horatio 515 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I'm planning on doing an addition on my house that will give me more room on my first floor. While doing the addition I also have been considering taking the steps necessary towards renting the basement as an apartment. The biggest steps would be that I would have a separate entrance and a fire window installed. My question is- does anyone here rent out any space? To be honest, while this has been a financial goal of mine for some time, my personal experience with renters has been less than satisfactory. The house next to me has been rented out for the last 6 years and most of the people have been problem tenants. I was fortunate that a year ago a marine vet and his wife and children moved in and things have been good since. I have learned quite a bit about what to look for in a tenant while watching this. I plan to check both credit and criminal backgrounds of any potential renters (Illinois does allow this). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for your time Quote Link to post Share on other sites
haugpatr 972 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I would rent exclusively to college girls. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spartacus 1,619 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I would rent exclusively to college girls. Definitely! Except not the ones Monty knows. fa: Sounds like a background check is a good idea. Easy way to bring in some income as long as you can find good renters. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwelhse 1,285 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) my personal experience with renters has been less than satisfactory. That is almost a direct quote of everyone I have ever met that has rental property. Most of the people I've talked with have encouraged me to take a larger plunge and just start flipping houses. No tenants to deal with and far less risk in the long run. The worst case scenario would be that your flip house becomes a rental for awhile for whatever reasons. The few people that I know that have successful rental businesses have MANY homes they rent, have essentially NO free time (something is always broken in one of the rental houses), and are banking on being able to sell all of the houses to be able to retire. No thanks.. Buy them, sell them, and retire early. With that said, that's all 3rd party info... My opinion on renting out part of your house is to absolutely not do so. A single bad tenant has a single bad friend that they let stay for one night and you have a meth clean up OF YOUR PRIMARY RESIDENCE on your hands. A tenant could also just burn your house down by being a nitwit in general. Rental house burned down? Well, that sucks and will be a PITA, but oh well.. YOUR HOUSE? Well... Another thing to consider and will vary state to state is how renting out part of your property will impact any property tax credits you may be receiving. We have a "homestead credit" here but one of the rules of it is that you can't be operating a business out of your primary dwelling. Edited June 5, 2014 by Maxwelhse 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Long Shot 1,287 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 (1) know the laws regarding, (A) Tenant-landlord responsibilities ( this shit will blow your mind ) Decide the type of contract you want, month to month or lease. Use an actual renters contract. We used to get them from a local shop that sells legal forms. This will affect item ( Get first, last, and a large cleaning deposit. ( eviction process © tax&inssurance implications It would be advisable to have an attorney on retainer. You cannot spend to much time looking into background. I.e. Credit, criminal, employment, previous rental history, google search them and known associates, Personal references and friends and family. If you don't consider yourself a good judge of character find someone who is to help interview. Renters can work out well if you get a good one. But know this going into it, IT CAN BECOME A NIGHTMARE !!! Good luck 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dad2142Dad 6,559 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 /\ /\ This You also must think about the rental being in your house. Quite a bit different if you get stuck with something that is hard to get rid of. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sdustin 578 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I've had rented my basement out and I wish they would have been fat college girls. My advice is if you can any way possible make it without that income don't do it. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shandlanos 1,470 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I'm planning on doing an addition on my house that will give me more room on my first floor. While doing the addition I also have been considering taking the steps necessary towards renting the basement as an apartment. The biggest steps would be that I would have a separate entrance and a fire window installed. My question is- does anyone here rent out any space? To be honest, while this has been a financial goal of mine for some time, my personal experience with renters has been less than satisfactory. The house next to me has been rented out for the last 6 years and most of the people have been problem tenants. I was fortunate that a year ago a marine vet and his wife and children moved in and things have been good since. I have learned quite a bit about what to look for in a tenant while watching this. I plan to check both credit and criminal backgrounds of any potential renters (Illinois does allow this). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for your time Renting fucking sucks. Unless the income is going to be truly substantial - don't fuck with it. Renters can make your life hell, and I've heard IL has a pretty substantial set of renter's rights. A lot of ways for a renter to fuck you over without any substantial or effective mode of recourse. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jerry52 893 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Get the first and last month rent Know that they have all the rights and when they fail to pay you it is a pain to get them out. While you are trying to get them out, you are not bringing money in. They will bitch about everything that they think is wrong When they leave you have to redo a lot of stuff which costs more money. You might go to jail for shooting them This is just a few Good Luck on that 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sdustin 578 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 You might go to jail for shooting them Number one concern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lbsrdi 1,078 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I have much experience here, if you end up doing it send me a PM and I will call you and give you some advice and tricks that have worked very well for me. Do you live in an upscale neighborhood that would allow for premium rent? Financial profiling works very well. One of my tenants lives next door to me and shares my driveway so I have experience with this particular type of situation. I have learned the hard way, read countless books on renting, and have developed my own distinct methods through trial and error. I would be more than happy to help out a fellow S12 forum member, just shoot me a PM prior to listing it. I will leave with this, the majority of landlords value their rental too low and do not charge enough, therefore allowing lower quality tenants to move in and give them headaches. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
termite 463 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 The as swipe that WAS renting the single wide we own on 1 acre has just skipped out owing me $1100.00 in back rent and late fees. I tried working with him because he got laid off, then his truck blew up, but being nice will only get you screwed over. If the market was better, I'd put it up for sale and get the hell away from it, but to rent out part of my home, NO WAY IN HELL, even if it was to 10 hot college girls that always walked around naked and horny, beside, the wife would cut my balls off. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jerry52 893 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 They also invite others to live with them and expect the rent to be the same. This is the first warning they will not make the rent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunman1 1,753 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I've had rented my basement out and I wish they would have been fat college girls. My advice is if you can any way possible make it without that income don't do it. ^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mostholycerebus 415 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 When renting a room/basement you are going to get the absolute worst of the broke-ass deadbeats. People who cant even afford their own tiny studio apartment. Frankly, your situation sounds like a nightmare just waiting to start. My dad has 3-4 rental properties. They are all in upscale, pricy areas that attract upper-middle class tenants. He does a thorough background and credit check, requires 1st and last month rent plus deposit, then does an interview. He knows all the legalities, has a bullet-proof agreement, and when something goes bad sends the letters certified mail the very next day. And he STILL has problems with tenants and bitches every time about how its a fools game. If your basement is 1500' and beautifully finished, so you can price out 75% of the losers, you might hve a shot at getting a decent tenant. If not, well the little old lady or the studious college chick is the dream, but reality more often looks like meth-cooking trailer-trash with two rottweilers that bark all night and have irritable bowels. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jerry52 893 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Also a lot of them are 30 year old kids that have been kicked out of the parents home who do not care about you or anybody else. They may have a job when they move in but in a few weeks they will not. They will not pay the rent and then ask you to be their new parents. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sdustin 578 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Also a lot of them are 30 year old kids that have been kicked out of the parents home who do not care about you or anybody else. They may have a job when they move in but in a few weeks they will not. They will not pay the rent and then ask you to be their new parents. that's deep Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jerry52 893 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 It's the new reality Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storm6490 2,768 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 I rented out a room in my home before I had the wife and kids. The guy was a freaking pig and consumed three times the energy than I did solo. He was a constant pain in the ass so I warned him and then threw his shit on the yard in garbage bags and told him to stay away or get shot. He had one kick ass HK pistol and was on a ton of meds he did not discolose to me. A ticking time bomb. In Montana, you can kick anybody out of your home even if they paid rent. Maybe if you kept a common area like a laundry room, you could have that option. Since it's your home, you should be able to 86 them at any time. Check with an attorney. Our rental was hit and miss. Takes time to find a good renter. Be very careful in renting your own home to someone. After my experience with the nut case, I only let friends stay with me while they were in the process of moving or down on their luck with the Obozo economy. No money, no problems. If you can avoid it, do so! It's a lot of work, nerves and not worth the extra money to have a private and secure home. Good luck! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h3ws12hi 15 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 What LongShot said...I've been in and around this business for a long time (26 yrs resident/site manager) so I know what people say and do are two different things sometimes. Eviction is not fun unless you enjoy dealing with judges and legal recourse. When I first moved out, (1984) I rented with a bunch of other guys and we split the rent and utilities, worked out pretty well, I saved a lot of my bucks this way for years... Find someone you know who needs the space and execute a rental contract. Even then you never know who is living with you until its too late. Consider the way you live and extrapolate from there if you could live with someone like that. If possible, seek counsel... Respectfully, Joe 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dad2142Dad 6,559 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Well since he hasn't responded. Hopefully we put the fear of Godzilla in him 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
horatio 515 Posted June 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 But know this going into it, IT CAN BECOME A NIGHTMARE !!! Good luck Renting fucking sucks. Unless the income is going to be truly substantial - don't fuck with it. Renters can make your life hell, and I've heard IL has a pretty substantial set of renter's rights. A lot of ways for a renter to fuck you over without any substantial or effective mode of recourse. My advice is if you can any way possible make it without that income don't do it. When renting a room/basement you are going to get the absolute worst of the broke-ass deadbeats. People who cant even afford their own tiny studio apartment. Frankly, your situation sounds like a nightmare just waiting to start. If you can avoid it, do so! It's a lot of work, nerves and not worth the extra money to have a private and secure home. Good luck! jeez guys im a little disappointed. the answers are all over the place, i was hoping for a more clear answer. seriously though thanks to everyone for the input. it kind of confirms what i was already thinking. a similiar story. when my brother in law and sister got married they decided to rent out his house instead of selling. it was great until the guy lost his job and squatted there for a year and a half before finally getting kicked out. no thanks, not worth the trouble. i dont really need the money. i mean sure, who wouldnt want a few extra dollars, but the cost outweighs the benefit. i'll probably still go ahead with the private entrance and fire window. the added cost during construction isnt that bad since the crew is already here. sorry for abandoning the thread. been slammed at work and i hate posting from my phone 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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