Contemplating looking for a complete stranger to rent a room in my house

I have a friend who rents a room in his house to a dude in med school that was a stranger. Seems to work out. I'd just be real picky about who you rent to.

Good idea, but I doubt it. Old Jefferson.

I would be very selective with the advertising. Law school/med school tackboards, maybe Starbucks. Don't put it on Craigslist.

yes! I have been doing it for about 12 years. I have had some roommates for 4 years, and others for 4 weeks. Sometimes I rent 2 rooms in my house, sometimes just one.

In my opinion the lease and the background check is all a waste of time. Prospective tenants will like the idea of no lease. Background checks for you starting out wouldn't be a bad idea. I can tell in an interview if the person will be a good fit and I've done it long enough I weed out trash before they ever make it over to view. I've had people with shaky backgrounds on paper that worked out fine. Other's that had no background but were awful roommates.

There are a few pieces of advice I can give you. Money is money; you're looking for someone who you think can hold a job and pay on time. Don't focus on age, gender, race. Don't bring in waiters and waitresses. Don't bring in heavy drinkers. Don't bring in people with temp jobs. Be very cautious bringing in people who have just relocated from out of state and staying in a hotel, or with family or friends right now. Usually they have skeletons and been run out of their last state. Be cautious of people relocating to start a business or develop a business from another state. Assume their business is about to flop or it's a story or money is tight. Be very cautious bringing in attractive women. They always have drama and never stay long. The shorter the stay the less effective the roommate process is. When you get one you think has employment, and you find out they don't, run them out. No excuses. When you find out one is excessively drinking, run them out, no excuses. Gay single men are typically bad roommates. Anyone going through a break-up be cautious of. Always take the first 2 weeks payment upfront but try to get the first month upfront before they move. Some people will have the entire first month others are living paycheck to paycheck and still paying on their last place. Don't let anyone pay by the week or try to hand you a few bucks per every few days. It's tempting but assume they are flat broke. Women are much better roommates than men but much harder to find. Keep anything valuable locked up in your room. Typically these people just want a place to live and not out to steal but I have had theft of nice clothes in the laundry room when boy(friends) are moving out their girlfriends and I'm not home. Don't take anyone who begs for the room, or tells you in the first viewing they want it. Be cautious of the people who claim they are going through divorce or separation. Your secretary of State website probably has a free statewide circuit and local court check for the persons name. It's a good tool in lieu of a background check.

Always keep in mind the highly sought after roommates have a lot of options. Employed middle aged women, anyone out of college with a job, grad students, foreigners, people in financial debt trying to cut expenses but can muster the fair market rent price are the cream of the crop but most of them end up looking around until something is absolutely perfect and If they can't find it they just get their own apartment for the extra $250-300. Have your place as clean as possible when they come, and ask probing questions about who they are and what they do and why they are moving. The in-house roommate market in my area is littered with drunks, dump offs, people running from their past, and loners mostly. Always tell people you think they'll be comfortable and like your place but you have no issue with them looking at others too, and if they have any other questions not to hesitate to call or text. Typically it takes me 5 responses to an ad to get a visit, and 5 visits to mutually decide on a tenant. 1 to 4 months to find a decent one is average turn time and I only use Craigslist.