Who's rented out a room in their house before?

 


Having a flight of fancy -- "renting" out my guest bedroom in exchange
for housekeeping, maybe some meal preparation, etc.

Anyone have stories, horror or no?  What did you do to make sure you
got a good person?  Thanks all.

--
"Palin lied when she told Charlie Gibson that she does not pass judgment on gay
people; in fact, she opposes all rights between gay spouses and belongs to a
church
that promotes conversion therapy."
"The Odd Lies of Sarah Palin:  A Round-Up" by Andrew Sullivan
andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

 

Patricia Martin Steward wrote


Anyone who has done it has.


There is no way to make sure.

References can help, but they arent hard to fake up and
just like with job references, there is a real tendency to
give glowing references to get rid of a dud etc.

A trial period can be useful, but that isnt possible in quite a few
legal jurisdictions where that is covered by the law in most.

 

patstew@noteranews.com (Patricia Martin Steward) wrote:

I haven't done it in exchange for housekeepig or whatever.  Some
years ago, a friend of a friend had moved to the area and was
working for a while, deciding whether to stay long-term.  Said
friend was able to put him up for a short period, but asked if
we could offering something longer-term, so he stayed in our
spare bedroom in exchange for helping with bills.

What you're looking at might be appealing to someone who is, for
example, a college student, and therefore has to think about room
and board and all that.

--
"If you like to stand on your head and spit pickles in the snow, on the
 Internet there are at least three other people just like you."
 - Langston James Goree VI

 

Bill wrote

tend to be responsible people.


Some of them are in that situation due to personal circumstances.

In the case of someone I have known for years now, its because he
is just divorced and they agreed that she would have the apartment
they both owned, and he would get the stocks and shares.


Or something much more mundane like separation etc.


many different checks on potential renters

to be sure their investment will be

There are indeed.


are the responsible types.

Its very arguable if those even out number the responsible ones.


people are like yourself! (Not!)

Plenty of them are anyway.


using your stereo and the volume level,

found it?


ahead of time.

If I came across someone like that when wanting to rent a room, I would run a
mile.


ask that it be shut off so you can watch

Unlikely to be worth putting all those unlikely situations in writing up front.


Plenty claim marraiges work best when they arent carbon copys of each other.

 

On Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:04:10 -0400, Patricia Martin Steward


Great idea on the surface.  But how would you find someone you could trust
enough?  More than once I made the mistake of taking in a 'homeless' friend or
co-worker.


Horror stories abound.  Live in maid took reverse charge long distance telephone
calls from the boyfriend in prison in another state, then stole my check book to
forge a check to cover the $3000+ telephone bill.  I had no long distance
service on that telephone line and did not realize that reverse charge calls
would be accepted.  I did finally get the money back from the woman and she was
tossed out the day I found out about the mess.  Holding the check with her
forgery and the telephone bill showing the calls placed from a prison went a
long way to keeping her prompt about repayment.

Another horror story that was not quite so bad was the young man hired to do
general garden/ lawn work.  'Friends' claimed he was a good guy who just needed
a low cost room.  He had a 'day' job.  Sounds good, right?  Fortunately I
discovered the 'day' job was selling illegally obtained prescription drugs and
street drugs before he took residence.  Also found a different circle of
'friends' that were not into the drug culture.

If you really intend to do this, do a full background check and bond the
individual.  Yes, a bit over the top, but better than loosing a lot of money
and/ or going to jail.