No lesson to learn today. Well, perhaps there is, but i'm not intending to teach one. I am just sorting out a problem that exists within our home.
A good part of the day it has been on my mind and no real progress has been made. So feeling it out through the written word is what is happening here and now.
There is an issue with one of the rooms in our home. Although it could occur in other rooms it does not. It happens in one of the rooms that we rent out. So, far, in the past when only one person has been renting the space, it has only ever been a minor issue. When two or more people share the room it seems to rapidly become a much bigger problem.
A permanent solution exists for about $3500 out of pocket all at once. And it is something we plan to take care of. But we are very unlikely to be able to afford that much out of pocket all at once in the next year. With one person renting the room, our increased cost is about $350 per year. With two people in the room the cost is closer to $375 per month.
The increase in rent we are charging the second person for sharing the room is $300 per month. So, we are paying $75 per month to have that person here. This is not including any increases in cost, due to power and water usage, food, gas for car rides or any other expenses.
This does not work and cannot continue. If you were the owner of a home with this problem, what would your solution be?
Even though none of us are blood related, we like to run our home like a family, one who is fair and honorable and treats each other with respect. But, at the end of the day we need to run our home like a business. And when a business is running in the red, there are only two ways to fix it. Cut costs or increase revenue.
Increasing revenue is what we were hoping to accomplish by having the extra person share the room. All of the other rooms in our home are now occupied. So increasing revenue in that way, is not likely.
We could raise that person's rent by the amount of the additional monthly expense, but it would be more than doubling what that person is currently paying and might cause that person to move out. I am personally against this idea because I like this person and don't want them to leave. And this person is in a relationship with the other person that is living in the room.
While the person paying $300 per month but costing us $375+ per month leaving seems to make sense from a business standpoint, there is a good chance that if one left they both would. Then we would need to replace the lost income from the other person as well.
And that person has been one of our best roommates so far. Rent is always paid.Noise is kept within acceptable limits. There is no drug abuse or "weird" associates. Any ridiculous messes are confined to the rented space and not left in the communal area.
As far as cutting costs goes perhaps there is $375 in money we are wasting every month that can be removed from our budget. I doubt it though. At every possible point, I am cutting corners and looking for ways we can keep more of the money we make and pay down debts. I am aware of about $50 per month that we can get rid of and will be doing so in the next 60 days.
What it is, specifically, that is causing this increased expense, I am a bit unclear about. I am not sure whether the cause is due to misuse in some way or if it is simply a matter of overuse.
So, after reading this over several times, and doing some more pondering, I am clear about what will most likely need to happen. There are two general things that can cause the issue that keeps happening in that room. We have each time it has come up in the past few months handled one of them. I am going to see to it that both of them get taken care of this time. Then I will inquire as to how the thing that is troubling us is being used. I will listen to what is being done and give constructive feedback. If the issue occurs again next month, the one roommate will have to pay an increase in rent, move out, or suggest ways that the difference in cost can be reasonably made up.
I am open to other constructive ideas. Hopefully, others in the home will come up with some as well.
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