You may be like the rest of us who get to the end of the month with very little left in your pocket. It feels like a dance when the paycheck arrives every month and all your payments begin going off of it. The paycheck seemed anemic in the beginning but after the car payments, the mortgage, student loans, rent and other expenses it only leaves a few hundred dollars at the end. Some time back it was fairly common to rent a room out in your house to a lodger. Perhaps it is time for those of us who are tired of struggling to the end of every month to think about this option. Renting a room out in your house might certainly help you to make ends meet.
This might be just the solution for you. But there are a few things to think about before you start the advertising process. If you want to pull in the maximum rent that you can, you need to provide a good room. The better the room, the more rent you can charge. So you can think about which room to make available. Space is a factor as well as facilities such as a private bathroom. The less attractive the room with fewer features, the less rent it will bring in for you.
Your best option is to choose the room in your house with the most space, a private bathroom, or a good view. A door to the outside where the lodger can come and go as they please is a great feature. This choice must be one that you can live with, one that leaves you with the least inconvenience to your lifestyle. Some people even go so far as to give up the main bedroom to rent that out for the best possible fee.
Before you take the next step of putting the advert out and interviewing applicants, you need to think about the rules that you would like to have your tenant live by. This will help you in the process of getting just the right lodger. Think about noise levels, level of cleanliness, smoking rules as well as the kind of access you will allow to the rest of the house. Kitchen facilities need to be thought about and worked out before you offer the accommodation to an outsider.
Lastly take pictures of the best features of the room and publish them in the classifieds or on Craigslist. You are sure to get calls right away. Ensure that you interview each and every applicant personally. You need to see for yourself if this person is someone that you would like to have living in your house. For a large part of the choice, you will have to go with your instincts and decide if they look like a good person. One must certainly take the time to do a credit check before you accept the lodger. All persons should accept this check and if they do not, then it is a good indication that this would be the wrong lodger. Phone references for a character assessment and check the person’s background to see if they are punctual with their payments and so on. This process should be a seamless one if you follow it step by step. Go to Boost Financial for articles on personal finances.