{"id":93,"date":"2020-12-11T14:16:02","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T14:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedemos.net\/coach02\/?p=93"},"modified":"2021-03-04T23:44:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T07:44:45","slug":"roommates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dadspersonalfinance.com\/roommates\/","title":{"rendered":"Roommates"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ok, so you have a place of your own whether it is renting or owning and have decided that it is a good idea to bring in a roommate or two to help with expenses.\u00a0 Well, I thought the same thing.\u00a0 But you need to be careful.\u00a0 Renting out a room can be a great way to go.\u00a0 One thing to consider is that it helps to think of it as a business.\u00a0 Because there is no such thing as collecting rent for someone with no work involved.\u00a0 And that is true whether you are renting out a room, house or apartment.<\/p>\n
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I had gone 15 years without owning property.\u00a0 I still think that renting is the only way to go but we will save that discussion for another post.\u00a0 The roommate engagement has changed somewhat over those years.\u00a0 When I rented out rooms 15 years ago, the norm was to use classified ads in the newspaper.\u00a0 By the time you posted an ad and had a candidate actually move in, it would take 2 to 4 weeks.<\/p>\n
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Now, with the Internet, you will find that people are calling about your ad and wanting to meet and move in that day.\u00a0 To me, that is way too risky so I still employ a several step process.\u00a0 First I place the ad on Craigs list.\u00a0 And yes, you have to be careful in that there are plenty of scams.\u00a0 The first scam is from the companies that have roommate search websites.\u00a0 They tell you are interested in your room and then they ask you to go to the website and look up their profile.\u00a0 The real intent is to get you to sign up to their website.<\/p>\n
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Next is the scam takes many forms and is not unique to roommates.\u00a0 A person will call asking about your room.\u00a0 They will claim to be working overseas and need to know the total cost of moving into your place.\u00a0 They will then ask you to also handle the reception of their goods and paying for those as well.\u00a0 So if your room is $400 per month with a $100 deposit, they will then send you a check for $1000 or so.\u00a0 $500 will be targeted for the room rent and deposit and the rest of the money for their goods to be delivered.\u00a0 Then they will send you a check (maybe personal or cashiers) for $1500.\u00a0 Then they will call you back stating they made a mistake in the amount they sent you.\u00a0 They will then ask for the overage or just a portion of the overage back.\u00a0 They are counting on your greed to retain a portion of the overage.<\/p>\n
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It can take several days or weeks for personal and cashier\u2019s checks to fully clear your account.\u00a0 So in the meantime, you have sent the crook a check from your account for the overage which they immediate deposit.\u00a0 Then several weeks or days later the bank withdraws the funds from the original check from your account stating that the check is fraudulent.\u00a0\u00a0 You may have even verified with the bank that the check cleared but later on hear back from the bank that the check is fraudulent.<\/p>\n
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So how do you protect yourself?<\/p>\n
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First, if you receive an email or text pointing to you to another website then ignore it.\u00a0 It will waste your time and perhaps cost you money to sign up for the site.\u00a0 Anyone claiming to be overseas or out of town should be ignored as well.\u00a0 It is never a good idea to rent out your place to someone you have not met.<\/p>\n
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What should I do when renting out a room?<\/p>\n
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First, keep in mind that anything you do should be reviewed with a real estate expert and lawyer.\u00a0 Always engage with the appropriate experts.\u00a0 Never read something on the Internet and implement as is without the appropriate professionals consultation.<\/p>\n
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Here are the steps that I recommend.<\/p>\n