One of the first hurdles in deciding to share the home you live in is figuring out what to charge your future housemates.
Renting
When you are all renting the space, this is somewhat easy as generally people simply divide the rent by the number of persons. Occasionally a room will be significantly better or worse than the others – in that case it usually works to adjust the rent to match the benefits or constraints that the room has for the renter.
Owner
More difficult is figuring out the what to charge when you own the home. Your costs include property tax, maintenance as well as the mortgage. In this case, you are best researching your local market. Find out what the going rate is in your area. Be realistic about what your house offers someone else. In setting a cost, don’t get greedy. Though it may be tempting to “see what you can get” remember that this person will be your housemate. You want them to feel comfortable. You also want them to feel that the rent is fair. Even better if you can set it so that it is good for you and a really good deal for the future housemate(s). You will have more people interested in the space and therefore more choice about who you invite to live with you.
