How to Afford a House by Renting a Room

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Damon Thompson, I've been a landlord for over 10 years and I have 5 multi-unit buildings. This is, how to afford a house by renting a room. The first thing you want to do is select a vacant room in your house, be it a bedroom or a basement, you want to have this room available. The next thing you want to do is check for comparable rates in your area, pickup a newspaper, check on the Internet, see what rooms and houses- rooms that are being rented out in houses in your area are going for, because this will help you determine what you need to charge for rent. After that you want to draft and place your ad. You want to use nice descriptive terminology for your house or for the room itself. If the room has a really nice view, or if the house is located on a quiet street, you want to make sure these things are noted in your add. Then you want to interview your potential roommate. You want to have them come by, have them sit down, have a one-on-one with them, because you're going to be opening your house to a stranger, so you want to know what type of person this is. So you want to bring them in and just have a one-on-one just to get a good idea. Then you want to have your roommate sign an agreement. The agreement is going to state who's responsible for what. Be it groceries coming into the home, who's going to clean up, who is responsible for cleaning up, say the bathroom, the kitchen, you want to make sure that these things are clearly drawn out in a rental agreement. You want to make sure that you speak with whoever your potential roommate is and they clearly understand. Is it going to be I'm going to do the yard work and the tenant is going to take care of the trash, you want to just make sure, it may seem minor, but you want to make sure that everything is clear. And finally, you want to make sure that after you've done the interview, you choose the best possible candidate for your home. Because again, you're opening your home to a stranger and you want to make sure that you are comfortable and your potential roommate is comfortable as well. I'm Damon Thompson, and that's, how to afford your house by renting a room."