How much to charge to rent a room?

[Harriet Vane]

We may be renting a room to a college intern this summer. 

 

The room is in our finished basement. The room is carpeted and has some basic furniture. Nothing fancy--the furniture are leftovers from the years. It's not ugly or messy, but it's not fancy either. The room is pretty large, with one small glass-block window. It's very quiet and private down there. 

 

The family would be in the basement sometimes for laundry and utilities, but we would not pass through the guest room. Rather, we walk through a rec room to the laundry/storage room.

 

The downside is that there is no bathroom in the basement. College intern knows this and doesn't care. There is a half-bath on the first floor and two full baths on the second floor. Not sure if we will expect him to share the bathroom with my two teenagers or move the teens over to the master bath with us for the summer.

 

There is also no TV down there, but I assume he can access Netflix or whatever on his laptop.

 

What is a fair rate to rent this set-up?

 

 

How does the rate change considering food? We have not talked about it, but I am assuming he might find it easier to share food with us. Not sure how best to handle this. I was thinking of offering him a drawer in the fridge to be his. If he wants to have dinners with us, I'm not sure what to charge. Also, I am not sure how to handle that when we are out of town.

 

I have had renters before, but they worked in exchange for cleaning my home, and I did not provide any food at all. This time I prefer to have cash rather than cleaning. I want to charge a fair rate.

 

 

Thanks for any advice you may have.

 

 

[Ravin]

I would check Craigslist for the going rates in your area.

[LucyStoner]

So dependent on where you live. I'd check ads or ask on a local group on Facebook.

[Melissa in Australia]

Ds21rents a room right next to the university. He pays 160 per week. He has a bar fridge in his room.shares bathroom and kitchen with the other 5 students also renting rooms there. Internet and electricity are included in rent. The house has no living area as all rooms have been converted into bedrooms.

[myfunnybunch]

Our exchange students pay us a stipend of $600/mo. This includes a private room with a desk and a bed and a dresser, internet (and we allow them to use our printer--some host families ask students to print at school or to pay a small fee for paper and ink), towels and linens, shared bathroom, use of the laundry, and two meals a day during the week/three meals a day on weekends, plus snacks. They share our meals and can help themselves to our pantry. Basically, they are treated as a member of the family, so they are also typically included in family outings, which sometimes means we spring for a ticket or an entry fee (though sometimes we ask them to pitch in for theirs,depending on the activity), and we may end up feeding their friends sometimes if they stay for dinner.

 

They are expected to clean their own rooms and their bathroom, help with family chores like dinner dishes, and to get themselves to and from the university.

 

We don't make a whole lot once the utilities and food are factored in, but it gives us a great opportunity to meet new people from all over the world. :)

[Tsuga]

Check Air B&B and for rent by owner.

 

You could probably up your rent and risk substantially by arranging a microwave and refrigerator in there.

[Ottakee]

Does the basement bedroom have an egress window to use in case of fire? Those are required here for any bedroom space.

 

I would say a lot depends on your area as to reasonable rent. Legally you might not want to "rent" to him but rather have him share expenses which means you divide costs by number in the household and adjust a bit for having more private areas.

[JFSinIL]

Does the basement bedroom have an egress window to use in case of fire? Those are required here for any bedroom space.

 

I would say a lot depends on your area as to reasonable rent. Legally you might not want to "rent" to him but rather have him share expenses which means you divide costs by number in the household and adjust a bit for having more private areas.

My thoughts, too. Is it legal to rent or even have anyone sleep in a room with no viable window egress in case of fire?

[StephanieZ]

I'd charge about half of whatever a cheap 1BR (or studio) apartment rents for in your area. I wouldn't share food. I'd designate a drawer (or large tupperware) for his stuff, and tell him that if he has something too big for that, mark it with duct tape and his name, so no one will eat it. Similarly, designate a cabinet or area of your pantry that is "his" and that your family will stay out of. 

 

If you invite him to share an occasional meal with you, I'd suggest to him that he contribute $5 (or whatever you approximate an average meal to cost in ingredients, in my house $5 would be plenty and we eat pricey foods) and designate a "meal jar" in the kitchen where he can toss in his $. If he only expects to eat with you rarely (say once a week or less), I'd not even worry about it. A summer intern may well have odd hours, like to eat out, live off ramen, etc. 

 

Some kids would eat cheap, and sharing food would be fine. Or you'll get a kid like my teen who is accustomed to "bottomless pantry" and is a big eater and could easily eat $100/wk in food. Really. Don't risk that. 

[Harriet Vane]

Does the basement bedroom have an egress window to use in case of fire? Those are required here for any bedroom space.

 

I would say a lot depends on your area as to reasonable rent. Legally you might not want to "rent" to him but rather have him share expenses which means you divide costs by number in the household and adjust a bit for having more private areas.

 

Didn't think of that.

 

The room does not have egress. But just outside the room there is.

 

This would not be a long term rental. It's not something we hope to do much more. This is someone who needs a room for just a few months for a summer internship, and our home happens to be just minutes from where he will be interning. 

[LisaKinVA]

In the 1990's, while living in northern VA, I rented a room (shared bath, shared kitchen, shared laundry...) for $300 a month.  The private room downstairs (with it's own bath) went for about $500.  I also paid my parents $300 a month when I lived with them (from 1991-1997), but they gave me the family rate ;) haha.

 

A Studio apartment (in not-quite no. VA) can now run about $750/month (which to me is a better starting point than a 1BR).  So, in my neck of the woods, I'd say $300-$325 would be fair.  Now, if we were adding board to that arrangement, another $5-$10 a day would be fair, as well.

[OneStepAtATime]

Didn't think of that.

 

The room does not have egress. But just outside the room there is.

 

This would not be a long term rental. It's not something we hope to do much more. This is someone who needs a room for just a few months for a summer internship, and our home happens to be just minutes from where he will be interning.

Check if it is legal, then, before committing. It may be just fine, but I'd check.

[Ottakee]

Could the student sleep in the room with the egress window but use the other room for study, etc? I just have a real fear of being trapped in a fire with no escape.

[JFSinIL]

Probably not worth it unless you plan to keep using the room as a bedroom, but on Rehab Addict Nicole Curtis had a small basement window turned into a larger one that could easily be climbed through so she could convert a dark basement room into a light and airy and legal bedroom.  It was on one of this season's shows...if I find it I will share.  Meanwhile: http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/rooms-and-spaces/doors-and-windows/egress-and-basement-windows

[QueenCat]

Does the basement bedroom have an egress window to use in case of fire? Those are required here for any bedroom space.

 

I would say a lot depends on your area as to reasonable rent. Legally you might not want to "rent" to him but rather have him share expenses which means you divide costs by number in the household and adjust a bit for having more private areas.

 

In every place we've ever lived, that is required in a bedroom. And major legal trouble if you rent it out without one and it's discovered.

[Eliz]

In every place we've ever lived, that is required in a bedroom. And major legal trouble if you rent it out without one and it's discovered.

Legal problems aside, the risk of sleeping in a bedroom without an egress window would be unacceptable to me.  I couldn't in good faith, rent it to someone or allow them to sleep in the room.  Years ago, a neighbor's nephew was trapped in a basement "bedroom" without an egress window during a fire.  He was rescued, but was badly burned. 

[J-rap]

I, too, think you need to be very careful about a fire escape.  My parents have a bedroom in their basement, but they changed the tiny basement window to an egress window.  I don't know what it cost.  Another thought would be to remove the wall between the bedroom  and the egress that you say is right outside of it.  But, of course that would be a big project!

 

If you can work it out, I'd probably rent it for $400.  Of course I'd be doing it for the money, but I'd also be doing it to help out a college student and would probably feel badly to charge much more than that -- but that's just me!  I did look at room rentals in the university area of our state and that amount is not uncommon for a basement room and a shared bathroom upstairs.

 

I'd give him a drawer in the kitchen and part of a shelf in the refrigerator, or something like that.  If he was interested in eating dinner with you (with you preparing it), then I'd charge a little more.  Maybe an additional $5/day?

[Mergath]

I would make sure he's aware before he moves in that it will be an illegal bedroom. There's a chance he might not even be interested once he finds out there's no egress window. I probably wouldn't take the risk. There's the risk of fire, plus if you guys somehow get caught he'd be stuck without a place to live.

[Anne in CA]

I have a friend in Portland who rents three rooms to foreign students and he gets 150 a week from the school, and is expected to provide food for the students, but he almost never does, because most of the students are wealthy and like to eat out. In fact, they feed him, lol. He once had two French students who fixed dinner and bought wine several times a week, lol.

[myfunnybunch]

I have a friend in Portland who rents three rooms to foreign students and he gets 150 a week from the school, and is expected to provide food for the students, but he almost never does, because most of the students are wealthy and like to eat out. In fact, they feed him, lol. He once had two French students who fixed dinner and bought wine several times a week, lol.

Yes, this is very common with our students as well. They are young adults, and they like to go out with their friends. Our Saudi student used to bring us leftovers from various gatherings (so delicious!), and a couple times he brought home a huge bag of raw lamb scraps and lamb bones, so dh made lamb korma, and I made lamb broth.

[QueenCat]

Legal problems aside, the risk of sleeping in a bedroom without an egress window would be unacceptable to me.  I couldn't in good faith, rent it to someone or allow them to sleep in the room.  Years ago, a neighbor's nephew was trapped in a basement "bedroom" without an egress window during a fire.  He was rescued, but was badly burned. 

 

I agree............ I wouldn't allow it either.