Thinking About A Roommate?
Thinking About A Roommate?
How to Protect Yourself
Why A Roommate?
Buying your first home (or condo!) in southern Ontario can be a stretch on your finances but building your equity vs. your landlord’s is a great way to attain financial freedom in the future!
We totally get it & we want to share our tips for protecting your investment!
So this week’s #ThursdayThoughts are all about what homeowners need to know when renting out a room in their home…
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Protect Yourself With A Lease — draft a lease & have them sign. It’s ESSENTIAL that you document the living arrangement to protect your investment!
Seriously.
I’m not kidding.
Reach out if you need help with this — it’s vital to your financial future to protect yourself when sharing your home.
ONTARIO ROOMMATE BASICS
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Trust Your Gut — not only will you be living with this person… you’re going to be LIVING with this person.
Ask about employment, how long they’ve been there, ideally ask for a credit check.
Find out their typical work schedule & make sure they won’t be on an opposite shift than you.
Ask about their hygiene & cleaning habits — I’d discuss a cleaning schedule while you’re interviewing.
Are they seeing someone?
Will they be entertaining friends often?
The biggest thing is to listen to & trust your gut — if you’re getting a weird vibe, listen to your intuition & move on.
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Keep A Papertrail – do not accept rent in cash.
E-Transfers & cheques are an easy way to be able to prove they paid you monthly.
Paper Trails will be your best friend if you ever need to go to court.
Be proactive & make that trail!
Another note here is you should also create receipts for your roommate & keep a copy for yourself.
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If you are sharing a bathroom & kitchen be aware that the Residential Tenancy Act does not apply.
This means your roommate will not have tenant rights or access to the Landlord Tenant Board’s resources, but neither will you.
This is why having that lease is so important!
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Avoid Getting Romantically Involved – if you do decide to start a more personal relationship, even if it is “just casual”, you’ll be putting yourself into a vulnerable position legally speaking.
If you don’t have that lease & amazing papertrail, this roommate could end up requesting a Cohabitation Agreement which would entitle to them to a portion of your hard-earned home!
So Make Sure You Are Protecting Your Assets!
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Keeping It Genuine,
Your REALTORS®,
The Edwards Team of Todd Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage
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