edit: OK, I think this blog post that /u/NebLem linked decides it. Hard line at “not a rooming house” but I don’t want you to sleep outside tonight.
ORIGINAL:
I remember when I was a kid and on hard times I was taken in by a friend and his dad. It saved me from being on the streets. This sort of situation seems to be developing now that I’m middle aged and my young adult children have friends with less than stable home lives. All these kids are LGBTQ or adjacent, some have diagnosed mental illness.
I want to help, but man… what happens if it goes sideways? I would hate to throw someone out if personal problems got too much. We have the space and these kids are over here all the time anyway, they just don’t have a room and don’t pay anything. Made some pretty kickass food last night though. Money is starting to get pretty tight what with food prices increasing, my insurance just went up, yadda yadda. I was thinking something like $500/mo since I’m already paying for everything, this money would of course help. Seems like two, maybe three kids need shelter.
To be clear, it isn’t imminent but probably by October. So let’s see what Lemmy thinks I should do:
1: No, we will not run a rooming house.
2: Yes, but. You don’t have to pay money and are still a house guest. Please continue to pick up after yourself and buy food when you can.
3: Yes, I will create a few private areas in my basement and you pay me rent. We will be roommates but it’s still my and my wife’s house.
edit: looks like I would definitely need a formal lease as soon as someone brings a suitcase in for more than a night.
Colorado: Guests become tenants after staying for over 14 days within six months
sounds like I already have a couple tenants.
We have a saying that translates roughly to: friendship ends at the money.
So: Don’t.
Give them for free as much as possible. Make your money from other sources.
That saying is cool ! What is the original version ? Here, one of the main saying is “good accounting makes good friends”, and i clearly prefer yours.
What is the original version ?
Beim Geld hört die Freundschaft auf (German)
That’s French, right? My best friend is French and boy is he weird about munny.
Yep, French, it reads ‘Les bons comptes font les bons amis’.
It is indeed ! Do you mean weird in the sense “very picky about what you owe to each other” ? Cuz i mainly see either this, either “i will do anything possible to pay for my friend”
The former. At the same time he’ll try to haggle on extremely inexpensive things, then drop $800 on an analog wristwatch. We both make very good money. I’ve spent most of my life broke, so I enjoy my newfound wealth by paying for everything half the time and letting others pay for things half the time when with friends of similar means, not bothering to track dollar amounts, since I’m no longer a missed paycheck away from sleeping under a desk - and will always offer to pay for my broke friends.
Also got here the “friends, friends, business is discussed separately”
I feel this but considering the economic situation, if I was the house guest, I would want to contribute to the house. So maybe not foe the OP to ask for money, but I hope the kids are able to contribute some because times is hard. I wouldn’t turn down money if it was offered.
I think it’s great that you’re willing to offer help to those in need. $500/mo is enough to really help you out with expenses, but likely cheaper than they’re able to find elsewhere. Especially considering that the environment is supportive and safe for them.
That being said, I would strongly recommend getting them to sign well-defined contracts that you get from a real-estate lawyer to help shield you in the case of it turning sour.
My coworker just got finished with a year-long legal battle trying to kick out someone that he allowed to bunk in a spare room for a few months (completely free). Despite them not paying room or board they were classified as tenants and therefore had legal protection that they took every advantage of and made my co-worker’s life hell. I’m all for strong tenant protections, but there’s always going to be the exceptions that abuse the system. I would follow your heart on the payment side, but insist on contracts to protect your livelihood. Don’t let a good deed ruin you.
Imo, landlord-tenant law should really differentiate between small landlords (like OP is considering being) and corporate landlords. Small landlords, who may often have a personal connection with their tenants, are typically the people most open to housing people who are square pegs, unable to fit into corporate housing’s round hole. But they see horror stories like this and decide it isn’t worth the risk. It seems like common sense to me that someone who owns a home and rents out a room to a friend of a friend who has fallen on hard times should be able to kick that person out if they turn out to be a giant dick.
My mom took in one of my sister’s friends she was fine. When I left for undergrad my mom took in an additional one my sister’s friends and it was a total disaster.
Those kids had fucked up home lives, in the first case it was the parents issues in the second case the kid was the issue and was just a really bad situation.
I wouldn’t do it.
Not sure how it is over there but in The Netherlands in a situation like that it would be difficult to have them leave because you are not allowed to just kick them out without a very good reason (to protect the tenants). So if there are any problems or you changed your mind (at least here) you’d be stuck with them if they refused to leave.
Or maybe realize that we are in the middle of a housing crisis and help your kids that will never have the quality of life that was handed to you?
What the fuck? I’m doing that. I’m supporting two young adults completely, food, car for commuting to the fucking college I’m paying for SO THEY DON’T HAVE DEBT.
So back the fuck up.
Where do you live? That determines the legal environment.
You have good intentions, but you should have an exit plan. What will you do if you must ask someone to leave?
See, that’s why I’m leaning towards just letting them keep their stuff in the kid’s car and being a houseguest if it came down to it. WHAT would I do if someone has to go? As a house guest I can just say, “Whelp. You should head out.”
IANAL but many localities have provisions that guests become defacto tenants after certain timeframes. This CO lawyer’s blog I found searching for your state’s tenancy laws might be a good read. https://www.colorado-violent-assault-crimes-criminal-lawyer.com/colorado-criminal-law-rights-of-a-house-guest-vs-colorado-trespass-laws
cool, thanks. I found one (possibly slop) article that claims guests in CO become tenants by staying 14 days within 6 months.
edit: wow, thanks. That blog really firmed up my resolve that they will not pay rent. Sounds like it can get very sticky very quickly.
Colorado. Very friendly to landlords
Colorado is very friendly to tenants, not landlords.
if they are renting and not free-loading, shouldnt be a problem, or you concerned about privacy.
I knew a family that tried to do this.
Turns out their mental issues also prevented them from taking care of their space. Probably caused them 50k in property damages.
My mom rented out my childhood home to a couple that was struggling and unable to get credit.
They decided they were going to take the roof off and add a second floor without telling her the plan. She didn’t find out until the local authorities contacted her and told her that she would be fined for not having the permits for that kind of job. The tenants realized that they couldn’t actually do any of what they intended, so they quietly left without telling anyone and the house sat through a PA winter with no roof.
I always support helping people, but it is not without it’s risks.
