Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Happy Mother`s Day to all Moms!
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New Jersey
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 02-24-2022, 03:06 AM
 
12 posts, read 17,673 times
Reputation: 15

Advertisements

Hi all,


I am planning ahead for my husbands retirement in about 5 years and trying to anticipate potential obstacles that may arrive. Due to health issues, I had to stop working early (not eligible for SS disab), so my retirement savings is not as much as I hoped it would be. We own our home in Bergen County NJ and want to stay in it in retirement. My husband will work as long as he can. It will be tough on SSI and our 401K savings income to keep up on home repairs & maint., and property taxes (even with freeze when eligible) and the medications we will need when on medicare.


Our children are adults and long gone. I was considering renting a room to an older retired person like us. I actually have the whole upstairs empty-one bathroom and three bedrooms.


I am wondering if anyone has any experience doing this? Trying to anticipate the potential headaches or legal obstacles, as well as taxes, insurance etc. I would definitely consult the appropriate attorney if we ever needed to do this-but I am not even sure if it would be legal.



I would love to know anyone's experiences. I see a lot of fellow homeowners advertising on the room rental websites.


Thanks in advance!
AH
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-24-2022, 03:47 AM
 
3,495 posts, read 1,758,122 times
Reputation: 5512
Check to see if your city allows room rentals, mine doesn't, city hall told me they don't want the homes here to turn into boarding houses. My retired neighbor rents his upstairs apartment (his home is zoned two family), he's had trouble with a few tenants over the years. One tenant was divorced and my neighbor was happy about it since his kids lived a few hours away with their mom, but then he started bringing the kids over more and more, they made loud noises, ran up the stairs, etc., and my neighbor was getting disgusted because he likes the house quiet. One day a moving truck is outside my neighbor's house and that tenant is moving his uncle in (and his furniture) without telling my neighbor! Tenant and neighbor ended up not speaking, dealing with attorney's, etc. The tenant finally moved out.

Another tenant stopped speaking to my neighbor because she complained he wasn't giving her enough heat, she moved.

The tenants he has now are nice, but they smoke and keep bringing stray cats in their apartment and feeding them, if it were me I wouldn't put up with that and ask them to move.

If you rent to a retiree, they are going to be around all day using more water, heat, etc, take that into consideration when charging them rent. If you don't have a separate entrance for the tenant, you have to worry about them possibly bringing covid into your house.

If you rent and give a lease, make sure it covers everything you don't want them to do, including rules about visitors.

Last edited by wp169; 02-24-2022 at 04:29 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2022, 05:48 AM
 
Location: Bergen County, NJ
4,035 posts, read 3,656,230 times
Reputation: 5860
Have you considered downsizing to a 1 or 2 bedroom?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2022, 06:13 AM
 
10,516 posts, read 7,050,389 times
Reputation: 11627
Its absolutely legal and done all the time. I wouldnt even get an attorney unless you want one to draft a contract unless you find a template with the t&cs you want. The question is 100% on you, if youre okay with having someone else at your home.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2022, 06:34 AM
 
1,062 posts, read 551,304 times
Reputation: 1635
I suggest renting to a working person from another state or another country who is on a limited-time assignment in this area. What are you going to do if you get an older tenant who gets seriously ill or demented, really needs to be in a facility, and you cannot get them out of your house?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2022, 08:58 AM
 
10,516 posts, read 7,050,389 times
Reputation: 11627
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dehumidifier View Post
I suggest renting to a working person from another state or another country who is on a limited-time assignment in this area. What are you going to do if you get an older tenant who gets seriously ill or demented, really needs to be in a facility, and you cannot get them out of your house?
Id second that. Renting to a retired person sounds like a bad option as they will always be home and might need care or will have accidents. Also id question why a retired person would want to rent in someones home? Why not the beach? Or a place with nice weather? Why dont they have savings?

Your best renter for inside your home is someone who just needs a place to sleep and will be out most the time for work etc. Maybe they will only be in NJ for a limited time for work. The last thing you need is someone just staying in your complacent for years.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2022, 09:54 AM
 
Location: Elsewhere
88,676 posts, read 84,998,937 times
Reputation: 115253
It would have to be a rather healthy and mobile older person for the second floor.
__________________
Moderator posts are in RED.
City-Data Terms of Service: http://www.city-data.com/terms.html
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2022, 10:49 AM
 
12,101 posts, read 17,117,115 times
Reputation: 15776
Three bedrooms empty of a house in Bergen County?

Just downsize.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2022, 11:11 AM
 
650 posts, read 777,450 times
Reputation: 199
You share bathroom with tenants ? Bring wolf to home ?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2022 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New Jersey

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top