u2019re clear about access to the bathroom, kitchen, backyard or pool. Also, be precise about the type of tenant you\u2019re looking for. If you prefer a male, female, college student or retiree \u2013 say so in the ad.<\/p>\n

          Furthermore, unless you\u2019re a smoker yourself, mention your preference for a non-smoker, if the smell of tobacco offends you.<\/p>\n

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          1. Conduct a personal interview of potential tenants<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            As soon as you start getting calls about your ad, set up appointments to interview each applicant. Don\u2019t make any snap judgments by renting out the room to the first person you see, regardless of how much you seem to have in common. Remember, people are on their best behavior when interviewing for a job or a room to rent.<\/p>\n

            While most people aren\u2019t thieves, vandals or possess violent tendencies \u2013 you can\u2019t be assured they won\u2019t display an interest in your valuables or a need for \u201canger management\u201d at the outset. Protect yourself by requesting references, proof of employment or student and immigration status. Call former landlords as well as anyone they may have rented a room from in the past. It\u2019s in your best interest.<\/p>\n

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            1. Check their credit and background<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              If someone seems like the perfect fit, don\u2019t just rely on gut instinct. Do a credit and background check on them. You can use a variety of available sites that offer the service, including Equifax Identity Report<\/a> at a cost of about $10. Better to be safe than sorry, so don\u2019t feel guilty about looking into your future boarder\u2019s past.<\/p>\n

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              1. Don\u2019t wait to set boundaries and ground rules<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Make sure to be upfront with boundaries and ground rules, once you\u2019ve selected a boarder you feel comfortable with and feel you can trust. Let them know immediately what is and isn\u2019t expected of them. It\u2019s best to create a rental agreement that both parties will sign, detailing the living arrangements and rules to be abided by.<\/p>\n

                This should include set privileges, access to common areas such as the kitchen and other rooms in the house, as well as the backyard, pool and hot tub, if applicable. In addition, inform them of when the rent is due and if they will be responsible for a portion of the utilities and food.<\/p>\n

                In the end, you want to find a boarder who won\u2019t put you, your family, your home and your homeowners insurance<\/a> at risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                We\u2019ve all seen them \u2013 scary movies of someone renting out a room in their home to a perfect stranger only to have it turn into a nightmare. While these are mostly Hollywood scenarios to the extreme, the fact is, the risk is there as more and more struggling homeowners are opting to rent out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[301],"tags":[],"importance":[],"type-content":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16921"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25830,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16921\/revisions\/25830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16921"},{"taxonomy":"importance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/importance?post=16921"},{"taxonomy":"type-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-content?post=16921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}