renting a room - how much should I charge?

[zixxer]

in my area an 'average' 1br apartment is around $750. I just bought a 4 bedroom house, and the 'basement' bedroom is very easily rentable. The room is pretty large, could fit in a little kitchen sink and a couple cabinets, a bed, a tv, and a couch. $500? $700? The rent should INCLUDE utilities. I don't want to deal with trying to split things up.

Right now it is one big room with a full bathroom, it's own washer/dryer, and two large closets. The person would have their own access through the garage. I am at the point of putting in some sort of mini-kitchen, and want to get a feeling for what people would want if they were renting a room. I could just do a little sink and a couple cabinets, a hotplate sort of deal, a microwave, and a minifridge;

or

a small stove, a microwave, and a normal fridge.

 

[chuckywang]

Hmm...you'll also have to deal with whatever the tenant complains about....so I say around 800-900.

EDIT: Also if it includes utilities, expect the tenant to use a lot of water and electricity. What about internet?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Factor any minor repairs from time to time as well, don't go too low in price.

I will say thought that it's a good choice to rent it out, they're pretty much helping you pay the mortgage

 

[lokiju]

Normal fridge ftw!

I'd say as long as it has cable and telephone connections, a bathroom with shower, a small kitchen and some storage for kitchen stuff then thats all that would be expected out of a room for rent.

Is it pipped in with central air or are you going to put in a separate AC unit in there?

But I'd say ask for $600, seems fair and a nice in between.

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: lokiju
Normal fridge ftw!

I'd say as long as it has cable and telephone connections, a bathroom with shower, a small kitchen and some storage for kitchen stuff then thats all that would be expected out of a room for rent.

Is it pipped in with central air or are you going to put in a separate AC unit in there?

But I'd say ask for $600, seems fair and a nice in between.

It is piped with the central heat/ac.

My thoughts on a normal size fridge is 1) it's only one person. 2) I don't want to buy another $800 fridge and pay the electric on top of that.



I hear you about utility usage... but it's a 4 bedroom house. It's hard to determine how much to make someone pay that is renting 1 room.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: zixxer

Originally posted by: lokiju
Normal fridge ftw!

I'd say as long as it has cable and telephone connections, a bathroom with shower, a small kitchen and some storage for kitchen stuff then thats all that would be expected out of a room for rent.

Is it pipped in with central air or are you going to put in a separate AC unit in there?

But I'd say ask for $600, seems fair and a nice in between.

It is piped with the central heat/ac.

My thoughts on a normal size fridge is 1) it's only one person. 2) I don't want to buy another $800 fridge and pay the electric on top of that.



I hear you about utility usage... but it's a 4 bedroom house. It's hard to determine how much to make someone pay that is renting 1 room.

I just suggest a full size fridge since I myself rent a one bed room apartment and use the full size up eaisly on my own.

I've had plenty of friends that have done the room for rent and it's always been a full sized also, but if you can find a decent compact fridge then I'm sure that'd work just fine also.

 

[loic2003]

yeah you're letting a room, not renting one

 

[lightpants]

$700 would be about right if you included all utilities. I would recommend this since it makes everything so much easier for all involved.

 

[Bozono]

Well, we all know the market is red-hot in Other, so I'd have to say $450 considering there's no stove.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: zixxer
in my area an 'average' 1br apartment is around $750. I just bought a 4 bedroom house, and the 'basement' bedroom is very easily rentable. The room is pretty large, could fit in a little kitchen sink and a couple cabinets, a bed, a tv, and a couch. $500? $700? The rent should INCLUDE utilities. I don't want to deal with trying to split things up.

Right now it is one big room with a full bathroom, it's own washer/dryer, and two large closets. The person would have their own access through the garage. I am at the point of putting in some sort of mini-kitchen, and want to get a feeling for what people would want if they were renting a room. I could just do a little sink and a couple cabinets, a hotplate sort of deal, a microwave, and a minifridge;

or

a small stove, a microwave, and a normal fridge.

i share a 3br 2 bath house with garage and all amenities for 500 a month here in Houston.
it depends on the state and the economy and of course how new/nice the place is.

Mines in a nice area but an older house 500 with all utils paid here is pretty average.

 

[QED]

You say a 1-br aparment goes for about $750, but what you describe you have qualifies as a studio apartment, not a 1-bedroom.

If I had a choice between an average 1-bedroom apartment or living in your basement for the same price, I'd pick the 1-bedroom apartment everytime.

I think you need to find out what the average studio apartment goes for monthly so you'll have an apples-to-apples comparison.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Where do you live exactly? I would look at Craig's list and see what other people are charging, but I would say 500 would be a good target number, but basically the correct answer is "as much as you can get, but make sure it's enough to make it worth it". The majority of people that are looking at renting a room are doing so because they either can't afford or don't want to pay for a one bedroom apartment.

 

[Chryso]

Refrigerators come in a wide variety of sizes. I would go with a small regular one.

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: MathMan
You say a 1-br aparment goes for about $750, but what you describe you have qualifies as a studio apartment, not a 1-bedroom.

If I had a choice between an average 1-bedroom apartment or living in your basement for the same price, I'd pick the 1-bedroom apartment everytime.

I think you need to find out what the average studio apartment goes for monthly so you'll have an apples-to-apples comparison.

Very true, renting a room in a home is usually cheaper than a comparable apartment because people pay more for the privacy of having their own apartment.

What city is this in? Is it in a urban or suburban area?

 

[lightpants]

Originally posted by: MathMan
You say a 1-br aparment goes for about $750, but what you describe you have qualifies as a studio apartment, not a 1-bedroom.

If I had a choice between an average 1-bedroom apartment or living in your basement for the same price, I'd pick the 1-bedroom apartment everytime.

I think you need to find out what the average studio apartment goes for monthly so you'll have an apples-to-apples comparison.

You have to also account for utilities, if you rented a 1 bedroom apartment for $750 and had to pay all utilities that could easily add $300 a month.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Originally posted by: lightpants

Originally posted by: MathMan
You say a 1-br aparment goes for about $750, but what you describe you have qualifies as a studio apartment, not a 1-bedroom.

If I had a choice between an average 1-bedroom apartment or living in your basement for the same price, I'd pick the 1-bedroom apartment everytime.

I think you need to find out what the average studio apartment goes for monthly so you'll have an apples-to-apples comparison.

You have to also account for utilities, if you rented a 1 bedroom apartment for $750 and had to pay all utilities that could easily add $300 a month.

It depends in what area of the Country, but I've had 2 bedroom apartments where my utilities averaged less than 100 dollars a month, and when you're renting a room you don't expect to pay the full amount for utilities that you would if you had your own place.

 

[miri]

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang
It depends in what area of the Country, but I've had 2 bedroom apartments where my utilities averaged less than 100 dollars a month, and when you're renting a room you don't expect to pay the full amount for utilities that you would if you had your own place.

I lived in a studio and my electric bill was around $30 a month because I never used AC or heat. Another apartment had free heat and no AC so my electric bill was around $25 a month. Most people use cell phones instead of landlines and water is usually included with apartments. The only other utility I can think of is cable.

 

[Soccerman06]

Rent = Morgage + $200 (about $1000)

Well thats what my parents do, and its quite successful, but they rent right outside of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.