Rent a room out

[CookieDoughKid]

I decided to rent my spare box room our at £495 a month. And a few months on , I've nearly paid of my credit card debt! I don't know why I didn't do it earlier. Plus my fab lodger is so nice and helpful round the house. He unloads the dishwasher voluntarily every morning! !!

So if you have the luxury (I know we don't all have ) a spare room then do it. If only for a little while as it has really made a HUGE difference to my mental wellbeing and debt.

I know it's certainly something that many people could consider. Even with the extra bills, it's still well worth it - unless you're 'cranky' like I am.

I've wondered about doing this myself. OP, how much do you see of your lodger? I assume you share things like kitchen and bathroom but does he/she also use your sitting room when you are there or keep pretty much to their room?

I'd rather sell my body for money than take in a lodger. Not that I can, anyhow, my HA forbids subletting of any sort.

How did you find your lodger?

There has just been a thread in which it was clear that a number of posters had serious qualms about lodgers and the potential for harm to DC (even when parents were likely to be around). So I was wondering how you found/checked yours out.

I'm very choosy with my lodgers. My current one is a graduate and has just started his first job as a particle physicist. Yes I know, BRAINS. He is also young and when not in his room reading or studying he is out with his mates. He is really respectful and truly doesn't disturb us much. They are not there to take over your house and to be honest they don't WANT to be in your or dc's company at all hours! !

As for potential sexual crime yes but it is anyway from ANYONE including family. It's a risk but I teach my dc's very well on how to react (plus they share a room next to me) and they are to tell me anything the minute is up. But given the attempted sexual assault on my dd from my husband's own brother , my take is that such a crime is far far more likely to happen from very well known people like family and friends . My dcs are far more at risk of people they know in the family than short term lodgers. (No rape was involved thank god but yes police involved ). Sorry it's a lot of detail but that's only my opinion.

I am physically in the same room as my lodger for about 5 minutes a day (that's the kitchen). Lodger works longer hours that I do. We have different schedules completely.

I live in a shared house but have wondered about being a lodger. Always seems a lot of money to not really feel 'at home' in someone's house?

Needs must sometimes, Ditsy.

Definitely, cozie.

I'm a lodger, although it's just me, the landlady & the cat. Because of a bunch of circumstances it works for me right now.

We work around each other in the kitchen & bathroom, and we'll chat, get each other's washing in if its raining, that sort of thing but I'm far too anti-social to want to sit with her in the evenings. If I'm in, I'll be in my room with my TV etc.

Same as hesterton, we have a Monday to Friday lodger (4 nights) and it's perfect. We see each other for about 5 minutes a day, he leaves at 6.30 and is back at 9pm. He's really nice, leaves a few bits in the wardrobe, has his own bathroom and front door, and pays us £550 a month. Hardly cooks. Found him on spare room. We should have done it years ago!

Well I managed to wipe off a £2500 debt in a couple of monthd without trying hard (at all). Have seen minimal increases in bills. So for me, it's worth it and I will probably stop renting out my room when all debts paid. For my lodger, it's a safe haven as his first time to live away from home and is just a 10min bus commute! Win win

It's over £7k a year now isn't it?

I did the same spareroom.com website.

Out of interest, hesterton, did your insurers ratchet up insurance costs much?

My insurance went up by £10 a year. So less than a £1 a month.

How does it work re insurance? Is there personal liability in case they hurt themselves in your property & also accidental damage & theft etc?

No personal liability in our case. We have a basic lodger agreement, downloaded from spare room. A months deposit. We meet them, and take up an employers ref and a copy of their passport. And then I guess we just trust them. Of course they could turn out to be thieves or wreck the place, but we are now on number 3 and have only had good experiences. I think that the majority of Monday to Friday lodgers are just hard workers living away from home and wanting a nice place to stay that's cheaper than a local hotel.