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Old 02-17-2008, 01:00 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas nv
1,051 posts, read 1,480,305 times
Reputation: 375

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Does anyone have experience w/renting a room with house privledges or renting a furnished basement? Is there anything that you particularly like or dislike about the arrangement? Anything you wished you thought about before getting into the situation? Good ways to judge cost relative to the price of small one-bedroom apts in the area?

I am considering doing this as a single woman with one cat. Lots of different arrangements can be found, for instance on craigslist, and I would appreciate advice on possible pitfalls to avoid. Thanks.
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Old 02-18-2008, 06:16 AM
 
203 posts, read 926,063 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by localinsight View Post
Does anyone have experience w/renting a room with house privledges or renting a furnished basement? Is there anything that you particularly like or dislike about the arrangement? Anything you wished you thought about before getting into the situation? Good ways to judge cost relative to the price of small one-bedroom apts in the area?

I am considering doing this as a single woman with one cat. Lots of different arrangements can be found, for instance on craigslist, and I would appreciate advice on possible pitfalls to avoid. Thanks.
I havent rented any rooms, just the whole house. But in my youth, i lived in rented rooms and basement apartments. The biggest issue for me was privacy........my landlords in residential settings tended to be a little too familiar/friendly............often inviting me to dinner, tryin to set me up and generally invadin my personal zone. Im a private person and it's probably good to set boundaries up at the get-go so no one gets "offended". Time schedules(laundry, cookin,parkin etc) and being perfectly clear about what you expect and what your offering will probably help steer clear of misunderstandings. Also be sure that the person can afford it and is not prone to sob stories...............treat it as a money helpin venture
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Old 02-19-2008, 09:29 AM
 
353 posts, read 1,259,219 times
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I've never been the landlady either but I've lived in both house shares and basement apartments.

In the house share, it seemed cool at first. My housemates were an engaged couple and they had two cats. As time progressed it got uncomfortable. They were so freaking stuffy and serious (and only loosened up when they drank) and I felt like I was imposing on them by being there. The younger cat used to follow me everywhere I'd go (I'd pick her up and put her somewhere, but she'd just jump back to where she'd been), and the older cat went from being quiet and hiding to hissing at me. After six months I'd had it, so I broke the lease and found a basement apartment.

I liked this new arrangement and my only qualms were that you could hear them singing and walking around. But there were no cats, a kitchen to myself, and I could do laundry when I felt like it (and leave the clothes in the dryer). Unfortunately they're moving out of the country so I have to go somewhere else.

My upcoming arrangement is also a basement apartment, but the rules in their lease are much more strict and the landlady is a little on the worrywart side (she was the prior tenant in the apartment and is worried about giving up on her baby and wants me to take good care of it). I really wish I could stay where I am now, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I'll just have to see how this new arrangement works out.

(Waiting for the day when I can own my own property, and hopefully have enough money to maintain it so I don't have to get into legal issues with renting parts out.)
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Old 02-19-2008, 09:44 AM
 
Location: Las Vegas nv
1,051 posts, read 1,480,305 times
Reputation: 375
Thanks for the responses.

In the past I rented out a backyard "pool house" which worked out really well. The landlord was a little bit of a worry wart but also fantastic w/maintenance issues. In retrospect, I wish he was actuallly more direct about the issues he did counsel me upon as he had some good advice. I can see how boundaries could be problematic, depending upon the people involved.
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