Adv_Landlord point of view_Rent Room Family home

sadiecs

Hi,
I need some basic advice re: renting out room in my family home, me and kids x 2.
I have a spare ensuite Double room and basically need extra income. I have concerns because of the children, I suppose basically have a stranger in your family home. Please any tips/advice on this would be appreciated, how do I screen potential tenants?? I have one very basic query do I need to provide Bed Linen/Towels(stupid I know, but I've never done this before)... would a student be my best option??
apologies also, if this is very obvious somewhere, but most posts seem to be from a Tenant point of view.
Thx in advance.

rtunes

How about a foreign student? Are you near any colleges? They are here to work hard and don't get drunk every weekend - well you interview them first of course!

riclad

Get a woman older over 30,they tend to be quieter.There a website for students, working non nationals looking for flats ,rooms in ireland.ITS like facebook, each person has profile,
http://ie.easyroommate.com
you register there ,make a profile ,then you have acess to email,pm,users or read ads,send messages,in reply to ads.Or just put up ad there ,room for rent, x per week.
eg ad 30 yr old techie jon from sweden working in ibm ,
looking for double room,dublin7.
Most people posting there are non nationals,working for ibm,intel etc
looking for flats or room in dublin.
ie get some one ,maybe non national,ie danish, person who works 5 days a week.
if you live in santry,dont get a tenant from santry.
if you register on the site ,put up ad room for rent,90 euro pw,area ,all mod cons.

you,ll get at least 5 emails,
i work at company x,programmer, can i view the room,next week.
I ,d advise you to go for a female tenant,they tend to be quieter,
easier to live with.
people like that expect wifi, net acess ,they,ll pay say 12 euro on top of rent for net acess per month.
I have no business relationship with that website,theres other website that may offer
similar service,
but most people ,i know from intel,ibm, other tech companys use it.
SO it s handy if you just need one quiet ,who is on a good income .ASK FOR at least 500 euro deposit ,if they cant afford deposit get someone else.

StillWaters

I have taken in English language students before. It worked really well as they became part of the family for a short while, and it was a great experience for my own children to meet teenagers from another culture. From memory it was about €100 p.w. You have to provide all meals, and include them in family outings etc. It's possible to get 2 at a time during summer, or at least it used to be. I had leaders a few times, that was great, as they were older and more mature so there was no worrying about them.

Tbh I don't think I would consider subletting a room to a standard tenant. I can't see how a standard tenant would want to rent in a family home in any case.

sadiecs

thanks riclad,
Exactly type of info I was looking for and I guess you've hit the nail on the head. Why do you say do not get someone living in Santry etc...

riclad

YOU get irish lad, joe bloggs from santry ,his pals from santry will be coming over every day.
YOU get karla from sweden, well she might get one visitor in 2 weeks,over from sweden ,i,m presuming you want a QUIET tenant.
NOT one who stays up till 2am watching the football,drinking harp.
I,D advise you go for female tenant,works in multinational,pc,techie ,
they are smart ,quiet,clean.
theres a lot of danes ,swedes over here ,work in call centres,
ie not many irish techies speak swedish or german.
They are mostly on 1 or 2 year contracts,looking for flats or large room.
They,ll expect a tv, and wifi and they always pay on time.
and they work 5 days a week, plus overtime.
in your case ,might be easier to go for non irish tenant.
its expected,to provide,sheets,bed linen, or duvet, pillows, maybe 1 or 2 towels.
charge rent,plus x amount,for bills,
my friend has 3 tenants,swedish.danish,
each pays 1 quarter of esb ,gas,bill ,ntl bill.
or you can charge fixed amount for heating,esb , its up to you.
you dont have register with prtb ,as you have 1 tenant.
rent upto ten k per year, is tax free.
Not to be rude,i dont like students, they may only go to lectures,4days a week,
get up at 11am,they may ask for rent allowance ,etc
not ideal for your situation.
pat murphy who works in a garage down the road, , may not be your ideal ,quiet tenant ,
in my opinion.
i know 3 landlords,
the german, swedish tenants tend to be quiet ,don,t drink much,always pay all bills on time.
ie they tend in general to make reliable tenants.

sadiecs

riclad.. you have me sussed to a T... it sounds exactly what I Need.
I have had a student before.. nigthmare. but apparently I got the 'bad apple' out of the bunch LOL... dont really want to have to worry bout cooking etc for someone, i've enough to be doing with my own lot between sports etc.

How about a trial period or cooling off period is this the norm or do I have to agree to 6mths or 1year... what if it just doenst work out.. how do I get rid to be blunt

sadiecs

another thing just came to mind, what about if someone wants someone to come to stay? I mean to be honest I couldnt have a boyfriend staying over @ weekends with kids in house... or am I being unrealistic

odds_on

sadiecs wrote: »

riclad.. you have me sussed to a T... it sounds exactly what I Need.
I have had a student before.. nigthmare. but apparently I got the 'bad apple' out of the bunch LOL... dont really want to have to worry bout cooking etc for someone, i've enough to be doing with my own lot between sports etc.

How about a trial period or cooling off period is this the norm or do I have to agree to 6mths or 1year... what if it just doenst work out.. how do I get rid to be blunt

You don't need a trial or cooling off period. In your house, you set the rules, the lodger doesn't like it s/he leaves. If you have serious worries as regards safety of your kids or yourself, you tell the lodger to leave immediately. I am sharing in the landlord's house with himself, his girlfriend and another lodger who stays 4 or five nights a week. We all cook our own meals etc. whenever we want.

silja

You are being a bit unrealistic to never want guests. You can certainly make a rule to say "not every weekend", but if someone lives in your home, they are allowed to have guests too, either in the evenings or occasionally for a weekend/ a week. Again, a foreigner may suit better, they are less likely to have guests often, but on the other hand may have the one guest they'd like to stay a whole week.