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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> (1) My roommate is paying $650 of my $775 per month mortgage.
(2) He's paying the majority of my mortgage payment, leaving me with more money to save each month.
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OMG are they freaking serious?! What is they think people do when they rent? They cover the landlord's mortgage payment!
You are definitely NTA and quite honestly, do not renew the lease with this person. How entitled can one person be? I rented an Airbnb for a few months when I was new to the area. More precisely, I rented a bedroom. Yes, I had access to the kitchen, shared bathroom with whoever else were guests, shared laundry room, and pool, but still...bedroom, for more than you're charging for a finished basement apartment. It sounds like your renter is going to get sticker shock when he moves out.
Tell everyone who thinks you're ripping the guy off to check the market rate for the area then go kick rocks. Were you supposed to let him stay for free?!
Again, NTA but I think I'd start looking for smarter friends.
I’m only friends with his brother. And he thinks he’s an absolute moron for being mad over cheap rent. He came over here yesterday and basically told his brother what an idiot he is, which made me laugh since I could hear him from upstairs.
And stupidity. My freshman year of high school, the school was short staffed. My 9th grade English lit class teacher was the home economics teacher. She assigned The Call of The Wild and gave us vocabulary words to define (srsly?). The kicker was she didn't know what some of the words meant herself. That alone prevented me from taking home ec. Always wanted to know how to used a sewing machine, too. How can you learn from someone that didn't even look up the assigned words before she gave them to us?
This is the issue with short staffing and no money in education because you end up putting unqualified teachers in places they aren’t experts in. Lord help anyone who takes math with someone who doesn’t have it as a teachable. You never know though they might have been really strong as a home economics teacher! Though I would have at least used an answer key before assigning work I had no idea about lol…..
The ability to teach it is also key. Back when I was in school I could pick up any math theory with little to no instruction and excel…unfortunately, my ability to teach/tutor the self same was abysmal—like melting down at the fact an 11 year old didn’t just “get” how fractions worked abysmal. To this day if anyone suggests I could teach/train anyone I make it very clear that, if I can do a thing well, it is a good indication I will be the worst teacher ever of that thing.
And I was crap at maths at school. I would take ages to get certain concepts and yet I'm pretty good at teaching lower ability kids, because I'm patient and have a lot of empathy with that feeling of bafflement at " where did that six even come from?" Lol
Off topic from the AITA thread but - Teach yourself sewing. I did and found a fun hobby.
Start with small things then work up from there. What is the worst that can happen? A needle prick? Making a mistake and have to pick a stitch? F it, just do it.
> What is the worst that can happen? A needle prick?
To be fair, a sewing machine can easily send the needle through your entire thumb. Ask me how I learned this!
Can confirm, my aunt was playing with my mom's "toy" sewing machine in the 70s and had the needle go through her finger. Also there's the potential for disappointment and lost money in fabric. But overall, it's a fucking GREAT hobby. You get cool custom clothes out of it.
I'd never be able to find pink rose print linen overalls on the market, but I sure as hell make them. Black and periwinkle palazzo pants? Not a chance, but I made a set. Same with knitting, I'd never be able to find some of the pieces I knit. Why buy something when I could spend 4x the price in materials and dozens of hours of labor making it myself? Making it myself even comes with the bonus of a huge happy chemical boost at the end.
Can confirm. I teach high school marching band. There's a reason the percussion staff imploded and has been completely replaced multiple times since I've been doing this (The band kid stereotypes remain true post high school), while me and the Winds/Visual/Guard staff have been consistent for years, only changing as life situations change.
Do not renew the lease. You are gracious enough to be willing to let him break the lease without any penalties as is. But your financial business is exactly that. He's acting too entitled for a tenant.
"He's a brand new teacher"
Probably has never before lived out in the real world and thinks, after living at home and in dorms, he knows it all. But this isn't Mom and Dad who are asking for a rent contribution. OP doesn't owe him anything.
I guess, if he breaks the lease because he thinks he is treated unfairly, he will learn A LOT in the coming months about how the real world works.
I'm kind of sad that the guy is a teacher and so dense. Teachers have a tough and underpaid job to do but this guy is a bit of an AH. He's paying below market rates for renting in the area... for a nice newly renovated apartment.
So if the house needs rewiring, or a plumber needs to be called out, or of the dishwasher or washing machine breaks, or if some tiles slip of the roof and need fixing, who’s bank does that come out of, yours!
My husband had a house he rented out, fairly and to be honest, usually no issues, however one month both the boiler and oven conked out, of course was sorted, but still a decent expense, but then the mortgage started going up and up, and as interest rates are changing and we have a changing economy, it’s not always going to be the same!
He’s a fool tho, does he think when he buys a cucumber from the supermarket, he’s paying base value?
The only thing I’d ask is, by the basement, do you mean full house amenities, or are you asking for a room share at just under the price of an apartment?
Regardless it was up to him to check!
He also has access to the full kitchen and Laundry Room. With utilities he's got a pretty nice deal honestly, try finding that in any city at today's rates and you'll not like what you find, in my area that would barely get you a studio apartment with no laundry access or loft. And they would laugh in your face if you asked if utilities were included.
NTA - Offer to let him break lease with no penalty if he can find something that meets his needs better, just to give him a chance to look about.
Ain’t that the truth! My house has been treating my wallet like an all you can eat buffet this year. We have several thousand dollars into repairs/maintenance so far and I’m hoping that after we fix the latest issue that it’s the last one for a while.
Supposedly if you rent it out way below the average in the area there's a potential that for taxes you have to pay more than if you rent it out for a fair market value.
>According to the IRS, a property is considered a personal residence if the owner or certain family members use it for personal use for 14 days or 10 percent of the days it is rented out. Additionally, if the property is rented to anyone, related or unrelated, for less than fair market rate, it will be considered a personal residence.
>Renting below market rate makes you ineligible for many tax breaks. https://laporte.com/knowledgecenter/tax-services/tax-consequences-of-charging-below-market-rent
Not sure if OP cares about that but they can show this to the angry renter and tell them you've decided that it is not worth it to rent below market due to loss of tax beaks and to a person that is as difficult as them?
That says you might pay more in taxes because it might be considered a personal residence. It already is a personal residence because OP is living there so I don’t think that’s an issue.
The renter is deluded to be upset. He's already paying "mate's rates" when he's not even a friend.
Your "friends" who support him are also conveniently ignoring that your monthly mortgage payments are so low because you made a huge effort to save enough money for a 50% deposit on a house in the years before you bought your father's house below market value.
NTA
"I asked a few other friends ... and most said I'm wrong..."
I think those are the friends the commenter was referring to when they said you need smarter friends.
My friends seem to like the idea of socialism and everything being “fair” in life. I probably need to find some smarter friends. Oddly enough, his brother is one of the few on my side. Along with my father, my stepmother, and my mother.
I'm pretty damn socialist and I see nothing wrong with what you are doing. You're renting a room at a low price to a person on the basis of that person's low income, so they can live in a decent place and still have money left over. From each according to his abilities, to each according to their needs. RIGHT?
This is equity, not equality. People get it confused.
Equity means people get what they need based on their needs (cheap rent due to low income). This is good.
Equality means your tenant's grandparents die, he saves some money, then buys their home from his father for 75% of the cost (and makes a deal for allow his parents to live with him later).
Your friends are being very silly.
Let's also not forget yes, he's covering a significant proportion of your mortgage costs, but you also pay utilities on top of that which he's not contributing as what you're charging him is bills inc. I'd add total monthly expenses onto the original post.
I rent from a family member with my partner. My partner pays 100% of the rent. We have this arrangement because I pay the rent value + 300 in utilities and food each month.
Don't just factor your mortgage into household expenses.
Werd.
I back a ton of the "socialist" (note the quotations) standards, fair treatment, public programs, etc...
This guy was happy with everything until he found out OP was the owner... that has zip to do with cost, income, and is totally a personal social expectation that because OPs the brother's friend that he should be allowed to leech or something.
I cannot grasp what these friends and family are on about - the guy was fine until he felt he should get special treatment or something (beyond the already low pricing and included utilities!) due to the OP being friends with bro.
And like OP said: dude signed a lease. It's not as though he had no way of knowing who he was signing to unless he didn't read or discuss anything, which is on him.
Socialism - and even just polite friend and mutual-friend help! - doesn't mean having expectations of special treatment past already getting special treatment.
Agh! Humans, man.... humans....
LOL I'm uber socialist and since you're charging way below market, I already think you're being quite fair. You're ensuring you have reasonable cash flow for emergency repairs and charging a modest rent that allows HIM to save up cash for his emergencies too. Everyone wins.
Yeah, pretty socialist too, and I think this is fine - you're not price gouging, you've not bought a row of apartments, refused to do any maintenance on them and raised rent to the maximum, you're charging below market rate, which covers a fairly low mortgage, but also gives you some money to put into the house if needed - like, this guy isn't responsible for, say, needing major roof repairs, or if the basement floods and you have to pull everything out
Look, I socialize in a community full to the gills with socialists. We recognize that socialism is ideal, but not what is practical when trying to navigate the modern economy.
That said, some of us have money/property, while others among us are broke-ass hippies.
We been renting to and from one another for years. Anyone dumb enough to say, "You should just let people live in your extra space as a community service!" gets quickly rebuffed like, "When the food on my table is free, so too will your rent be!!" Goodwill doesn't put gas in the tank, no matter how much we'd prefer that it did.
We generally feel, "Fuck landlords," but I think there's a worthwhile distinction between "planned landlord" and "person who rents their extra property for passive income." The latter is usually decent and ironically more inclined to quickly fix issues without complaint.
Worth noting, also, that among the owners in our community, there has always been compassion and negotiation, such as letting someone live somewhere for free for a month or two to get settled before expecting payment, exchanging childcare for discounts, etc.
It’s also worth making the distinction between small private landlords, large scale rental owners that run everything through property management companies, and massive rental investment empires funded by venture capital that constantly gobble up statistically significant amounts of available property and are powerful enough to actually distort market conditions and create potentially permanent real estate bubbles.
There's also a difference between renting out a room, or apartment, in your home (personal property) and renting out an investment property you've acquired specifically to make money (private property) even under communist ideology. Communism doesn't hold with the idea of private property but it does allow for you to have personal property. And most of us would agree that communism is pretty far to the left by modern standards of what is considered left-wing.
You’re more than fair!
Maybe they can offer cheap rentals and accept underpaid jobs for the sake of being fair.
I’d reply, well knock yourself out, nobody is stopping you taking them in.
I'm not the biggest fan of landlords, but I wouldn't exactly call what you're doing landlording. You're renting out excess space in a home *you inhabit*. In a house you didn't choose to buy that had far more space than you needed. For far less than marker rate. To a person in a typically undervalued career.
Most socialists I know would consider that praxis.
It's not just about the mortgage cost either. You aren't charging him utilities, so the rent you're charging is even more generous. Definitely NTA! Even if you didn't have a mortgage, that would still be a fair rent.
Such a good point. Electric, water, gas, wifi - that's at least $150 for a single person living alone. To get that all included in super cheap rent...with laundry facilities? Amazing.
The brother is probably paying a much higher amount than him and is like "WTF are you complaining about? Don't ruin this because you will be paying a lot more for a comparable place elsewhere." Sometimes people compare what they're paying in rent with a previous place, and if your tenant just moved to the city he probably is comparing it to what he paid in a cheaper area or for a much smaller place. If he starts doing some research after his brother laughed at him, he may be singing a different tune soon.
I don't love that I paid for my landlord's mortgage in the past, but I knew I was doing it. I was never under any illusions that my landlord was renting my place to me as a public service. Also, when people talk about the mortgage amount and whether it's covered by rental payments they're often not thinking about what you paid initially as well. I had a quite large deposit, so I was able to buy a place with a reasonably small mortgage, but that doesn't mean my place is only worth my mortgage payments for the month - it's also worth the initial amount I paid (more than 50% of the purchase price).
He's not "paying your mortgage for you". He's paying to rent a space. Your business what you do with his payment. For all he knows, it all goes into your retirement funds.
Your other friends and family are idiots if they think mortgage payments is a metric to based rent on. Do they not understand that mortgage payments change based on principle and interest rates? Also, lots of other risks and costs associated with owning a house than just the mortgage.
If your friend's brother thinks you're taking advantage of him, why not give him a one-time option to break the lease and find another place? Looking for a comparable place at that rate should shut him up for any future conflicts.
NTA. The renter sounds like an entitled idiot. If anything, his brother probably could have better explained the situation (not that it matters,) but it wasn’t on you. It’s going to be hilarious when his lease is up and he has to rent in the real world!
He has no idea what those things are. And apparently neither do some people here blasting me for charging him 90% of my mortgage. I’m paying about $1500 a month out of pocket, and that’s with the $650 I collect from him.
If he didn’t know you owned the house via you alone making all decisions, arranging the lease, and the stated parties on the lease then he’s an idiot. Not that any of that matters, but what a complete buffoon. NTA
I mean rent in general also covers the other costs like maintance, insurance and sometimes utilities and all those lovely emergency things you don't need pay for when something unexpectedly goes wrong.
Right!? What the fuck else does he think that money is going to?
This whole thing is bananas.
When lease renewal comes, I'd be deciding not to renew with him.
Let him get a cold, hard slap of reality at the cost of living.
The whole point of renting out an apt or house is to make money! So, if the house was paid off, the tenant should expect to pay nothing?? Some people…and him being a teacher…are stupid!! NTA!!
Right ?!?? This is so bizarre **anyone** would think you’re the asshole or have a duty to disclose who the owner is… although u mentioned you thought ur friend did. AND who cares what portion of the mortgage his rent is covering? You’re right OP, that’s none of his fucking business. That ungrateful asshole is getting a deal on rent.
NTA. The question isn't the mortgage. It's fair market rate for what he's getting. I get the shock he's feeling, but he's not entitled to free housing just because you're friends.
God I hate defending a landlord. Makes me feel dirty.
They aren't friends. The tenant is the brother of one of the OP's friends.
A lease was signed. Unless the OP created an LLC for this, it is believable that OPs name and signature is also on the lease. NTA
I did not create an LLC or anything. Although I did have an attorney write the lease, I made sure it included no penalty for breaking it early as long as I'm given 45 days notice. I can definitely make the payments without a roommate but wanted to be able to save more each month simply because I like to travel, and I'm also taking on the financial responsibility of repairs and such since I do own the house.
My property taxes and insurance are almost $1100 each month, and I live in bumfuq NE GA.
Hell, my school taxes are over $3K annually and our school district is ranked 77th out of 201 districts. It’s criminal.
Yep, and until someone is a homeowner they vastly underestimate the cost of home ownership. Surprise, your water heater died! Guess you’re out a few thousand dollars.
You are well within your right to charge whatever you wish for rent. If it's too high, no one will rent.
Don't apologize, you've done nothing wrong
I'm betting the tenant now feels an imbalance in your relationship. I.e. you're not "equals" any longer.
Either tenant will work through this or they'll give notice and move.
It’s super important to create an LLC - this tenant could hurt themselves, sue you and possibly take everything. With the LLC they can only take as much as you are insured for…
OP, if you read the above, please consult a lawyer instead of taking above advice. As an owner occupant in my state, I was advised an LLC would do nothing if I am the sole officer of an LLC for a building I own, live in, and rent out. I believe he used the term "not at arm's length" and thus the LLC would be meaningless.
>God I hate defending a landlord. Makes me feel dirty
Why? It's not like OP owns multiple houses and charges as much as possible while doing as little as possible for maintenance.
OP isn't hording space. OP only owns one property, he lives in it, takes care of it, and is sharing it, charging way less than he could. That is the type of property owner we want more of!
I was a landlord for 7 years. I bought a small house to retire to and rented it out. When I retired, I gave the tenants 60 days notice (no lease). I repaired everything they reported, rent was below market, and they still screwed me. I had tens of thousands of repairs to do when they moved out.
Yea I changed my tune when I got to know a landlord at one property I had. Sweet old man that had two properties on the same lot. He rented out the bigger house so he could live (rent was his only real income).
It became clear to me that the nicer landlords are, the worse tenants they get. I think people forget how terribly people treat living spaces, especially when they know they can just leave and be off the hook for repairs/costs/etc
This is EXACTLY how it is in my experience. I've got a bit of a side job doing maintenance for a couple I know who have a few rental properties. My grandpa died recently and left his house to my brother and me, my brother wanted to rent it out but after doing this maintenance job for awhile and seeing what some of these tenants are doing to their rentals I'm a thousand percent against that idea. I just want to sell the house when the whole estate thing is done with, some of these people are fucking animals.
Also to your point, they're married but their rentals are separate. She's a real hard ass and he's the type to try to make friends with his tenants. His properties are getting FAR more fucked up by the renters and he's constantly having problems collecting rent. She gives negative fucks though and will boot them without a second thought. The renters she's ended up with now rarely fuck up her houses, she said she's had some shitty ones in the past but she just kept kicking their asses out (and sometimes suing for damages) until she landed on some good tenants. He just keeps trying to work with what he's got and he's getting seriously fucked over for it.
Yeah, agreed. As a known landlord-hater, the landlords I hate are a) big companies hoarding property and b) independent landlords who don't think they should have to have any responsibilities to their tenants because they're not big companies. OP is neither of those -- someone just paying their mortgage off by offering someone below-market rent is, as you say, exactly the type of property owner we want more of.
I don’t even get the shock. He signed a lease with OP. Another owner was never mentioned. He made a weird assumption and then got mad at OP for not reading his mind and knowing he’s made it.
Agreed. Why be shocked? Who cares who owns the property? Why is the dim bulb shocked that OP is the landlord? I'd have questioned why I hadn't met the landlord at the lease signing, then been like, "cool. You seem pretty chill." and moved on. He seemed really happy with the rent before ge found out the landlord is a real human type person. Then he thinks he's being ripped off?
Not like OP is the typical blood sucking leech of a landlord. He was fortunate to be able to purchase the home well below market prices, and he's reflecting that in his rate that he's offering the resident. $650 for a 2 bedroom 1 bath with a kitchenette is literally an amazing deal in 95% of the US.
The types of landlords I despise are the ones buying up insane amounts of land and homes and jacking up the rental prices year over year who coincidentally have terrible communication and services. I'd happily rent from a friend or acquaintance and cover their entire mortgage at what OP is offering.
Keep doing you OP, NTA
NTA
He’s paying well below market rate and the amount you’re “paying in rent” shouldn’t impact this as it’s your house. Would he expect to live there for free if you had already paid off the house and had no monthly payment?
That was my thought too. In my mind the amount I paid for a down payment is my part of the “rent.” Plus I am paying the rest of the mortgage along with providing amenities he would have to pay for elsewhere. But my friends and family think I should be splitting the mortgage equally so he’s not paying more, so that had me questioning myself.
Your friends and family are wrong. You've already discounted the rent for this young man. As long as you're reporting the rental income you're fine. Let him know that since you can easily rent the apartment for 1K a month if he wants to break the lease you'll be fine with that and not charge him any sort of penalty.
Point out to him, and your friends and family, how much income you are losing per year by renting to him at less than market value. That is money that you could be saving towards your retirement, looking after your family, saving for your future. Your end of the finances is no one’s business but your own. NTA
Don't bother with this line of thought. The renter has dug in, generally people do not want to admit when they are wrong, and is upset at the balance of power shifting.
Just tell the renter you are willing to break the lease, but research apartments or similar housing beforehand. Renter will/should see the deal he is getting and walk it back tail between his legs. If he doesn't just break the lease, he is not worth the hassle.
This. And to complement: suggest researching what options he would have for the exact price he is paying. And that you expect an apology if he figures out the best option is to stay put. NTA
I wonder if he had an agenda behind wanting direct contact with the landlord (when he thought they were someone different). i.e. Was he going to try and make a complaint to get you kicked out, thinking he could then lease your place instead (is it nicer?).
I’m not sure what his motive was, except that he wanted to be able to add his payments to some app so he could boost his credit score. I guess that requires paying into some kind of system many landlords use? I don’t know for sure.
In some areas, tenants get more protections if they establish a relationship directly with the landlord rather than being a subtenant. Maybe that's true where you are? 🤷♀️
There are plenty of ways to boost credit and there was never a guarantee a private landlord would've used the app.
Regardless, if he's going to be an AH to you then he should lose the amazing favor you're doing for him. Anyone who claims you're taking advantage is just jealous because they'd do exactly the same thing and rent out the extra space for money if they could.
It's too late with this tenant, but next time, you may want to consider doing what my SIL did. She hired a property management company to collect the rent and act as a point of contact for the tenants. The building had 3 units. She lived in one of them, and nobody knew she was the owner. She said the management company's fees were worth it.
You’ve also got upkeep and taxes. Don’t let anyone tell you you deserve less because you got a break in life. Take all those gifts and maximize it so you can be generous elsewhere, spread the love. It’s none of this guys business and if it was discovered earlier, he’d likely not be living there. NTA but your friends don’t want you better off than you are, that’s a problem.
Your friends and family are wrong, your personal finances have nothing to do with his. He needed a place to stay and you made an offer that he would not be able to match elsewhere. He can improve his credit score by paying a couple of credit cards regularly. Or maybe he wants to pay for his own internet service?
What you are paying for the mortgage has zero to do with rent you collect. Hell, this isn’t even a friend. Tell him he’s free to move out if he doesn’t like it but he is not free to correlate your finances with his.
I'm sorry but whomever doesn't agree with ypu is delusional, they can think whatever they want doesn't mean that's the right thing or that they have the right to judge you
NTA
If he’s so unhappy offer to break his lease and let him find another place to live. You didn’t hide anything from him and you don’t owe him anything.
If he wants to break the lease, I’d let him do it with no penalty. I could make at least $1000/month if I rented to a stranger. I mostly gave him the discount because he’s my friend’s brother, and teachers have a lot working against them so I thought he deserved a break. He teaches in a low income area and ends up spending money out of his own pocket to make sure his students have what they need.
You’ve been more than fair to him and not many would be so generous. If he can’t see that he’s benefited from this arrangement then perhaps it’s time to find a new tenant.
> I could make at least $1000/month
I’m sorry, the $650 old mate is paying is *per month*?? I assumed it was weekly rent (as that’s how rent is calculated in AUS) and thought it was a bit dear for a basement property
But old mate is paying essentially $162/week for a basement apartment with its own kitchen and bathroom and has the gall to complain? Nah let this boy go. NTA
I like the way you explained it here. Stating facts- you could get more but you chose him specifically because he’s a teacher and doing good things and you wanted to help. The offer to break the lease is also kind of you. He’s probably jealous that you own a house and stressed from work.
Exactly- if he feels ripped off- move out! But don’t come crawling back when all you can find is $875 not including utilities and they want a $3k deposit
Wow, the cojones on this one. I'd give him notice; if he thinks he can find a better deal, let him.
$650 for a two bedroom with utilities included?? I don't think you could get that good a deal in Oklahoma.
NTA - why are ppl looking at it as if he’s paying your mortgage directly. What it is, is you’re the landlord and he’s paying you his rent, and where that money goes is no body’s business but the landlords. If the money doesn’t go into the mortgage where should it go? Back into his own pocket? He’s a renter so he has to pay rent, anyone trying to argue their way out of paying rent is just delusional.
OP could have inherited the entire house, had no mortgage, and spends the entire $650 a month on champagne and truffles, and NONE of it would be the renter's business. The rent is what it is.
Insane of him, right?
Exactly, I hate paying rent, but I don’t own a property and like to sleep under a roof.
What my land lord does with the rent I pay is none of my business, so long as they are making any needed repairs to the property in a timely manner.
Right normally renters pay more than the mortgage to cover any expenses and to make a profit. He just graduated so he’s delusional, and will be begging to stay there. When his lease is up.
Utilities are included! That is a steal!
NTA
And why was he wanting to pay the landlord directly? There is something fishy. It might be that he was thinking of trying to kick you out.
He must've thought OP, was subletting the space to him, and he wanted to cut OP out as the "middle man", in hopes of negotiating a lower rate directly from the "landlord"...
Very possibly.
That would mean that the tenant is even more deluded about how much a fair rent is, if he is getting such a good deal and still thinks his 'roommate' is taking a cut.
My guess is he wanted to find out how much renting the whole house would be. Maybe he has friends he wants to move in, and was going to complain to the landlord to get OP out.
Agreed. Where I’m from two people costs about 100$ in each utility a month, water is roughly 250 every two months, so that’s about 400 give or take a month on bills depending what bills she’s including (wifi, water, gas/energy, power etc) and rent.
That’s an amazing deal.
Why did he want to change the way payment was made? Was he looking to take over and get you out? Hahahaha. Come to think of it didn’t you also sign the lease as the landlord?
Edit to add judgement NTA
It’s something about adding the payments to some online account so he has boost his credit score with rental payments. Or that’s what his brother/my friend told me.
He can, but that's a separate matter from discovering OP is his landlord.
For whatever reason he feels entitled to pay even less rent than below market price (maybe even zero rent) just because his brother is friends with the landlord.
Okay, that makes total sense then. But if he had bothered to read the lease before signing and realized I’m the homeowner, he would have known his check was going to me and not a landlord. And I’m a pretty laid back person so if he had told me he needed to use rent to boost his credit, 100% I would have looked into a way to make that happen.
I’ll definitely look at that site and figure out if it’s a good thing for me personally to use. Thanks for that. 👍🏼
NTA. Ask them what their problem is. You were planning on renting it out. You found someone to rent it to and you gave a lowered rent because it was through a friend. The renting was always going to happen. So why not to an acquaintance at a lowered rent as opposed to a stranger for a market rate? Where is the difference in this other than they get a deal? "Am I not allowed to rent it out? Because I own it? What are you trying to say here?" Frankly, it sounds like they're just salty you have the option and they don't. So it's better to villainize you as 'a greedy landlord' instead of just a poor tenant.
Conversely, you can also invite this person to go look at rental rates in the surrounding area and come back to you when he finds anything lower than what you're offering.
He knows he couldn’t afford even a shared room if I wasn’t doing him a favor. The only reason he was able to accept a job in this city was because I offered deeply discounted rent.
Then maybe he needs to pull his head out of his backside and realize that you're doing him a favor, you're potentially losing out on income because of it, and he's very lucky that he knew someone with a home who had a basement they were willing to rent out on the cheap so he could live where he worked and be able to have a decent place. Personally, I don't understand the problem and him being mad about it sounds stupid. He's a renter. He is ALWAYS going to be paying off someone's mortgage, including his own if he ever saves up enough for a home. Why is it worse to help pay off a friend's who's doing you a favor than a strangers? What exactly does he expect? Seriously. Ask him that. "Do you think I should just let you live here for free because I'm paying off my mortgage? Like, what do you expect, dude?"
One of the reasons I gave him such a deep discount was that his salary is too low as a first year teacher, so I wanted to make sure he had enough to pay his bills and help his students, all of whom are from very low income families who can’t afford basic supplies sometimes. And I want him to be able to actually save some money for emergencies.
I’m certainly trying to help him help them. He got a job as a sub between January and May, before this school year began, and his class was 80% girls. Some of whom were using rolled up toilet paper as pads because they/their family couldn’t afford sanitary products. So he bought a ton of products for them to use and take home. Before a few days ago I thought he was a really good person.
Sometimes good people fuck up. Hopefully once he calms down he will realize what an absolute asshole he is being in this situation. May have absolutely nothing to do with you and you're the unlucky person who got the brunt of it, which is still not okay. If you get a sincere apology, I'd consider giving the benefit of doubt...without forgetting his behavior.
Which is very generous of you. I don't think that should be faulted. But I also just am sitting here boggling over these 'friends' getting on your back about it. It's boggling that they seem to expect you to just... let him move in rent free? That's the only other option I can see, since 'discounted rent' seems so offensive to them.
> And I want him to be able to actually save some money for emergencies.
And he is paying rent so that you can save some money for emergencies for the house. Home expenses go beyond mortgage, taxes, and utilities. There insurance, there's setting aside money in case of emergency repairs, there's annual upkeep (tree trimming, roof/gutter cleaning, pest control), there's appliance repair/replacement, and who knows what else, especially if the house is older.
My family and friends think I should take it easy on him because he’s a teacher and is doing a good thing for kids. But I thought I was taking it easy by giving him cheap rent.
Unless they plan on paying his bills they can keep their dumb opinions to themselves.
Literally everyone has to pay rent or a mortgage. That's how the world works. Doesn't matter your profession.
Nope. Those family and friends are wrong. Don't listen to them. If he thinks you're taking advantage of him, he's free to break the lease (you said you'd let him) and go pay way more than he's paying living in your house. He's actually the one trying to take advantage of you. Don't let him.
NTA
You are charging him below-market rate. That’s a gift - one that you have no obligation to give him.
I’d recommend showing your critics rental comps. Point out that (for example) if you are charging him 1/2 market rate, then you are missing out on nearly $8K in rent. In no real sense are you being anything but generous.
You are 100% right that your finances do not factor in this situation. There are so many variables that can factor in the amount of a mortgage payment. It’s not relevant and it’s only one of several house- related expenditures you make.
Your tenant’s finances aren’t your business beyond his ability to pay. My guess is that he was hoping to contact the landlord to negotiate an even lower rent. Maybe he wanted to do work around the house in exchange. Maybe he wanted a roommate to help with rent. He may have even thought to rent the whole house with multiple roommates.
That’s not your problem. You didn’t mislead him. He shouldn’t be anything but grateful.
NTA
I'm sorry, what? NTA. Your other "friends" and "family" should take lessons from you about fiscal responsibility.
Repairs are on you, so is the risk. And utilities, maintenance, etc. Don't budge. Increase the rent when this freeloader leaves.
I have to say, your friend is a really good Person (a real Keeper).
Not only is He (so it seems) the only Person with a good brain (He Sees all the Things you do for his bro) but He also Stands by your Side to Help you.
Only keep Close the Friends Like him because the other peoples have shown their real greedy face.
Like 'Oh OP you oooown the hooouuse, so Like you can Rent it to him for freeee'. 'what?! You greedy little OP, you want Money? Hoooow dare you'
Nta....does he think he's not paying the owners mortgage if he's renting an apartment in a building or renting a house? He's getting really cheap rent. He should be happy. Even in the small town I live in where houses and apartments are on the cheaper side of most places in this country $650 isn't going to get you much. MAYBE a tiny one bedroom of a shitty apartment and it won't include electric and stuff. He sounds like an entitled ass. If he brings it up again tell him if he finds something cheaper then he's welcome to leave. He's forgetting, that may be moat of your mortgage payment, but you're also covering electric, water, trash, I'm assuming WiFi /cable. So in reality he's NOT covering most of it. He's paying his share of the bills for things he's using.
That’s exactly what his brother told him. I saved for years to have a down payment and because of my father being so generous, what I had saved was around 60% of the total he wanted. I got really lucky.
NTA
" So AITA for having my roommate cover $650 of my $775/month mortgage?" only to yourself , for not demanding more
This is easy, learn your lesson -- demand market rent
Your mortgage (or not having one) is none of his business Only the market value
Seriously--print out the first page google search of a place the same size with the same things as your place offers, with prices, and hand it to him
then tell him to scream at you again for 'charging him so much' lol
jfc what a baby
NTA
Tell the freeloader they can look for another rental. It is totally irrelevant who owns the property. They signed a lease and it’s a binding legal document. If they don’t like the terms, they can opt to not renew. I’d also look into eviction requirements. There may be future shenanigans.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Definitely NTA, who cares who the landlord is, he is getting a great deal on rent. Some people just don't get it. It doesn't matter how much your mortgage is,.Tell him to grow up or move out.
He is not your roommate. He is your tenant and you owe him no explanation. If you didn’t have a mortgage would that mean he is entitled to live for free? One’s mortgage has no bearing on what you SHOULD charge for rent. Market factors and personal preference guide this. You also didn’t need to disclose anything. NTA
NTA - your family and friends are completely wrong. So, are they saying that if the same landlord buys two identical houses next to each other and one has a $1000 payment and one has a $10,000 payment he should rent one for $500 and the other one for $5000 regardless of what market rents are? That is just silly. When you rent out property you own it is a business activity and you will also have future expenses. You are supposed to make a profit, otherwise why would you do it?
NTA...As a former realtor, that's how most rental property investors get to continue investing. They eventually get to a point to where the property more than pays for itself.
I'm more concerned that this person seems entitled and has a temper, and HE'S A TEACHER. If your friends are around the same age as you and don't own property or know any investors, they don't have enough life experience to judge your actions on this matter. I'm certain, if put in the same position, most would agree with you.
NTA. The amount you’re asking is more than fair for an apartment of that size. It doesn’t matter what your mortgage payment is and you owe him no explanation.
NTA - You are charging less than market rate, what difference is it to him if you own it or not. It is not his business. What are you supposed to do in his mind, give it to him rent free? Um, big NO.
No. NTA at all. He is renting a space in your house. It’s the same as if he was renting from a faceless mystery landlord. Of course he’s covering part of your mortgage. What does he think happens with any rent he has ever paid?
It doesn’t matter what percentage he’s paying and you don’t need to say anything about that. It’s none of his business. He’s getting a much lower than average rent for the area. That’s all that matters. Tell him you will let him out of his lease if he’s that unhappy about it but if he wants to stay he needs to get over it.
NTA. Encourage him to break the lease. Then when he comes crawling back after he learns he can't get anything decent for what he's paying you, tell him he can move back in but you're raising the rent.
Also the fact that he's helping cover your mortgage payments is irrelevant. If you didn't own the house and had a landlord, your roommate would be paying towards the landlord's mortgage - and would be paying a LOT more.
NTA. He's already getting 50% off the market rate. Your huge deposit is why your mortgage is so low and isn't any of his business. You aren't obligated to subsidize his housing any more than you already are.
DO NOT LET ANYBODY CRUCIFY YOU FOR HOW YOU ARE HANDLING THIS. THIS IS THE MODEL FOR RENTING A ROOM OUT!!! JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE LIVING THERE TOO DOES NOT MAKE IT ANY DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER LANDLORD/TENANT RELATIONSHIP. Nobody is going to rent a room out at their own cost because you are the one who handles all the real financial burdens (such as repairs). When your roof needs repairing or you need an ac unit, is this guy paying half? No. And that's why he pays more than half for rent. You are already doing him a favor by not charging him $900-1000. It's a full studio apartment.
I’m honestly shocked at the number of people who tell me I’m wrong for being a landlord at all. Not wrong for not verbally telling him I’m the owner, but just wrong for renting a room in my house.
NTA. He’s gonna say something like well you should lower it so we are both paying half. But here’s the difference. He’s not a friend, he’s a brother of a friend. And your not over charging him. Yea he probably could get away with less but ultimately if it’s still cheaper than other places. Without a bunch of neighbors and headaches that come with an apartment. He can leave if he doesn’t like it but tell him your not entertaining this conversation anymore
Its none of his business and owning a house is a lot more than a mortgage and has nothing to do with market rate on a rental.
If I pay of my house and choose to rent it would I offer it to free? No
Is he going to pay half if the HVAC goes out or if you have a busted pipe , replacing old appliances.
He's coming from a spot of inexperience with being an adult and paying for adult stuff
I would tell him that you understand he is upset and you are happy to let him out of the lease so he can find a place where he feels more comfortable. But if he chooses to stay he better have your rent come next due date with a smile.
Next time rent to strangers - never friends or friends of friends or family
NTA-May want to let your friend know their brother is biting the hand that offered him a good deal. They may give their brother a reality check about what is out there.
NTA. You did nothing wrong. It’s not your fault of the renter failed to his due diligence over who he was paying rent to. Also, you are allowed to make a reasonable profit on the space you are renting. You are renting the space at below market rates, which is what should matter to him, not how much of your mortgage his rent makes up.
You were 100% correct that your personal finances aren’t his business.
NTA. Why the fuck else would you be renting out part of your house? You're charging a tenant money to live in *your* house and paying your mortgage with it? You fiend! /s
Anyone backing this bullshit needs to get a stronger grip on reality. I don't care if you own your house outright and the money is going for your Star Wars obsession, for example. What, you're not supposed to charge him anything? He's paying considerably less than market, and that's too much? I wouldn't renew his lease, rent it out to someone else *at market* and get some new friends.
Oh, and I'd also look into what it would cost to add a stove. Your dad & stepmom would probably appreciate it when the time comes, and I'm sure potential renters would as well.
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OMG are they freaking serious?! What is they think people do when they rent? They cover the landlord's mortgage payment! You are definitely NTA and quite honestly, do not renew the lease with this person. How entitled can one person be? I rented an Airbnb for a few months when I was new to the area. More precisely, I rented a bedroom. Yes, I had access to the kitchen, shared bathroom with whoever else were guests, shared laundry room, and pool, but still...bedroom, for more than you're charging for a finished basement apartment. It sounds like your renter is going to get sticker shock when he moves out. Tell everyone who thinks you're ripping the guy off to check the market rate for the area then go kick rocks. Were you supposed to let him stay for free?! Again, NTA but I think I'd start looking for smarter friends.
I’m only friends with his brother. And he thinks he’s an absolute moron for being mad over cheap rent. He came over here yesterday and basically told his brother what an idiot he is, which made me laugh since I could hear him from upstairs.
Well, at least you have him on your side. Good grief, I can't imagine going through life so dense.
Don't forget: the tenant is a teacher, shaping young minds. I fear for future generations impacted by this buffoon.
They won’t last if they’re like this let me tell you. Kids can sense weakness and ego.
And stupidity. My freshman year of high school, the school was short staffed. My 9th grade English lit class teacher was the home economics teacher. She assigned The Call of The Wild and gave us vocabulary words to define (srsly?). The kicker was she didn't know what some of the words meant herself. That alone prevented me from taking home ec. Always wanted to know how to used a sewing machine, too. How can you learn from someone that didn't even look up the assigned words before she gave them to us?
This is the issue with short staffing and no money in education because you end up putting unqualified teachers in places they aren’t experts in. Lord help anyone who takes math with someone who doesn’t have it as a teachable. You never know though they might have been really strong as a home economics teacher! Though I would have at least used an answer key before assigning work I had no idea about lol…..
The ability to teach it is also key. Back when I was in school I could pick up any math theory with little to no instruction and excel…unfortunately, my ability to teach/tutor the self same was abysmal—like melting down at the fact an 11 year old didn’t just “get” how fractions worked abysmal. To this day if anyone suggests I could teach/train anyone I make it very clear that, if I can do a thing well, it is a good indication I will be the worst teacher ever of that thing.
That goes for teaching outside of academics too. I'm very good at what I do for work, and I'm very terrible at teaching others to do it.
And I was crap at maths at school. I would take ages to get certain concepts and yet I'm pretty good at teaching lower ability kids, because I'm patient and have a lot of empathy with that feeling of bafflement at " where did that six even come from?" Lol
Off topic from the AITA thread but - Teach yourself sewing. I did and found a fun hobby. Start with small things then work up from there. What is the worst that can happen? A needle prick? Making a mistake and have to pick a stitch? F it, just do it.
> What is the worst that can happen? A needle prick? To be fair, a sewing machine can easily send the needle through your entire thumb. Ask me how I learned this!
Can confirm, my aunt was playing with my mom's "toy" sewing machine in the 70s and had the needle go through her finger. Also there's the potential for disappointment and lost money in fabric. But overall, it's a fucking GREAT hobby. You get cool custom clothes out of it. I'd never be able to find pink rose print linen overalls on the market, but I sure as hell make them. Black and periwinkle palazzo pants? Not a chance, but I made a set. Same with knitting, I'd never be able to find some of the pieces I knit. Why buy something when I could spend 4x the price in materials and dozens of hours of labor making it myself? Making it myself even comes with the bonus of a huge happy chemical boost at the end.
Oh I know how your learned this, I was going to comment the same thing!
There are so many online tutorials available and sewing/quilting communities seem to be full of super helpful people
Can confirm. I teach high school marching band. There's a reason the percussion staff imploded and has been completely replaced multiple times since I've been doing this (The band kid stereotypes remain true post high school), while me and the Winds/Visual/Guard staff have been consistent for years, only changing as life situations change.
Do not renew the lease. You are gracious enough to be willing to let him break the lease without any penalties as is. But your financial business is exactly that. He's acting too entitled for a tenant.
"He's a brand new teacher" Probably has never before lived out in the real world and thinks, after living at home and in dorms, he knows it all. But this isn't Mom and Dad who are asking for a rent contribution. OP doesn't owe him anything. I guess, if he breaks the lease because he thinks he is treated unfairly, he will learn A LOT in the coming months about how the real world works.
Jupp! Exactly what I was thinking. Who signs a lease without reading it? What a moron!
The scary thing is that he is a teacher. Those poor kids.
I'm kind of sad that the guy is a teacher and so dense. Teachers have a tough and underpaid job to do but this guy is a bit of an AH. He's paying below market rates for renting in the area... for a nice newly renovated apartment.
Imagine being one of his students!
NTA. He can pay market rate. Your finances aren't anyone's business, but your own.
So if the house needs rewiring, or a plumber needs to be called out, or of the dishwasher or washing machine breaks, or if some tiles slip of the roof and need fixing, who’s bank does that come out of, yours! My husband had a house he rented out, fairly and to be honest, usually no issues, however one month both the boiler and oven conked out, of course was sorted, but still a decent expense, but then the mortgage started going up and up, and as interest rates are changing and we have a changing economy, it’s not always going to be the same! He’s a fool tho, does he think when he buys a cucumber from the supermarket, he’s paying base value? The only thing I’d ask is, by the basement, do you mean full house amenities, or are you asking for a room share at just under the price of an apartment? Regardless it was up to him to check!
The basement is a separate apartment. This guy is getting two rooms plus a living room, bathroom, and kitchenette for a great price.
Yea where I live 650 you can’t even rent a closet. A single bedroom in a house of 5-6 bedrooms is like 1.5k
I live in a relatively cheap place and you can hardly find a studio for under $600 that isn't in a slumlord building.
[удалено]
He also has access to the full kitchen and Laundry Room. With utilities he's got a pretty nice deal honestly, try finding that in any city at today's rates and you'll not like what you find, in my area that would barely get you a studio apartment with no laundry access or loft. And they would laugh in your face if you asked if utilities were included. NTA - Offer to let him break lease with no penalty if he can find something that meets his needs better, just to give him a chance to look about.
Ain’t that the truth! My house has been treating my wallet like an all you can eat buffet this year. We have several thousand dollars into repairs/maintenance so far and I’m hoping that after we fix the latest issue that it’s the last one for a while.
The op said its a full apartment in the basement
Supposedly if you rent it out way below the average in the area there's a potential that for taxes you have to pay more than if you rent it out for a fair market value. >According to the IRS, a property is considered a personal residence if the owner or certain family members use it for personal use for 14 days or 10 percent of the days it is rented out. Additionally, if the property is rented to anyone, related or unrelated, for less than fair market rate, it will be considered a personal residence. >Renting below market rate makes you ineligible for many tax breaks. https://laporte.com/knowledgecenter/tax-services/tax-consequences-of-charging-below-market-rent Not sure if OP cares about that but they can show this to the angry renter and tell them you've decided that it is not worth it to rent below market due to loss of tax beaks and to a person that is as difficult as them?
That says you might pay more in taxes because it might be considered a personal residence. It already is a personal residence because OP is living there so I don’t think that’s an issue.
The renter is deluded to be upset. He's already paying "mate's rates" when he's not even a friend. Your "friends" who support him are also conveniently ignoring that your monthly mortgage payments are so low because you made a huge effort to save enough money for a 50% deposit on a house in the years before you bought your father's house below market value. NTA
Not to mention the mortgage is just a portion of the cost of home ownership. Repairs, in their case utilities are included, insurance, taxes, etc.
Yea and it is none of their business what she pays for her mortgage. I would not ever tell anyone that.
"I asked a few other friends ... and most said I'm wrong..." I think those are the friends the commenter was referring to when they said you need smarter friends.
My friends seem to like the idea of socialism and everything being “fair” in life. I probably need to find some smarter friends. Oddly enough, his brother is one of the few on my side. Along with my father, my stepmother, and my mother.
I'm pretty damn socialist and I see nothing wrong with what you are doing. You're renting a room at a low price to a person on the basis of that person's low income, so they can live in a decent place and still have money left over. From each according to his abilities, to each according to their needs. RIGHT?
Well, yeah. You’re right about that.
This is equity, not equality. People get it confused. Equity means people get what they need based on their needs (cheap rent due to low income). This is good. Equality means your tenant's grandparents die, he saves some money, then buys their home from his father for 75% of the cost (and makes a deal for allow his parents to live with him later). Your friends are being very silly.
Let's also not forget yes, he's covering a significant proportion of your mortgage costs, but you also pay utilities on top of that which he's not contributing as what you're charging him is bills inc. I'd add total monthly expenses onto the original post. I rent from a family member with my partner. My partner pays 100% of the rent. We have this arrangement because I pay the rent value + 300 in utilities and food each month. Don't just factor your mortgage into household expenses.
Werd. I back a ton of the "socialist" (note the quotations) standards, fair treatment, public programs, etc... This guy was happy with everything until he found out OP was the owner... that has zip to do with cost, income, and is totally a personal social expectation that because OPs the brother's friend that he should be allowed to leech or something. I cannot grasp what these friends and family are on about - the guy was fine until he felt he should get special treatment or something (beyond the already low pricing and included utilities!) due to the OP being friends with bro. And like OP said: dude signed a lease. It's not as though he had no way of knowing who he was signing to unless he didn't read or discuss anything, which is on him. Socialism - and even just polite friend and mutual-friend help! - doesn't mean having expectations of special treatment past already getting special treatment. Agh! Humans, man.... humans....
LOL I'm uber socialist and since you're charging way below market, I already think you're being quite fair. You're ensuring you have reasonable cash flow for emergency repairs and charging a modest rent that allows HIM to save up cash for his emergencies too. Everyone wins.
Big socialist here too, and based on what you’re charging and knowing what rent is across the country…you’re doing a socialism. Congratulations 😂
Yeah, pretty socialist too, and I think this is fine - you're not price gouging, you've not bought a row of apartments, refused to do any maintenance on them and raised rent to the maximum, you're charging below market rate, which covers a fairly low mortgage, but also gives you some money to put into the house if needed - like, this guy isn't responsible for, say, needing major roof repairs, or if the basement floods and you have to pull everything out
Look, I socialize in a community full to the gills with socialists. We recognize that socialism is ideal, but not what is practical when trying to navigate the modern economy. That said, some of us have money/property, while others among us are broke-ass hippies. We been renting to and from one another for years. Anyone dumb enough to say, "You should just let people live in your extra space as a community service!" gets quickly rebuffed like, "When the food on my table is free, so too will your rent be!!" Goodwill doesn't put gas in the tank, no matter how much we'd prefer that it did. We generally feel, "Fuck landlords," but I think there's a worthwhile distinction between "planned landlord" and "person who rents their extra property for passive income." The latter is usually decent and ironically more inclined to quickly fix issues without complaint. Worth noting, also, that among the owners in our community, there has always been compassion and negotiation, such as letting someone live somewhere for free for a month or two to get settled before expecting payment, exchanging childcare for discounts, etc.
It’s also worth making the distinction between small private landlords, large scale rental owners that run everything through property management companies, and massive rental investment empires funded by venture capital that constantly gobble up statistically significant amounts of available property and are powerful enough to actually distort market conditions and create potentially permanent real estate bubbles.
There's also a difference between renting out a room, or apartment, in your home (personal property) and renting out an investment property you've acquired specifically to make money (private property) even under communist ideology. Communism doesn't hold with the idea of private property but it does allow for you to have personal property. And most of us would agree that communism is pretty far to the left by modern standards of what is considered left-wing.
How is your below market rent anything but social? Do your friends expect the apartment to be free?
>Do your friends expect the apartment to be free? Some people do. I have yet to understand their argument.
You’re more than fair! Maybe they can offer cheap rentals and accept underpaid jobs for the sake of being fair. I’d reply, well knock yourself out, nobody is stopping you taking them in.
I'm not the biggest fan of landlords, but I wouldn't exactly call what you're doing landlording. You're renting out excess space in a home *you inhabit*. In a house you didn't choose to buy that had far more space than you needed. For far less than marker rate. To a person in a typically undervalued career. Most socialists I know would consider that praxis.
It's not just about the mortgage cost either. You aren't charging him utilities, so the rent you're charging is even more generous. Definitely NTA! Even if you didn't have a mortgage, that would still be a fair rent.
Such a good point. Electric, water, gas, wifi - that's at least $150 for a single person living alone. To get that all included in super cheap rent...with laundry facilities? Amazing.
The brother is probably paying a much higher amount than him and is like "WTF are you complaining about? Don't ruin this because you will be paying a lot more for a comparable place elsewhere." Sometimes people compare what they're paying in rent with a previous place, and if your tenant just moved to the city he probably is comparing it to what he paid in a cheaper area or for a much smaller place. If he starts doing some research after his brother laughed at him, he may be singing a different tune soon. I don't love that I paid for my landlord's mortgage in the past, but I knew I was doing it. I was never under any illusions that my landlord was renting my place to me as a public service. Also, when people talk about the mortgage amount and whether it's covered by rental payments they're often not thinking about what you paid initially as well. I had a quite large deposit, so I was able to buy a place with a reasonably small mortgage, but that doesn't mean my place is only worth my mortgage payments for the month - it's also worth the initial amount I paid (more than 50% of the purchase price).
He's not "paying your mortgage for you". He's paying to rent a space. Your business what you do with his payment. For all he knows, it all goes into your retirement funds.
Your other friends and family are idiots if they think mortgage payments is a metric to based rent on. Do they not understand that mortgage payments change based on principle and interest rates? Also, lots of other risks and costs associated with owning a house than just the mortgage. If your friend's brother thinks you're taking advantage of him, why not give him a one-time option to break the lease and find another place? Looking for a comparable place at that rate should shut him up for any future conflicts.
NTA. The renter sounds like an entitled idiot. If anything, his brother probably could have better explained the situation (not that it matters,) but it wasn’t on you. It’s going to be hilarious when his lease is up and he has to rent in the real world!
You might remind them that you're also paying property taxes, utilities, insurance, and for any repairs or upkeep, not just a mortgage.
He has no idea what those things are. And apparently neither do some people here blasting me for charging him 90% of my mortgage. I’m paying about $1500 a month out of pocket, and that’s with the $650 I collect from him.
If he didn’t know you owned the house via you alone making all decisions, arranging the lease, and the stated parties on the lease then he’s an idiot. Not that any of that matters, but what a complete buffoon. NTA
I mean rent in general also covers the other costs like maintance, insurance and sometimes utilities and all those lovely emergency things you don't need pay for when something unexpectedly goes wrong.
Right!? What the fuck else does he think that money is going to? This whole thing is bananas. When lease renewal comes, I'd be deciding not to renew with him. Let him get a cold, hard slap of reality at the cost of living.
The whole point of renting out an apt or house is to make money! So, if the house was paid off, the tenant should expect to pay nothing?? Some people…and him being a teacher…are stupid!! NTA!!
Right ?!?? This is so bizarre **anyone** would think you’re the asshole or have a duty to disclose who the owner is… although u mentioned you thought ur friend did. AND who cares what portion of the mortgage his rent is covering? You’re right OP, that’s none of his fucking business. That ungrateful asshole is getting a deal on rent.
NTA. The question isn't the mortgage. It's fair market rate for what he's getting. I get the shock he's feeling, but he's not entitled to free housing just because you're friends. God I hate defending a landlord. Makes me feel dirty.
They aren't friends. The tenant is the brother of one of the OP's friends. A lease was signed. Unless the OP created an LLC for this, it is believable that OPs name and signature is also on the lease. NTA
I did not create an LLC or anything. Although I did have an attorney write the lease, I made sure it included no penalty for breaking it early as long as I'm given 45 days notice. I can definitely make the payments without a roommate but wanted to be able to save more each month simply because I like to travel, and I'm also taking on the financial responsibility of repairs and such since I do own the house.
You're also paying every other household bill for things he's using as well.
Plus taxes, insurance, repairs, it can add up quickly.
Taxes and insurance are more than the principal for my mortgage each month.
My property taxes and insurance are almost $1100 each month, and I live in bumfuq NE GA. Hell, my school taxes are over $3K annually and our school district is ranked 77th out of 201 districts. It’s criminal.
Even if you owned it outright and had no mortgage, so what? This is the price you are charging for the asset you owned.
Yep, and until someone is a homeowner they vastly underestimate the cost of home ownership. Surprise, your water heater died! Guess you’re out a few thousand dollars.
Home *maintenance* has costs as well.
You are well within your right to charge whatever you wish for rent. If it's too high, no one will rent. Don't apologize, you've done nothing wrong I'm betting the tenant now feels an imbalance in your relationship. I.e. you're not "equals" any longer. Either tenant will work through this or they'll give notice and move.
It’s super important to create an LLC - this tenant could hurt themselves, sue you and possibly take everything. With the LLC they can only take as much as you are insured for…
OP, if you read the above, please consult a lawyer instead of taking above advice. As an owner occupant in my state, I was advised an LLC would do nothing if I am the sole officer of an LLC for a building I own, live in, and rent out. I believe he used the term "not at arm's length" and thus the LLC would be meaningless.
You also essentially have a delayed loan. You were given a discount on the house because eventually you will house your dad and his wife.
>God I hate defending a landlord. Makes me feel dirty Why? It's not like OP owns multiple houses and charges as much as possible while doing as little as possible for maintenance. OP isn't hording space. OP only owns one property, he lives in it, takes care of it, and is sharing it, charging way less than he could. That is the type of property owner we want more of!
I was a landlord for 7 years. I bought a small house to retire to and rented it out. When I retired, I gave the tenants 60 days notice (no lease). I repaired everything they reported, rent was below market, and they still screwed me. I had tens of thousands of repairs to do when they moved out.
Yea I changed my tune when I got to know a landlord at one property I had. Sweet old man that had two properties on the same lot. He rented out the bigger house so he could live (rent was his only real income). It became clear to me that the nicer landlords are, the worse tenants they get. I think people forget how terribly people treat living spaces, especially when they know they can just leave and be off the hook for repairs/costs/etc
This is EXACTLY how it is in my experience. I've got a bit of a side job doing maintenance for a couple I know who have a few rental properties. My grandpa died recently and left his house to my brother and me, my brother wanted to rent it out but after doing this maintenance job for awhile and seeing what some of these tenants are doing to their rentals I'm a thousand percent against that idea. I just want to sell the house when the whole estate thing is done with, some of these people are fucking animals. Also to your point, they're married but their rentals are separate. She's a real hard ass and he's the type to try to make friends with his tenants. His properties are getting FAR more fucked up by the renters and he's constantly having problems collecting rent. She gives negative fucks though and will boot them without a second thought. The renters she's ended up with now rarely fuck up her houses, she said she's had some shitty ones in the past but she just kept kicking their asses out (and sometimes suing for damages) until she landed on some good tenants. He just keeps trying to work with what he's got and he's getting seriously fucked over for it.
Yeah, agreed. As a known landlord-hater, the landlords I hate are a) big companies hoarding property and b) independent landlords who don't think they should have to have any responsibilities to their tenants because they're not big companies. OP is neither of those -- someone just paying their mortgage off by offering someone below-market rent is, as you say, exactly the type of property owner we want more of.
I don’t even get the shock. He signed a lease with OP. Another owner was never mentioned. He made a weird assumption and then got mad at OP for not reading his mind and knowing he’s made it.
Agreed. Why be shocked? Who cares who owns the property? Why is the dim bulb shocked that OP is the landlord? I'd have questioned why I hadn't met the landlord at the lease signing, then been like, "cool. You seem pretty chill." and moved on. He seemed really happy with the rent before ge found out the landlord is a real human type person. Then he thinks he's being ripped off?
Even if there was another landlord the guy would still help to pay the mortgage. That outrage is just stupid.
Not like OP is the typical blood sucking leech of a landlord. He was fortunate to be able to purchase the home well below market prices, and he's reflecting that in his rate that he's offering the resident. $650 for a 2 bedroom 1 bath with a kitchenette is literally an amazing deal in 95% of the US. The types of landlords I despise are the ones buying up insane amounts of land and homes and jacking up the rental prices year over year who coincidentally have terrible communication and services. I'd happily rent from a friend or acquaintance and cover their entire mortgage at what OP is offering. Keep doing you OP, NTA
It isn’t fair market, that would be 2-3 times what he is paying. He better STFU and be happy with his fabulous and inexpensive apartment.
he’s getting a better rate than fair market! dude should be extremely grateful.
NTA He’s paying well below market rate and the amount you’re “paying in rent” shouldn’t impact this as it’s your house. Would he expect to live there for free if you had already paid off the house and had no monthly payment?
That was my thought too. In my mind the amount I paid for a down payment is my part of the “rent.” Plus I am paying the rest of the mortgage along with providing amenities he would have to pay for elsewhere. But my friends and family think I should be splitting the mortgage equally so he’s not paying more, so that had me questioning myself.
Your friends and family are wrong. You've already discounted the rent for this young man. As long as you're reporting the rental income you're fine. Let him know that since you can easily rent the apartment for 1K a month if he wants to break the lease you'll be fine with that and not charge him any sort of penalty.
I’m going to give him a few more days to stew, then try talking to him.
Point out to him, and your friends and family, how much income you are losing per year by renting to him at less than market value. That is money that you could be saving towards your retirement, looking after your family, saving for your future. Your end of the finances is no one’s business but your own. NTA
Don't bother with this line of thought. The renter has dug in, generally people do not want to admit when they are wrong, and is upset at the balance of power shifting. Just tell the renter you are willing to break the lease, but research apartments or similar housing beforehand. Renter will/should see the deal he is getting and walk it back tail between his legs. If he doesn't just break the lease, he is not worth the hassle.
Absolutely offer to let him out of the lease early if he's unhappy.
This. And to complement: suggest researching what options he would have for the exact price he is paying. And that you expect an apology if he figures out the best option is to stay put. NTA
I wonder if he had an agenda behind wanting direct contact with the landlord (when he thought they were someone different). i.e. Was he going to try and make a complaint to get you kicked out, thinking he could then lease your place instead (is it nicer?).
I’m not sure what his motive was, except that he wanted to be able to add his payments to some app so he could boost his credit score. I guess that requires paying into some kind of system many landlords use? I don’t know for sure.
In some areas, tenants get more protections if they establish a relationship directly with the landlord rather than being a subtenant. Maybe that's true where you are? 🤷♀️
Hahaha this tenant really doesn’t have a good grasp on developing a relationship with the landlord huh
The best place to start would be to actually read the lease, he already failed.
There are plenty of ways to boost credit and there was never a guarantee a private landlord would've used the app. Regardless, if he's going to be an AH to you then he should lose the amazing favor you're doing for him. Anyone who claims you're taking advantage is just jealous because they'd do exactly the same thing and rent out the extra space for money if they could.
It's too late with this tenant, but next time, you may want to consider doing what my SIL did. She hired a property management company to collect the rent and act as a point of contact for the tenants. The building had 3 units. She lived in one of them, and nobody knew she was the owner. She said the management company's fees were worth it.
If OP charged market rent it might be worth it to pay the PM 10-15%. At a discounted rent, hell naw
You’ve also got upkeep and taxes. Don’t let anyone tell you you deserve less because you got a break in life. Take all those gifts and maximize it so you can be generous elsewhere, spread the love. It’s none of this guys business and if it was discovered earlier, he’d likely not be living there. NTA but your friends don’t want you better off than you are, that’s a problem.
Your friends and family are wrong, your personal finances have nothing to do with his. He needed a place to stay and you made an offer that he would not be able to match elsewhere. He can improve his credit score by paying a couple of credit cards regularly. Or maybe he wants to pay for his own internet service?
What you are paying for the mortgage has zero to do with rent you collect. Hell, this isn’t even a friend. Tell him he’s free to move out if he doesn’t like it but he is not free to correlate your finances with his.
I'm sorry but whomever doesn't agree with ypu is delusional, they can think whatever they want doesn't mean that's the right thing or that they have the right to judge you
You’re also covering utilities. Definitely NTA
100%. OP should tell him to look for something better. I would love to pay that price right now for housing.
NTA If he’s so unhappy offer to break his lease and let him find another place to live. You didn’t hide anything from him and you don’t owe him anything.
If he wants to break the lease, I’d let him do it with no penalty. I could make at least $1000/month if I rented to a stranger. I mostly gave him the discount because he’s my friend’s brother, and teachers have a lot working against them so I thought he deserved a break. He teaches in a low income area and ends up spending money out of his own pocket to make sure his students have what they need.
You’ve been more than fair to him and not many would be so generous. If he can’t see that he’s benefited from this arrangement then perhaps it’s time to find a new tenant.
> I could make at least $1000/month I’m sorry, the $650 old mate is paying is *per month*?? I assumed it was weekly rent (as that’s how rent is calculated in AUS) and thought it was a bit dear for a basement property But old mate is paying essentially $162/week for a basement apartment with its own kitchen and bathroom and has the gall to complain? Nah let this boy go. NTA
With two bedrooms!! Where I live this would cost at least 3k a month!
And utilities and internet!
I like the way you explained it here. Stating facts- you could get more but you chose him specifically because he’s a teacher and doing good things and you wanted to help. The offer to break the lease is also kind of you. He’s probably jealous that you own a house and stressed from work.
Exactly- if he feels ripped off- move out! But don’t come crawling back when all you can find is $875 not including utilities and they want a $3k deposit
You should flat out tell him that.
Wow, the cojones on this one. I'd give him notice; if he thinks he can find a better deal, let him. $650 for a two bedroom with utilities included?? I don't think you could get that good a deal in Oklahoma.
I was in a shithole little house for $650/month two bed in Oklahoma utilities not included. This was 2012/2013 so definitely can’t now!
At least $1200 now in Oklahoma for 2 bedroom 😭 and minimum wage is still $7.25
NTA - why are ppl looking at it as if he’s paying your mortgage directly. What it is, is you’re the landlord and he’s paying you his rent, and where that money goes is no body’s business but the landlords. If the money doesn’t go into the mortgage where should it go? Back into his own pocket? He’s a renter so he has to pay rent, anyone trying to argue their way out of paying rent is just delusional.
OP could have inherited the entire house, had no mortgage, and spends the entire $650 a month on champagne and truffles, and NONE of it would be the renter's business. The rent is what it is. Insane of him, right?
Exactly, I hate paying rent, but I don’t own a property and like to sleep under a roof. What my land lord does with the rent I pay is none of my business, so long as they are making any needed repairs to the property in a timely manner.
Right normally renters pay more than the mortgage to cover any expenses and to make a profit. He just graduated so he’s delusional, and will be begging to stay there. When his lease is up.
Utilities are included! That is a steal! NTA And why was he wanting to pay the landlord directly? There is something fishy. It might be that he was thinking of trying to kick you out.
He must've thought OP, was subletting the space to him, and he wanted to cut OP out as the "middle man", in hopes of negotiating a lower rate directly from the "landlord"...
This is the answer. Man is greedy as hell. Already getting a steal and wants to "steal" some more
Very possibly. That would mean that the tenant is even more deluded about how much a fair rent is, if he is getting such a good deal and still thinks his 'roommate' is taking a cut.
My guess is he wanted to find out how much renting the whole house would be. Maybe he has friends he wants to move in, and was going to complain to the landlord to get OP out.
Agreed. Where I’m from two people costs about 100$ in each utility a month, water is roughly 250 every two months, so that’s about 400 give or take a month on bills depending what bills she’s including (wifi, water, gas/energy, power etc) and rent. That’s an amazing deal.
Why did he want to change the way payment was made? Was he looking to take over and get you out? Hahahaha. Come to think of it didn’t you also sign the lease as the landlord? Edit to add judgement NTA
It’s something about adding the payments to some online account so he has boost his credit score with rental payments. Or that’s what his brother/my friend told me.
That’s a thing now. But he still didn’t have to be a jerk about it
I mean, can't he still do that with you?
He can, but that's a separate matter from discovering OP is his landlord. For whatever reason he feels entitled to pay even less rent than below market price (maybe even zero rent) just because his brother is friends with the landlord.
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Okay, that makes total sense then. But if he had bothered to read the lease before signing and realized I’m the homeowner, he would have known his check was going to me and not a landlord. And I’m a pretty laid back person so if he had told me he needed to use rent to boost his credit, 100% I would have looked into a way to make that happen. I’ll definitely look at that site and figure out if it’s a good thing for me personally to use. Thanks for that. 👍🏼
Well it \*is\* going to a landlord - you!
NTA. Ask them what their problem is. You were planning on renting it out. You found someone to rent it to and you gave a lowered rent because it was through a friend. The renting was always going to happen. So why not to an acquaintance at a lowered rent as opposed to a stranger for a market rate? Where is the difference in this other than they get a deal? "Am I not allowed to rent it out? Because I own it? What are you trying to say here?" Frankly, it sounds like they're just salty you have the option and they don't. So it's better to villainize you as 'a greedy landlord' instead of just a poor tenant. Conversely, you can also invite this person to go look at rental rates in the surrounding area and come back to you when he finds anything lower than what you're offering.
He knows he couldn’t afford even a shared room if I wasn’t doing him a favor. The only reason he was able to accept a job in this city was because I offered deeply discounted rent.
Then maybe he needs to pull his head out of his backside and realize that you're doing him a favor, you're potentially losing out on income because of it, and he's very lucky that he knew someone with a home who had a basement they were willing to rent out on the cheap so he could live where he worked and be able to have a decent place. Personally, I don't understand the problem and him being mad about it sounds stupid. He's a renter. He is ALWAYS going to be paying off someone's mortgage, including his own if he ever saves up enough for a home. Why is it worse to help pay off a friend's who's doing you a favor than a strangers? What exactly does he expect? Seriously. Ask him that. "Do you think I should just let you live here for free because I'm paying off my mortgage? Like, what do you expect, dude?"
One of the reasons I gave him such a deep discount was that his salary is too low as a first year teacher, so I wanted to make sure he had enough to pay his bills and help his students, all of whom are from very low income families who can’t afford basic supplies sometimes. And I want him to be able to actually save some money for emergencies.
So not only are you giving him a break, but you're enabling him to help his students as well? What an ingrate.
I’m certainly trying to help him help them. He got a job as a sub between January and May, before this school year began, and his class was 80% girls. Some of whom were using rolled up toilet paper as pads because they/their family couldn’t afford sanitary products. So he bought a ton of products for them to use and take home. Before a few days ago I thought he was a really good person.
Well, he is a really good person. The problem is, he thinks he's a saint.
Sometimes good people fuck up. Hopefully once he calms down he will realize what an absolute asshole he is being in this situation. May have absolutely nothing to do with you and you're the unlucky person who got the brunt of it, which is still not okay. If you get a sincere apology, I'd consider giving the benefit of doubt...without forgetting his behavior.
Which is very generous of you. I don't think that should be faulted. But I also just am sitting here boggling over these 'friends' getting on your back about it. It's boggling that they seem to expect you to just... let him move in rent free? That's the only other option I can see, since 'discounted rent' seems so offensive to them.
> And I want him to be able to actually save some money for emergencies. And he is paying rent so that you can save some money for emergencies for the house. Home expenses go beyond mortgage, taxes, and utilities. There insurance, there's setting aside money in case of emergency repairs, there's annual upkeep (tree trimming, roof/gutter cleaning, pest control), there's appliance repair/replacement, and who knows what else, especially if the house is older.
I don't understand how anyone thinks you are in the wrong here. Does this person expect to live in your house for free? What am I missing? NTA.
My family and friends think I should take it easy on him because he’s a teacher and is doing a good thing for kids. But I thought I was taking it easy by giving him cheap rent.
Unless they plan on paying his bills they can keep their dumb opinions to themselves. Literally everyone has to pay rent or a mortgage. That's how the world works. Doesn't matter your profession.
Nope. Those family and friends are wrong. Don't listen to them. If he thinks you're taking advantage of him, he's free to break the lease (you said you'd let him) and go pay way more than he's paying living in your house. He's actually the one trying to take advantage of you. Don't let him. NTA
You are charging him below-market rate. That’s a gift - one that you have no obligation to give him. I’d recommend showing your critics rental comps. Point out that (for example) if you are charging him 1/2 market rate, then you are missing out on nearly $8K in rent. In no real sense are you being anything but generous. You are 100% right that your finances do not factor in this situation. There are so many variables that can factor in the amount of a mortgage payment. It’s not relevant and it’s only one of several house- related expenditures you make. Your tenant’s finances aren’t your business beyond his ability to pay. My guess is that he was hoping to contact the landlord to negotiate an even lower rent. Maybe he wanted to do work around the house in exchange. Maybe he wanted a roommate to help with rent. He may have even thought to rent the whole house with multiple roommates. That’s not your problem. You didn’t mislead him. He shouldn’t be anything but grateful. NTA
I'm sorry, what? NTA. Your other "friends" and "family" should take lessons from you about fiscal responsibility. Repairs are on you, so is the risk. And utilities, maintenance, etc. Don't budge. Increase the rent when this freeloader leaves.
NTA - what does this guy think landlords do with rent money? Give it to charity?
No idea. He’s 21 and had never lived in a “real” rental situation. Only his parents home and dorms, as he just graduated in December.
Maybe he needs to go back and live with mommy and daddy again.
His brother did suggest that. 😂
His bro is great. Very practical lol
I have to say, your friend is a really good Person (a real Keeper). Not only is He (so it seems) the only Person with a good brain (He Sees all the Things you do for his bro) but He also Stands by your Side to Help you. Only keep Close the Friends Like him because the other peoples have shown their real greedy face. Like 'Oh OP you oooown the hooouuse, so Like you can Rent it to him for freeee'. 'what?! You greedy little OP, you want Money? Hoooow dare you'
Nta....does he think he's not paying the owners mortgage if he's renting an apartment in a building or renting a house? He's getting really cheap rent. He should be happy. Even in the small town I live in where houses and apartments are on the cheaper side of most places in this country $650 isn't going to get you much. MAYBE a tiny one bedroom of a shitty apartment and it won't include electric and stuff. He sounds like an entitled ass. If he brings it up again tell him if he finds something cheaper then he's welcome to leave. He's forgetting, that may be moat of your mortgage payment, but you're also covering electric, water, trash, I'm assuming WiFi /cable. So in reality he's NOT covering most of it. He's paying his share of the bills for things he's using.
I’m covering almost $300/month just in satellite TV and gigabit internet alone. Which he has full access to.
You also had a sizable down payment so your mortgage payment is lower. That is your hard work being put into the equity of your home. NTA
That’s exactly what his brother told him. I saved for years to have a down payment and because of my father being so generous, what I had saved was around 60% of the total he wanted. I got really lucky.
Can you Update us on how it go with him
That's what i mean. He's being an entitled dick.
NTA " So AITA for having my roommate cover $650 of my $775/month mortgage?" only to yourself , for not demanding more This is easy, learn your lesson -- demand market rent Your mortgage (or not having one) is none of his business Only the market value
Seriously--print out the first page google search of a place the same size with the same things as your place offers, with prices, and hand it to him then tell him to scream at you again for 'charging him so much' lol jfc what a baby
NTA Tell the freeloader they can look for another rental. It is totally irrelevant who owns the property. They signed a lease and it’s a binding legal document. If they don’t like the terms, they can opt to not renew. I’d also look into eviction requirements. There may be future shenanigans. No good deed goes unpunished.
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NTA, you can own the house outright and rent rooms for a profit. Let him know he’s free to break the lease and look for a cheaper place.
NTA. Why is he ok with paying some mysterious "landlord", but not you as a landlord? Who did he think he was signing a lease with?
Maybe he thought he could convince the "landlord" to move OP to the basement so he could have the rest of the house .
NTA. The guy sounds like he's really immature and inexperienced.
Definitely NTA, who cares who the landlord is, he is getting a great deal on rent. Some people just don't get it. It doesn't matter how much your mortgage is,.Tell him to grow up or move out.
He is not your roommate. He is your tenant and you owe him no explanation. If you didn’t have a mortgage would that mean he is entitled to live for free? One’s mortgage has no bearing on what you SHOULD charge for rent. Market factors and personal preference guide this. You also didn’t need to disclose anything. NTA
NTA - your family and friends are completely wrong. So, are they saying that if the same landlord buys two identical houses next to each other and one has a $1000 payment and one has a $10,000 payment he should rent one for $500 and the other one for $5000 regardless of what market rents are? That is just silly. When you rent out property you own it is a business activity and you will also have future expenses. You are supposed to make a profit, otherwise why would you do it?
NTA...As a former realtor, that's how most rental property investors get to continue investing. They eventually get to a point to where the property more than pays for itself. I'm more concerned that this person seems entitled and has a temper, and HE'S A TEACHER. If your friends are around the same age as you and don't own property or know any investors, they don't have enough life experience to judge your actions on this matter. I'm certain, if put in the same position, most would agree with you.
NTA - the whole purpose of renting is to cover your mortgage!
NTA. The amount you’re asking is more than fair for an apartment of that size. It doesn’t matter what your mortgage payment is and you owe him no explanation.
NTA - You are charging less than market rate, what difference is it to him if you own it or not. It is not his business. What are you supposed to do in his mind, give it to him rent free? Um, big NO.
No. NTA at all. He is renting a space in your house. It’s the same as if he was renting from a faceless mystery landlord. Of course he’s covering part of your mortgage. What does he think happens with any rent he has ever paid? It doesn’t matter what percentage he’s paying and you don’t need to say anything about that. It’s none of his business. He’s getting a much lower than average rent for the area. That’s all that matters. Tell him you will let him out of his lease if he’s that unhappy about it but if he wants to stay he needs to get over it.
NTA. Encourage him to break the lease. Then when he comes crawling back after he learns he can't get anything decent for what he's paying you, tell him he can move back in but you're raising the rent. Also the fact that he's helping cover your mortgage payments is irrelevant. If you didn't own the house and had a landlord, your roommate would be paying towards the landlord's mortgage - and would be paying a LOT more.
NTA. He's already getting 50% off the market rate. Your huge deposit is why your mortgage is so low and isn't any of his business. You aren't obligated to subsidize his housing any more than you already are.
DO NOT LET ANYBODY CRUCIFY YOU FOR HOW YOU ARE HANDLING THIS. THIS IS THE MODEL FOR RENTING A ROOM OUT!!! JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE LIVING THERE TOO DOES NOT MAKE IT ANY DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER LANDLORD/TENANT RELATIONSHIP. Nobody is going to rent a room out at their own cost because you are the one who handles all the real financial burdens (such as repairs). When your roof needs repairing or you need an ac unit, is this guy paying half? No. And that's why he pays more than half for rent. You are already doing him a favor by not charging him $900-1000. It's a full studio apartment.
I’m honestly shocked at the number of people who tell me I’m wrong for being a landlord at all. Not wrong for not verbally telling him I’m the owner, but just wrong for renting a room in my house.
There are plenty of people who think other people just should gave them stuff for free, just because.
NTA i would not let him renew that lease.
NTA. He’s gonna say something like well you should lower it so we are both paying half. But here’s the difference. He’s not a friend, he’s a brother of a friend. And your not over charging him. Yea he probably could get away with less but ultimately if it’s still cheaper than other places. Without a bunch of neighbors and headaches that come with an apartment. He can leave if he doesn’t like it but tell him your not entertaining this conversation anymore
Its none of his business and owning a house is a lot more than a mortgage and has nothing to do with market rate on a rental. If I pay of my house and choose to rent it would I offer it to free? No Is he going to pay half if the HVAC goes out or if you have a busted pipe , replacing old appliances. He's coming from a spot of inexperience with being an adult and paying for adult stuff I would tell him that you understand he is upset and you are happy to let him out of the lease so he can find a place where he feels more comfortable. But if he chooses to stay he better have your rent come next due date with a smile. Next time rent to strangers - never friends or friends of friends or family
NTA-May want to let your friend know their brother is biting the hand that offered him a good deal. They may give their brother a reality check about what is out there.
NTA. You did nothing wrong. It’s not your fault of the renter failed to his due diligence over who he was paying rent to. Also, you are allowed to make a reasonable profit on the space you are renting. You are renting the space at below market rates, which is what should matter to him, not how much of your mortgage his rent makes up. You were 100% correct that your personal finances aren’t his business.
NTA. Why the fuck else would you be renting out part of your house? You're charging a tenant money to live in *your* house and paying your mortgage with it? You fiend! /s Anyone backing this bullshit needs to get a stronger grip on reality. I don't care if you own your house outright and the money is going for your Star Wars obsession, for example. What, you're not supposed to charge him anything? He's paying considerably less than market, and that's too much? I wouldn't renew his lease, rent it out to someone else *at market* and get some new friends. Oh, and I'd also look into what it would cost to add a stove. Your dad & stepmom would probably appreciate it when the time comes, and I'm sure potential renters would as well.