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juliemarch

room mates, boarders, or roomers?

juliemarch
14 years ago

I want one of those, but only to rent a room, no living room privilages, only to come in and go to their room unless I offer a meal or something else, how is this done? what to charge? and how to make rules?

Comments (4)

  • camlan
    14 years ago

    You want to rent a room. At least, that is how it is worded in my area. So you will offer a room and bathroom privileges, but no common area or kitchen privileges.

    Check your local paper or Craigslist to see what others are asking for rent in similar offers. Don't forget to consider what your extra utilities will cost--water and electricity, etc. You will need to decide if you want to rent month-to-month or have a lease. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. You should also check your homeowner's insurance policy to make sure that having a rented room won't invalidate any clauses in the policy. You will also need to check your town's rules on this--usually one roomer is okay, but there may be rules about how many unrelated people can share one dwelling.

    You will need to decide if you want to rent the room furnished or unfurnished. In my area, the rent is higher for furnished rooms.

    You get to create the rules. However, if the rules are really inconvenient for the roomer, they won't stay very long. You will need to decide on the following:

    Overnight guests, yes or no?
    Cable TV. You can have the cable installed, but the roomer pays monthly fee.
    Phone service. Will the roomer need his/her own cell phone or can they get a separate landline installed?
    Will you allow any cooking in the room, say a hotplate or a microwave? A mini-fridge?
    Noise levels for stereos and TVs.
    Internet access. Most people these days are going to want a dial-up service at the least. Most are going to want high-speed. How will they access this?
    Pets?
    Smoking?
    Parking? Is there a space for a roomer to park a car?

  • GammyT
    14 years ago

    One room and no use of other rooms. Can the person use the bathroom?

    From what you say here before renting a room, you should not rent a room.

    What would you do if the tenant comes home at 3am, doesn't clean after themselves in the bathroom, and not being allowed to use the kitchen, has a hot plate and mini fridge in their room?

    With room rental and nothing more, check the price on the lowest class motel in the area. Then price lower.

  • dilly_dally
    14 years ago

    Don't forget to add whether you are going to allow laundry privileges with the deal. Most boarders will want that.

    Also make it clear where you stand on the use of alcohol and 'medical marijuana' in the home. You don't want to clash on those issues.

  • quirk
    14 years ago

    I expect if you really mean only a bedroom, you will be renting mostly boarders by the day or by the week. Not many people will want more than very temporary digs without kitchen privileges. Eating out for all meals is expensive; if you want a longer-term tenant on those terms, be prepared to rent well below market value simply to allow them to make up this difference.

    That said, I rented to roommates for many years. Here is a previous post where I discussed things I considered.

    Here is a link that might be useful: roommates