I have been thinking that there may be a benefit to renting a room to someone for free. Well, not exactly free but for no money. The room (and maybe some meals) would be in exchange for work around the house and yard, in theory, leaving more time for doing the things that you want to do.
The questions are, what are the disadvantages, what are the advantages, and if you decide to be so adventuresome, how should you proceed in setting up such an arrangement?
What are the disadvantages?
Obviously you lose some privacy. No longer can you run to the laundry room in your skivies to freshen a load of clothing before getting dressed or let the dog out one last time before hopping into bed. It means jams and robes or whatever.
You could get a bad renter. It is possible to get a renter who either does not do the work or does poor quality work.
You could get a party person who invites "undesirables" into your home or has other bad habits that are unexpected.
You don't know the person. You could be renting to the next Jack the Ripper.
What are the advantages?
You have someone to assist with the work around the home. The value of this advantage is mostly determined by how much you detest doing house and/or yard work.
Someone is there when you are out of town, both to watch the house and to feed and water the pets. Since we have an ancient dog and two cats with our children all grown and (mostly) out of the house, this is becoming a more important advantage to us.
There is someone who can help with those "it takes more than one person to do this" jobs such as moving a dresser or pulling a stump out of the yard, building projects, etc.
You gain a new friend. Hopefully, if things go reasonably well, this will be the result of having someone in your home under these conditions.
How should I proceed in making such an arrangement to maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages?
Take care in advertising and selecting a candidate for such an offer. Be very selective in both your choice of advertising for such an offer. There are too many individuals who would look at this as an opportunity to take advantage of the situation without doing the work. Family may be an option if you know and trust the person and their work ethic but still get everything in writing (see below). Advertise at your church or synagogue. Advertise at the local university for a "grad student" - someone who will spend more time working and studying than partying.
Agree ahead of time on the house rules. What hours can be more noisy is one that could become very annoying if not brought up early in the relationship. Also the use of shared areas of the house such as family room, kitchen, piano playing should be worked out ahead of time. The use of the refrigerator and/or freezer and the rules about private foods and how to mark them as well as where to put them should be on the list of things to discuss early on in the agreement portion of the discussion. Bedroom visitors and times, if any, should also be determined early on and in writing.
Put everything in writing. This applies two-fold if the renter is a friend or family. You don't want to ruin friendships or relationships and so when things are not working out people are reluctant to do anything while their frustration and resentment grows. With the agreement in writing it is easier to remind a friend that the agreement was to do such and such. Having the agreement in writing also resolves disagreements because you both can always return to the agreement to determine whether the resolution was already one that was agreed upon.
Set up the agreement as a month-to-month arrangement. This is probably the most important part of all. Should anything go south in anyone's point of view all that needs to be said is, "Things don't seem to be working out so we are going to end our agreement at the end of the next month. Be sure to give sufficient notice for your renter to find a replacement abode.
Agree on the use of the house before hand. Indicate whether the television is allowed to be used along with the DVR and the hours of use if allowed. Also, agree on laundry days and use of soap as well as the equipment. Also, kitchen use and permissions as well as clean up expectaions should be noted.
Determine the number of hours to be exchanged. Five hours per week sounds about right to me.
Have the renter submit a weekly log. There needs to be a system for the renter being able to account for the work that they have done. A log seems to be a simple way to let the land lord know how the time was spent. If there are specific things that you would like to have done then a priority list may be appropriate in order to let the renter know what the time priorities are. It is usually best to allow a fair amount of flexibility in when the work gets done. Some people prefer to doa little across several days while others will want to do most of it in one day. Be flexible.
Now to sell it to the wife.
What do you think about renting for no money and the steps suggested here?
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