Question: To help both of us meet expenses, I'll be renting a basement room to a friend soon. She'll have a six month or one year lease covering rent and utilities. I have questions about sharing the laundry room and kitchen(neither of us are home enough to cook much), and wonder what details I haven't thought of. Can anyone share from their experience? Thanks, Linda
Answer 1: Discuss It First Friends are hard people to rent to. It's not that they just take advantage,it's that things are not discussed in full detail before the agreement is made. Everyone has their own ways and things that may seem not a big deal to some really become a problem to the other person. Things that should bediscussed before renting to the friend is food, even though you aren't homeenough to cook you still have staples like milk, coffee, bread, butter andthose sort of things. Set a fixed price that you both put in the cookie jareach week for the staples. If you're sharing a single bathroom you know thatyou eventually start using each others items. You need to put aside a smallamount of money for necessities for the bathroom. Toilet paper, toothpastes,shampoos and things that one needs for personal hygiene items. I know itsounds stupid but trust me these things become an issue. The issue of petsshould be discussed. Over night visitors should be also discussed. (How long of a stay from an overnight visitor makes him/her another renter). I rented to a friend who hid her boyfriend for 3 months. That is an added expense that you didn't calculate. If your living on a budget the extra showers and linen and food is a big deal. I found that the most important thing when renting to a friend is to remember that it is a friend and toallow them their own space. All too often friends that room together get waytoo involved with each others personal situations. Just remember that youhave a life now while your friend is not living in the same house as you andyou should keep some parts of your life your own and allow each other theopportunity to grow as individuals and to be friends but friend s with aspecial respect for each others privacy. Answer 2: Our Success Story We shared a house for 3 1/2 years with a friend and never had any problems.Designate shelves in the frig (door also) for each person's belongings.Label items that might be placed in a community area (large milk jugs, etc)with a permanent marker. As far as the laundry room goes, each personpurchases their own supplies. Place a calendar in the laundry room tosign-up on or just designate one day of the week for each resident (you haveSaturday, she has Friday). Sharing a living space can be beneficial,financially and spiritually. It is always nice to have someone to watch amovie or share your day with. Barb M.
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