i dont seem to make enough money to rent a place on my own let alone own my own place. ive been checking out ads on a few different sites and it seems for my price range the best thing i can afford is renting a room out of some ones home. has anyone done this and if so what was it like?
When I got out of the Army I went back to college. For the first year I ended up renting from a family that was a 5 minute walk to school. They had an upstairs in-law apt with kitchen bathroom etc. I got 1 bedroom and another student got the other room. After the first year the other guy moved out, and I had my then gf move in with me, so I took over the whole upstairs apt. Would never do again! First I couldn't change certain things, like cable and internet, I was limited in when I could do laundry and the worst part was when I moved out, the landlord tried to pin the previous roommate's damage on me because he never properly cataloged the damage the 1st roommate did. He tried to illegally hold my security deposit - he thought because I was only renting a room, he could hold my deposit, but the law stated that If I had lived in the same place for 90 days, I have full renter's rights.. Moral of the story, document everything, get everything in writing, and know the law because your landlord most likely wont. It took having 1 of the federal judges I work for to write a "nice" letter asking for my deposit back, or I would sue for tort damages, which is 3x the amount in question.
A ton of people do it. It's cheaper than renting an apartment, but it can be tougher living conditions because you're that much closer to your landlord. Definitely get someone knowledgeable to look over your lease agreement, go and meet and talk with the landlord to see if you think youd get along, and ask around to previous tenants, if you can find some.
Hmm... sounds like it could be a bad idea altogether. I am really limited option wise right now. So its my best bet which isn't sounding like best idea.
It's not ideal, but better than a van down by the river. It can really light a fire under your ass to work hard and get out of there.
While I understand independence is important, barring physical and mental abuse from your parents, I really don't understand this seemingly "western" cultural lean towards moving out young/ASAP with barely enough to keep a roof over your head, let alone eat. Why do that?
Not always under your control here especially in the hood...sometimes you don't have choice in the matter...think all my friends coming up were out on their own by age 17 except the preachers kids...and none were bad apples...
Just like getting roommates be as choosy as you can be. meet them get to know them and get a list of rules in writing and decide if you can live with them before you agree to rent the room. Cause some people renting rooms have some seriously anal rules.
I've never lived anywhere aside from my mother and father's homes. I wish you the best of luck on finding a place.
Never assume, even if they say they do, that your prospective landlords know the law; educate yourself on it. Many don't think much beyond 'Rent room = money!' and don't realize that that rent entitles the renter to certain protections, like that the landlord isn't allowed to enter except in case of emergency without 2 weeks' (can vary between states) written notice. --Moony
I've done nothing but rent rooms out of homes since my college days. It's practically a way of life in London at any rate. I've moving again in two days to some place nicer.
So, essentially...lodging? That's how it's called in the UK. It's very common in the UK, and depending on your circumstances, not a bad idea. It clearly depends on who you're lodging from though. -Advantages 1) Because you're not renting from an agency or a landlord [ie somebody is already living IN the house], usually it's in good condition, damages won't take a month to be fixed etc 2) Most people do an "all inclusive" rent quote that's, all things considered, very cheap and practical. Of course, there's a shit load of inconveniences that vary wildly depending on who you're lodging for. 1) You don't get a say in many things regarding the house 2) Laundry, cooking etc is limited by what the person you're living with does. 3) You can't really move your furniture [if you have any] with you because 99% the room is already furnished 4) You won't have much privacy, sadly. Again, depends on the person you're living with. All in all I've had two very bad lodging experiences, back to back, so at the end of the second once I just said to hell with it and rented my own place. Have never looked back since, but can't deny how much money you could save then.
Since Feb of 1991, I've lived on a street that's had 4 drive bys, 5 high-speed chases, 2 kids run over, a dead Guatemalan in the nearby alley killed by his friend, a 16 kid shot dead in daylight while walking home from school last last year, and multiple calls from me to the sheriff to deal with noise violations due to numerous different people near my home having house parties on a weekly basis, never mind the gang activity and the unknown amount of people living in a garage across the street. Does that qualify as "the hood?"
I did it one time and the lady turned out to be a raging drunk and long story short, threw all my stuff out on the lawn one night because she found one of my hairs on the bathroom floor. Never, ever again.
1. Where are you looking since you're in NJ? Bergen County? Manhattan? Newark? 2. Do you NEED to move out? If your current situation is really bad, the grass is always greener on the other side. I have varying experiences good and bad. I'd need more details on your budget and what you're looking for to really opine. Off the top of my head, I lived in a basement where I had no control of the thermostat and it was hot as balls in the summer and the landlord was a cheapass on the AC.
im 31 so not young. everything else about money struggle youre right on the money about. predakwon i live in burlington county about 5 min from philadelphia.
