Thinking about buying a house and renting a room out to Dad, is this a good idea?

Chris in the Sand: Thinking about buying a house and renting a room out to Dad, is this a good idea?
Mostly I dont want him thinking he owns the place and treating me like im 16 again (im 20)
My dad really needs help getting back on his feet. The recent economic conditions crushed his job (auto collision repair tech). Would it be a good idea to let him move in with me and have him pay 1/2 the mortgage payment as rent?
its not just going to be him, its also going to be my 5 yo sister
He tries his hardest to do good for his children. He isnt so great with a credit card or money (if he has any extra money after rent, bills, food, ect. he blows it on something completely unnecessary)

Answers and Views:

Answer by spiritwalker
hummm, did Dad have you pay anything while he was raising you, and had problems? Probably not, so why charge him Rent? I’m sure there are other ways he could help out.

Answer by Matthew
I think it’s a good idea. I think a lot of older family members are going to be moving in together again. I’m 31, and my wife and I are going to be buying a house together with my parents.

Housing is too freaking expensive for just 1 person, or husband and wife anymore.

Answer by Home Help
Just be up front with him. Set rules and let him know that it is a win, win for both of you. If trating you like a child is a concern, let him know it. Dad’s feel they need to protect and provide all the time.

You are doing a very good thing.
Good luck

Answer by Sandra M
You could do this but you will have to be careful. If he has a history of not paying debts, I would be careful because he can increase your cost of living and not pay anything into it. Make sure that you have the rules in writing such as:

1. refrigerator: is he going to only purchase his own stuff will he have to replace things that he eats. How much of his stuff can take up the fridge.
2. parking – who gets what space in front of the house or in a driveway if you have one.
3. water bill – how long for showers. what days do we do laundry
4. gas bill – does he like the house warmer than you do and if that is the case, how much higher will the gas bill be?
5. electric – if he is not employed, the electric bill will go up, will he chip in
6. phone rules – is he allowed to use your phone and do you have unlimited calling service. If you only have a cell, is he going to get his own cell?
7. guests – what time do you go to work and how late can his guests visit. I realize you are in your 20’s but he is an adult too.
8. house cleaning – make sure that he knows that he is to share equally in the cleaning and that he does not have guest status. You will end up fighting over this later if you do not deal with it now.
9. storage – he probably has more than one room of stuff. What will you both do with his stuff. Make sure that he knows what you expect.

Be careful about putting things in writing. If you write a formal lease agreement with him, you will need to speak with both a lawyer and a tax accountant because you will be in landlord status so his payment to you could be taxable. Try to keep things understood but if you have a feeling that you need a lease, I would think twice.

Another thing that I forgot, make sure that you purchase a home that you can afford without your Dad paying half. What happens if you Dad get a better job and he wants to move out. You do not want to loose your house. Do the math before you sign anything and good luck. I do feel that you are being a good son for doing this.

If he blows any money that he gets, I would be very careful. He may not buy food and then you will look at your 5 year old sister and buy her food. That will enable his bad habits. I am not trying to sound hard and uncaring, but I have seen things like this happen before. Do you realize that if he moves in with your sister, he will probably expect you to care for your sister while he is out and about. Is your grandmother (his mother) still living?

Answer by steveko777
I am in my 40s and my parents are in their 70s.. Despite doing well in life my dad still sometimes treats me like I am a dumb 15yo. Its just the nature of being a parent and I guess we will all do it someday. Its sometimes hard for them to make an adjustment..Since your family is younger I just don’t know…I would not hesitate to make this move if my folks were down on their luck or their were health issues. You need to have a one on one with your dad before you make this move and make things clear…I would also wonder what responsibilities would be expect ed of you in regard to your sister… and are you willing to make the sacrifices involved.

Answer by Demo S
If you haven’t bought a place yet, the better thing to do would be to rent a place together first. Then if the situation doesn’t work out, you can leave the place after the lease does expires. If the situation works out well, you can then think about buying a place and entering into such an agreement. When you own a place it is really hard to get rid of it, and you don’t seem like you know for sure if this situation is going to work well for you or not, so don’t commit to something like that if you don’t have an “out”.

Answer by grandpa
I agree with some of the points some have made here.

I would add that you may be in for a heap of trouble if you go down this road.

1) Buy the house if you want and can afford it on you own.

2) Help out dad and sister if you “can afford to do it for free” out of the goodness of your heart.

3) If dad can help pay expenses he should as it is the parent’s responsibility to support their kids not the other way around . But to helping “temporarily” is noble, compassionate and just thing to do.

If you can agree to the three things I have suggested only do it if dad has always been a good provider and hard worker and not a perpetual loser. A man who is temporarily having unusual bad luck deserves your love and support. But there is going to be challenges ahead for you no matter what.

Answer by Janet P
The moving him in is a good idea, charging him rent is not.

First off, he isn’t good with money, he is not going to pay you any way. Why create tension? Just let him stay, with a time limit.