How Many People Rent Part of their Home Out?

[Anonymous]

I've seen more and more people renting their basement or part of their home out as a source of income. The idea seem like a good option but was wondering if there are other cons or pros I don't know about.

The reason I am asking is because we would have to do some modification/remodeling so we would have to invest so $ up front.

Please share your experiences (good and bad).

Thank you much!

[Anonymous]

Smart, smart, smart!

[Anonymous]

We did it for about 6 months and it worked out great.

[Anonymous]

Make sure it's legal in your county/city/condo association/any other applicable jurisdiction. Some places don't allow it, or have very tight controls on it, so don't invest in remodeling before you know exactly what you can do without worrying about legal hassles.

[Anonymous]

There are different laws (or rules, or codes, whatever) for different counties. An acquaintance was approached by county officials asking how many non-relatives lived in their home because their neighbors had raised a concern about the number of cars surrounding their home.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the people who said make sure it's legal. Where we live, the maximum # of people is 5 unless they are blood relatives. Our neighbors do it, and frankly it is annoying as they don't have nearly enough parking for the cars that belong at their home.

[Anonymous]

I hear in VA you can have minimum 750 people (minimum 65 cars); provided you claim you are related.

[Anonymous]

....but you have to ALL park on (what used to be )the front lawn.

[Anonymous]

When we first moved into our home (pre-kids), we decided to rent out our lower-level bedroom to a friend of mine who needed to move out of her apt. building. She had a big bedroom, private bathroom and pretty much private use of the downstairs family room, which we rarely used at the time. We had an extra fridge down there, and she had her own microwave and tabletop burners, so she didn't use our kitchen at all except when baking something.

She stayed with us about a year. I think it worked out well for the short-term. I think she was accustomed to sleeping with the heat on though, which was the only real conflict. We ended up buying her a space heater and warmer covers for her bedroom as I didn't want to leave the heat on overnight. She was a social smoker but only did it outside and didn't leave the butts everywhere. She used her own cell phone. I think we just included other utilities in the flat monthly rent charge.

We had to provide info to our CPA, so he could fill out the form for rental income on our taxes.

[Anonymous]

I think for it to be a legal bedroom in the basement, there needs to be a walk-out or a window that could be used for exit in case of a fire. I know that's the law in VA, but possibly other states too.

I had a couple of roommates when I first moved into my house, then it became too much of a hassle so I stopped renting out my basement. (the basement has its own full bath, but the renters shared laundry, kitchen, living room with me.)

Things to consider: how much of the house is common property? Would they be sharing your kitchen? Your living room? The powder room on the main floor? Or would the basement be self-contained, with its own kitchen and living room and exit? (that's the arrangement that works the best, by the way.) Is there parking for another car? Do you have an issue with overnight guests? If so, how often could they have an overnight guest before that person would be considered another roommate? How much rent would you charge, and would utilities/cable/wireless/phone be included? If you only have 2 cable lines in, what happens if you want to watch one show and tape another, but they want to watch something different? Would you share a land line? Would you share food or condiments, and if not, is there room in your shared fridge and pantry for everyone's food, dishes, etc.? What are your rules on dishes in the sink, messes in the common area, etc.? Would you be comfortable having them around your kids? What would you do if they were late in paying rent - what's your threshhold? What if they lost their job? It can be very tough to evict people in certain states. How long would you want a renter, and how much notice would you give them if you wanted them out, or how much notice to require from them?

Would advise getting a security deposit of one month's rent and doing a credit and reference check.

[Anonymous]

I have friends who do it and have done it for years and years. But they modeled their townhouse so that the basement was its own apartment - separate entrance - has a kitchen and bathroom. So there was limited interaction. She had people that stayed there for years. I think this is the situation that would be ideal (if legal). She was in D.C. though, so could cater to people without cars.

[Anonymous]

I lived in a basement apartment in Glover Park for 4 years. We did have a separate bathroom, kitchen, and entrance through the back, so there was no reason to go upstairs to where our landlord lived, but laws required the door between where we lived to be unlocked in case of fire, so you have to really trust who lives in your living space. Our utilities were just included in our monthly rent.

[Anonymous]

We've done it and it worked out great, but I was super picky about who we rented to. We just rented out the basement, but the tenant had to come upstairs to use the kitchen. It was not a problem. Most single people do not cook like Julia Child.

All in all, it is great to have someone subsidise your mortgage. It makes a HUGE difference. Our house now is not set up for a tenant, but if we ever move again, I definitly would do it over again. I grew up in NY where having a tenant is completely common. Many people separate their homes, so I actually find it a bit strange that more people do not do it here. All around New England it is very common.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I rented out a room in our house for about 2 years when we first moved to our neighborhood. It was a a good safety net for expenses and it helped us stash away some cash for some much needed remodeling (which we did once the renters were gone).

Overall, it was an okay experience. It did get annoying at times having to share a house with a stranger, but part of that was due to the fact that we didn't establish common area rules ahead of time.

We only rented to grad students (on from GW, another from AU).

The extra cash was worth it, we now have an updated kitchen and bathroom thanks in part to our renters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our neighbors do it, and frankly it is annoying as they don't have nearly enough parking for the cars that belong at their home.

Grow up. Your neighbourhood must be old old. From the time when one car per family was the norm. Now both parents have a car, so do the teenagers that are over 16.
A family with 2 kids will most likely have 4 cars. If your neighbourhood is old, this can be a problem.
Do not blame the tenant at someones house. You are guilty too