Living in a Flip with Roomies... Good idea?
Its monday once again!
Last week was very hectic week, both personally and professionally I will spare you the details. Anyway, what is it like living in a flip that is a planned resale and having two roommates? I have been asked this questions many times over the past year in various forms.
So, as many of you know I bought a large old craftsman house in the spring of 2013. Since, I have managed to renovate the entire house. The idea of having roommates was from two sources. One, I had friends ask if I had rooms and two, extra income is always appreciated. This was a bit of a challenge initially since my renovation was not complete when my first roommate moved it.
My first roommate moved in last winter right when I was in the middle of completing the second floor. This event really pushed me to complete the guest bath so I could have my bathroom back and so he could have his very own. Another advantage of having a roommate in a live in flip is the added help! Often when I would be at work or just needed the motivation he would help out doing the things that didn't require my "skills." This was really in a sense outsourcing, I compensated him by giving him a discount on rent. There are some down sides being that there is extra wear and tear on the house that otherwise would not happen.
Fast forward 10 months, roommate number two moves in, she has been a friend of mine since high school. As my second roommate moved in I only had roughly 7 months of expected continued ownership of my home till I would hit the magical 2 year mark. This milestone will allow me to sell my house tax free. She is totally fine with this short expected time living with me mainly because she moves around a lot anyway. I have found that with two roommates most tasks of the house take care of themselves, with the exception of my laundry, cleaning my bathroom, and mowing the lawn but that is fine by me.
After roughly a year of having roommates what is the verdict? Awesome. My next house, hopefully in the Pittsburgh area, I plan on either rolling over my existing roommates like data on your cell phone plan or I will recruit some new ones. The big question is why though? The reason I will tell you is motivation. Having two other people that depend on you to provide a finished and livable place to stay in return for rent really make you get things done. Think about it this way, in a simple life style many of us want satisfaction. Personally, I find a lot of satisfaction knowing that I am providing two awesome people with amazing living accommodations! The experience was not comfortable at first and often stressful completing the renovation and juggling work. But, if we have a comfortable life it is rare that we will be satisfied because no new experiences will happen!
In closing for today, I have found that my simple life is really quite uncomfortable but often leads to the discoveries that are satisfying, and that is the whole point of LIFE!
Go out and get uncomfortable!
-Sean
Last week was very hectic week, both personally and professionally I will spare you the details. Anyway, what is it like living in a flip that is a planned resale and having two roommates? I have been asked this questions many times over the past year in various forms.
So, as many of you know I bought a large old craftsman house in the spring of 2013. Since, I have managed to renovate the entire house. The idea of having roommates was from two sources. One, I had friends ask if I had rooms and two, extra income is always appreciated. This was a bit of a challenge initially since my renovation was not complete when my first roommate moved it.
My first roommate moved in last winter right when I was in the middle of completing the second floor. This event really pushed me to complete the guest bath so I could have my bathroom back and so he could have his very own. Another advantage of having a roommate in a live in flip is the added help! Often when I would be at work or just needed the motivation he would help out doing the things that didn't require my "skills." This was really in a sense outsourcing, I compensated him by giving him a discount on rent. There are some down sides being that there is extra wear and tear on the house that otherwise would not happen.
Fast forward 10 months, roommate number two moves in, she has been a friend of mine since high school. As my second roommate moved in I only had roughly 7 months of expected continued ownership of my home till I would hit the magical 2 year mark. This milestone will allow me to sell my house tax free. She is totally fine with this short expected time living with me mainly because she moves around a lot anyway. I have found that with two roommates most tasks of the house take care of themselves, with the exception of my laundry, cleaning my bathroom, and mowing the lawn but that is fine by me.
After roughly a year of having roommates what is the verdict? Awesome. My next house, hopefully in the Pittsburgh area, I plan on either rolling over my existing roommates like data on your cell phone plan or I will recruit some new ones. The big question is why though? The reason I will tell you is motivation. Having two other people that depend on you to provide a finished and livable place to stay in return for rent really make you get things done. Think about it this way, in a simple life style many of us want satisfaction. Personally, I find a lot of satisfaction knowing that I am providing two awesome people with amazing living accommodations! The experience was not comfortable at first and often stressful completing the renovation and juggling work. But, if we have a comfortable life it is rare that we will be satisfied because no new experiences will happen!
In closing for today, I have found that my simple life is really quite uncomfortable but often leads to the discoveries that are satisfying, and that is the whole point of LIFE!
Go out and get uncomfortable!
-Sean
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