Renting a room in our house with kids

As a long-term renter, I think your place would frankly not be appealing to many people given the two huge constraints you’ve mentioned (it is not a separate room, and the noise etc. of kids).  You’d have to list it very, very cheaply, I believe.  Best of luck.  

I haven't had any experience with this but would tecommen checking in with UC Berkeley to post for visiting scholars. Also consider looking into offering housing through a Visiting Nursing program. I don't know where to start for that option. Maybe check in with Children's hospital or Kaiser to see if they have an idea or look online for visiting nurse organizations or professional nursing societies.

This way, you can at least have an easier stop and start date to get a feel for how a room tenant may work for you through a more short term option.

Good luck!

It seems like a suboptimal space to rent out given its lack of privacy, unless you knew the person beforehand or it were more of an au-pair kinda thing. I definitely wouldn't t feel comfortable posting this on Craigslist either. Maybe ask your friends? You could try to find a student or visiting scholar as well.

For pricing, look on Craigslist for comparable spaces for rent. 

I personally would not rent out a space that is not completely separate from my family with kids. I'm very uncomfortable with the idea that a stranger, even if screened, could have access to my kids unsupervised (at night! yikes). I love the idea of a renter but only if they have a dedicated entrance and exit with no common area. If you do decide to have a boarder please make sure you do all the necessary background checks, call your local police department to see what type of screening they recommend. Also, put locks on your kids bedroom doors and be sure you never leave them home alone (not sure of their ages), its just too much opportunity for inappropriate situations!

Have you thought about just renting it out as an office space? With the pandemic and work from home on the rise you might have luck getting someone who only wants it to work during the day. 

We have rented out our extra room, which is not as removed from family life as your loft, and learned a few things. We ended up having 5 total renters/roommates, all of whom were lovely except the last one, who was a nightmare and we actually asked him to leave during the pandemic, yikes!

1) The only place we advertised was on the grad student Facebook page at UC Berkeley. We mainly found people through word of mouth or because they posted that they were looking for rooms on Craigslist or the university sites. 

2) I think you need a door to the room. Even if it's upstairs, your renter will need to know they can close a door which means don't come in, and even lock it if they want to.

3) You need to stress that you are a family and you will make noise and make messes and that you use the kitchen a lot. The one person we had issues with just couldn't handle our noise. And I don't think we're excessively noisy. He'd ask our son to be quiet to the point where my husband had to ask him not to talk to our son. We should have heeded a few warning signs in advance and I can't stress enough the need to talk about noise in advance. In the end, it's your house and the person moving in is a boarder, not really a roommate.

Hope it helps.

Hi! I would think the fact that the space is a loft (and therefore not able to be closed off for privacy) would rule out the idea right away. Think of a grownup person and the types of media they may consume, etc. At a bare minimum I would think they need the privacy of a closed door. Also, sharing a bathroom with children is a no-go, for me as well. My mother-in-law has rented out rooms in her big Berkeley house to Cal students for many many years, but they always have their own rooms and a bathroom that they might share with each other, but not with her. And no kids involved. 

As a parent and landlord, I'd suggest an exchange student. The lack of privacy coupled with sharing a bathroom with kids? Not attractive to most renters. Maybe connect with an ESL program that helps find housing - it might be short term and different personalities, but that may be a way to go, and the cultural exchange might be good for your family. On the other side of the coin, how will having people come and go affect your kids? What about their safety, there are considerations you need to make. Personally, I would wait until your kids are school aged. Good luck!

A room without a door is less valuable than a room with a door. You will have to consider that in setting the rent. Some possible renters will cross it off their list. Others will jump at the chance to have a nice space for lower rent. 

Roommate situations are generally not rent controlled and getting rid of a problem renter is easier than when renting an apartment. But there are no guarantees. Also, discrimination is generally legal in roommate situations, where the kitchen or bathroom or entry are shared. 

In the listing, describe your family and the shared kitchen/bath situations. This helps with finding child-friendly people. 

Are you sure that you are looking for a boarder? That means you are providing all meals. I think you are looking for a housemate. 

Price is largely dependent on location. But I think it would be under $1,000/month. 

It used to be all rentals went on craigslist, but that changed due to scams. I think you will just have to try different ones. 

Google interview questions and interview carefully. Make sure you have a long and detailed lease. I suggest a list of cleanup necessary upon move-out. When a tenant moves out of an apartment, the whole place has to be clean. But you can't expect a roommate to clean the kitchen and bathrooms by themselves. when others have and will use them. 

Don't ask them to babysit. Too many complications. 

Hi. I am a single mom of a 10-year-old. We had housemates living with us in our 2 bed/1 bath home until she was about 6. I posted on craigslist at that time and mostly worked well for me. Most stayed a year or longer and we're still good friends with some of them. Two of them were teachers or nannies so they were used to and enjoyed being around kids. Another was a mother of grown kids and also had worked with kids. The one who stayed the longest was actually a guy who had very little experience with kids. But it worked out fine and he and my daughter got along well. With some of them I had arrangements of lower rent in exchange for a few hours of babysitting a week too. I think if you are up front with people and let them meet your kids during the interview, most people who are not comfortable living with kids will just screen themselves out/not apply. I didn't worry about the security issue with my daughter mainly because she slept in the room with me at night and also the ones who did child care were already working with kids. But if I were to have a renter now, I might do a background check. I think a lease is a good idea too. 

I think the door issue would be tough though, mostly for sound issues. Another thing is you should clarify your policy on overnight guests up front. I don't think sharing a bathroom is a dealbreaker, especially with young kids, but it will mean you'll get lower rent than if the renter got her own bathroom. I don't know what current rates are now. 

I would try to find renters via your networks although I didn't find anyone that way personally. Posting at colleges would be good too although I found it hard to figure out how to do that. I know there are also websites like Furnished Finder for traveling nurses. 

Good luck!

Other points to consider include guest/overnight guest policy and vaccinations. 

 As a previous renter, I would not do this because it would be hard to find the right fit due to a lack of privacy. Second as a parent, I would be concerned with the number of creeps that are out there. You might rent to someone wonderful, but what if they have creepy partners or creepy friends? Do you really want your kids around them?