I've seen it mentioned on a number of blogs how renting out a spare room could make the owner of The House some extra cash. But there's one problem. There are thousands of psychos drifting around these days. This changes the whole thing and makes it a high-risk venture. Would any of you take the risk so you can make a little bit more money?
I guess you would really have to do your homework, take time to find a non crazy person. But sometimes looks can be deceiving. Are you allowed to do credit and background checks on potential tenets?
I believe that doing background checks would be in order. But who pays for all that? The landlord or the tenant? That you see is what might complicate matters a little because after paying for the background checks and tenant decides to back out, the money you spend would be wasted.
I have done it via several sites, there is one called spareroom.com and you can communicate with them first and read their profile. I would check out their social media and also ask for references. I didn't get any crazy people, a few with strange habits, but generally I preferred students as they were more easy going and would go home for the holidays. You can do checks on people and check their ID, but still I had tenants through an agent once and on paper they were great and in real life they were a nightmare.
If I had a separate dwelling, such as guest quarters, or a place above the garage that I don't have, I would definitely consider it. However, I'm extra cautious, and would run background checks on the person. I used to do related research for a living, so could do some of it myself, to save on money, but I would pay for it, if need be. I wouldn't want to subject myself or my animals to any drama or chaos, nor would I do that to my neighbors, and I wouldn't appreciate it if they did, either.
People have been renting rooms out for years to make ends meet. Whether you are the person renting out a space or the person looking to rent a space you have to be careful. Some people look ok at first meeting but once you have spent time with them you will begin to see that there is something not there. Also you will be exposed to their friends and family which may be even worse. I would rather work two jobs to avoid having a roommate or renter.
If the spare room was far enough away and I had enough of a divider to grant me more security then I would consider it, but otherwise I'd much rather not and just get the extra income from somewhere else. I think it's not very practical to put your safety at risk for a few extra dollars a month because in the end you might just end up having to pay more, not only with concerns to personal safety but also consider damage to your property as not all people will be as careful with your things as you are especially if they're just visiting.
I think there is a huge risk involved in renting a room if you live in the same house the spare room is, but could be a good deal for some homeowners that having an inhabited house are renting rooms and making money out of this. Now back to your own spare room at home, renting it to a random person by advertising on classifieds is too risky indeed even if you ask the individual for documents that might prove his or her reputation. However, there are also options to rent a room thorough established networks that pay you to host students, traveling executives, and other people they supposedly manage to get verified as safe for you to host them. I would rent rooms if I would have a whole house for this purpose, at which I wouldn't live but I would give a company the management part.
I would rent out a spare room, but only if it happened to have an en-suite bathroom, because I prefer to keep myself to myself, and I wouldn't want anybody sharing any other space in the house. So if they had the bedroom and the bathroom, I would allow some kind of food storage in their room too, so that they wouldn't have to use the main house. I have a friend who rented out a room like this a few years back, and it worked out really well for him, so yes I wouldn't hesitate before trying something like that out for myself if I ever got the chance to do so.
I also am someone who prefers to keep to themselves. I don't like it when my mother's boyfriend's family are in our home, never mind actual strangers, even though my mother's boyfriend's family are perceived as strangers or outsiders to my mother and I. I don't think that I'd like the hassle of having to check the person out before letting to them. But never say never
That extra money from renting out a room in our house never entered my mind. In fact, we don't entertain that idea because privacy is precious to us. That's one reason why we prefer a house and lot instead of a condo because in condos it seems that you don't have the unit all for yourself since anything you buy would pass by security. The privacy is somewhat breached. But we are willing to take in relatives... only for a very short period.
I had a childhood friend, or rather acquaintance, whose house I used to sometimes go to after school. My older sister and this friend's older sister were also really good friends. And we all used to go over to their house and hang out there. They had a lodger living there. He was always a bit weird to me, but my friend's mother needed the money. I just couldn't risk it. I'm not a person who takes to outsiders well anyway. I keep to myself and to my own.
I would have to either know the person or have an excellent character reference of them from a recent past room mate. Renting a room is like being someone into your family. Even if you think they are just a tenement, chances are you will be living like a family before you know it. It's not something to do lightly. Your quality of life can be destroyed by having a problem person under your roof.
Some people really not bother about cash and if they wanna make it yes so they will pay extra cash of course. No i never have been any experiencing yet and would never prefer.
Sure but only to people I know or friends of friends. It is a really dangerous world nowadays and it it better to be safe than sorry. Strangers can end up hurting you. Maybe students that I know of are better options for renters.
I did rent out my spare room once, as a favour to a friend whilst they got back on their feet. I must admit that I was so relieved when they moved on after three months, I was really missing my privacy and just wanted the house back to myself. I'd never rent a room out again, no matter how tight things got. I'd rather be broke and happy!
I'm quite wary of thieves and con artists, so I'd rather not deal with all that headache. My dad used to manage the renters of his brother's house since the owners live abroad, and I remember this certain female renter didn't pay several months of rent and left around $1,000 worth of electric bill dues, and they were using jumper cables to steal electricity too.
I don't think I could do it personally, especially if I lived in a house where I would have to share the kitchen, and bathroom, and other living spaces with them. It wouldn't be worth the hassle to me, and I'm a rather private person so the mere existence of some stranger lurking around my place all day, and coming and going as they please would drive me nuts. I'm not a "people person" who can just fire up conversations with anybody - I would probably inadvertently drive them nuts too and make them feel uncomfortable/unwelcome by not talking to them much. The only circumstances where I would remotely consider it was if I owned like a duplex or a quad building/home, where we were completely separated from each other, and had separate entrances so as not to disturb one another and I wouldn't have to worry about them rummaging/snooping through my stuff when I am away. That said, if a friend or family member that I knew well needed a place to stay for whatever period of time - that I wouldn't really mind at all. It's just the complete strangers thing that I'm not fond of.
