PRACTICAL VIEW / HOW TO RENT A ROOM : Can You Put Up With MTV, Pets?
As the recession lingers, more homeowners are renting out rooms to make ends meet. For many it’s a first-time experience.
“(We are getting calls from) more upscale people who did not used to do this,” says Maxine Nelson, owner of RoomMate Finders, a roommate referral service. “I’ve got a lot of clothing designers. More attorneys than I ever had. And a lot of architects.
“I’ve gotten homes in Bel-Air and Hollywood Hills. I never used to get Bel-Air.”
Calls from owners wanting to let rooms have doubled in 18 months at another referral service, Roommates Unlimited, says general manager Terry Mundon. Room ads increased by two-thirds during the 12-month period ending in June at the UCLA housing office.
For those contemplating becoming landlords--or roomers--here are some facts:
A Landlord’s Story: Real estate broker Neil Klemow wanted to keep his Van Nuys home. He loved the size--four bedrooms--and its swimming pool, basketball court and fruit trees.
But a year ago, business slowed. “I either had to sell the house or come up with another solution,” he says. He decided to rent his extra bedrooms. Roomers now offset half of his $2,000 monthly mortgage payment.
A Tenant’s Story: Debbie Armstrong became a roomer in a four-bedroom Costa Mesa home when neighborhood crime drove her from the one-bedroom apartment she had occupied for 16 years. The 38-year-old restaurant manager and part-time student says she feared the lifestyle change but found she enjoys her new digs. She pays $150 a month less than she did for her apartment. “I still have my privacy,” she says. “It’s a nice area and I have more living space.”
Legal Angle: No permit or zoning change is required to rent rooms in one’s home, says Darryl Fisher, Los Angeles city zoning administrator. Homeowners in other municipalities should check with their zoning boards.
Money Matters: Rent for a room should be less than for a one-bedroom or studio apartment in the area and adjusted up or down for factors like a pool, private bath, garage or presence of children in the home. Room rents average $350 to $450 a month in the San Gabriel Valley, $400 to $450 in the San Fernando Valley and $500 to $600 on the Westside, says Mundon.
Upside: Great new friends. Klemow rented a room to a chef and later bought a restaurant with him. A carpenter leasing a room from talent agent Kristene Richter transformed her garage into a workshop, increasing the North Hollywood home’s value.
Also, for renters, the trade-offs for giving up the privacy of one’s own pad are savings of as much as several hundred dollars a month and often a nicer atmosphere than an apartment if the home has such amenities as a pool.
Downside: Lack of privacy or a housemate who has another view toward smoking, drinking, noise or neatness. Klemow, 39, rented to a man and woman 20 years younger. “I’d come home and they’d be drinking a case of beer in the living room with MTV blaring,” he says. “The only thing I got out of it was returnable aluminum cans.” The unwelcome tenants moved out.
When It Doesn’t Work Out: After giving notice, owners must allow roomers a full rent period to leave--30 days if rent is due monthly--says Tim Bissell of the Los Angeles County Consumer Affairs Department. An owner renting to more than one lodger must sue to evict a tenant who will not leave voluntarily. If the landlord wins, a marshal will throw the renter out. In cities with rent control--Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills--owners can evict a tenant only with cause, such as non-payment of rent or abuse of the premises.
