Hi

I am considering sharing my room on rent with unknown person probably with tourists or people who come to NY/NJ and look for a place to stay for couple of days. The objective is to help some needy people and make some money. My apartment is furnished that include TV, Fridge, computer and other house hold that would be accessible to the person. I would try to get maximum information about the person and then decide to allow him/her to share my room once I believe he/she is a genuine. Is there any other precaution that I should take? I am single and the apartment is shared by me and my roommate(male).Thanks

Hello K

I'd rather pick up cans than do that.

excon

Before all the Holiday Inns and Hiltons, this is the way it worked across the country. In pretty much every town, there were individuals who would share their homes with travelers. Today it is probably perceived as being a bit more risky. The likelihood is that everyone you allowed to stay with you would not steal your stuff or kill you. You would probably find and get to know some good people, but the risk of the bad stuff probably scares most people away.

What you are really talking about is a form of the "Bed and Breakfast" idea. For people who run B&Bs, they usually have a website and required a credit card for a reservation. If you get a credit card number and confirm it with a name, you will be pretty sure the person is who he/she claims to be and you have a way to get to them if they damage something.

If you are doing this for folks without lots of money, they may not have credit cards.

I wouldn't forget the idea, I'd just take measures to make sure you knew who you were inviting into your home.

Thank you both for your suggestions.

As I am not a professional renter and I do not intend to include breakfast format and I don't have any website to invite people, my only option would be to get maximum info. But do you recommend me to take copies of any documents before I allow any. If yes what docs would you recommend. Thanks

B&B is just a generic name. They don't all offer breakfast.

How do you plan to advertise? In Europe, at every train station, there is a bulletin board listing names and numbers of individuals willing to rent on a short term basis. I imagine you plan to do something like this, maybe at a bus station?

Ideally, you would want a credit card. If you decide to settle for a driver's license, just know that those documents can be pretty easily faked. I'm not sure which country you are in. There may be other documents that individuals are required to carry and you would want to use them.

I guess I'm confused as to your intention for id cards. Is it that you want to make sure the person is real or to be able to have a way to find them if there is a problem? I don't think there is a way to prevent someone with false id of getting into your place. I know I wouldn't be very good at spotting forged documents. The only way I know for sure is to do a credit check on a card. That probably costs more than you would be willing to pay.

Hello again K:

I don't think you should do it. Your offer will NOT attract people of substance, nor do you seek such a person. You're looking for someone who is "needy". Given the above, there's NO paperwork or information that you could collect that would protect you from potential harm.

You MIGHT be OK... You probably will... I don't know. Do you feel lucky?

excon

I am with excon all the way on this. What's the landlord going to say? Liability?

Do you need a license? I am sorry to be negative but I think it is an unsafe proposal.

Good luck to you whichever way you decide.

It stinks the way the world is today. I was on another thread where someone had kids climbing in a tree on their property and was concerned about liability. I had suggested she hit the neighborhood and ask everyone to keep kids out. Of course someone with more experience in the legal arena said that was a bad idea because by doing that, you put yourself in a situation where you are acknowledging that you think the tree is dangerous. The U.S. is far too litigious. It affects just about everything we see. I'm sick of it.

On this thread... our whole lives seem to be spent worrying about someone possibly doing us harm and being liable for something or other. Yes, I live in this real world, but Jez guys, where do you think it will stop.

This thread reminded me of something that happened to me back in the early '90s. I was in the military and had leave in Germany. I had never been to Berlin and decided to go, alone. When I got off at the train station, I went to the place where people listed rooms for rent. As I was looking over the list, a woman, probably in her late 50's approached me wanting me to stay at her place. She didn't speak English and my German isn't great. She handed me a page and on it was a list of testimonials from people who had stayed with her. Her place was in the east part of town, still pretty rough, but I decided to give her a try. Long story short, it was a great experience.

So, if we spend all our time NOT doing things because of what "might" happen, I believe we miss out on a great deal. Wiser people probably have a different opinion.

Good luck with you "B&B".

Thank you all for your invaluable opinion. Oh.. I never thought that there can be such a wider opinion and both make sense to me.Anyway just to clarify (to Rodandy12) I am in New York US(as I have mentioned on top). On id basically the purpose is to make sure I don't have any trouble. Further let me again clarify that I don't intend to do it in a big way as I am a professional and I don't have much time to spare. May be I would post little advertise on some website and if any one approaches I may consider. That's all

But I am curious if we divide the people between good and bad. And out of bad if there are some who are waiting for such opportunities, what is the percentage of risk I carry. Thank you

I think that is the question we've been debating. My personal feeling is that there are a much larger number of good people than bad. The trouble is that even if the chances of running into a bad or really bad person are slim, the outcome can be disastrous. One hears frequently about the bad encounters. One hardly ever hears about the good ones.

The only thing I can suggest for insurance is that you do not put an address on the website. Post a desire to share your place, but arrange to meet interested parties someplace safe. Then you and your boyfriend would have a chance to judge them without putting yourself or your place at risk. You'd have to trust your gut feelings at that point.

Good people are not on the lookout to take advantage of someone nor would they think of harming you.

Bad people are actively looking for you and other than ripping you off your material possessions they may also take your body, even your life.