Here’s what you should know before renting out part of your home to make extra money.
A lot of homeowners ask us to look at their homes when they want to rent something out. Most of the time, they’ll say, “How do you feel about a shared home?” Basically, they want to rent out their Ohana dwelling, downstairs area, or garage to a prospective tenant and make some extra money.
This is a very popular idea here in Honolulu, but sharing your home is more difficult than you think because it’s nearly impossible to find the perfect tenant. We get all kinds of requests from owners regarding the type of tenant they want, but you can’t discriminate between tenants.
It’s also a difficult situation because none of our rent guarantees fall into place. We have rent, eviction, and communication guarantees that apply, but you’re the one who has to worry about someone possibly doing laundry at 2 a.m. inside your home, or filling up your garbage can. In one of our homes, two tenants got into a physical altercation over a garbage dispute…
So if you want to share your home, remember: It’s not impossible, but it’s not as easy as you think.
As always, if you have questions about this or any topic related to property management, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.
