by Stephen Poulitsis

Created on: May 22, 2010   Last Updated: February 21, 2011

Imagine if your lodger develops an all encompassing crush on you, lurking by the door for your every return whilst wearing nothing but a come hither smile and a noxious knock off perfume? This could raise alarm bells and even feelings of claustrophobia in your own home. It isn’t easy to get a restraining order on the woman in your spare bedroom, but your privacy, personal space and peace of mind are all disturbed equally. Having to invest in a padlock for your bedroom door  probably  wasn't what you had in mind when you advertised for a lodger to help cover the mortgage costs.

Before you let any stranger into your potentially lucrative spare room a few basic checks need to be done as a matter of course. A credit check is a must, as even if your tenant proves to be exemplary in personal habits, you need to know they can pay the rent. Get an employers reference and do a criminal background check as well.

For extra peace of mind it is worth every cent in hiring a private investigator for a week to be sure your potential tenant is not up to nefarious practices which could lead to the FBI storming your property. Federal prison may not be as bad as a state penitenary but you don’t want to spend the next five years there found guilty on the charge of harboring a fugitive or international diamond smuggler.

The last place you want to run into a fruit cake is in your own home. Returning to find your lodger chopping heads off Barbie dolls whilst using your home phone line to talk to his internet bride to be on the other side of the world, can be mildly annoying. No hot water left; black smoke billowing from your oven; and a very strange smell pervading from the newly neon pink painted room your lodger is meant to stay in, can raise the blood pressure. What once seemed a most excellent way to help finance your mortgage is now a decided nuisance. The risks of renting a room in your home could well come home to haunt you.

Your lodger could have friends who invade your home and are bigger than you, making you feel like the lodger. When you advertised for one maybe you didn't anticipate the spare room would be home to two, meaning double use of your utilities. It can be awkard to address the issue if it isn't established from the start. You could well begin to feel outnumbered in your own home and  end up creeping around in the background in a state of permanent annoyance that the lodger's new found love is hogging your stove, couch or remote control.

Compile a long detailed questionnaire to make sure if the lodger is going go be compatible with you. Make sure in advance that no bagpipes, drum kits, or collections of rodents will be accompanying the lodger. Lay down rules to make sure the lodger does not lend their key to serial killers or real estate people. You could get a shock to discover your home has been sold out from under you by the fraudster who has had endless hours to hack into all your financial records.

Be careful to whom you rent, as unless you are lucky enough to get a normal type, your home is going to be their home. It may not turn out to be as easy to evict them as you first thought. The last thing you want is to be driven out of your own home by the lodger from hell.

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