Poll: Renting from parents

polichik

If FI and I stay in the area next year, we'd have the opportunity to rent an amazing condo in the heart of downtown that FI's parents own.  I think we'd be paying about the same rent that we're paying now.  FI and I have a great relationship with his parents, who are wonderful, reasonable people who have been amazingly undemanding and supportive throughout wedding planning.

If you were me, would you rent from them? Any experiences renting from parents, be it yours or FI's?

This is really a curiosity poll, since we don't even know what state we'll be in next year.

Nebb

Thats totally why were doing it sucrets, to save money/pay off debt. We have a stupid amount and are trying really hard to pay it off and living here really helps that immensely. My mom rarely comes this far upstairs unless I ask her to, and if she does she always asks if its alright (as if we would say no!).

SparrowSong

Completely depends on the craziness-level of the in-laws in question. Are they normal non-crazy people? Then sure.  Are they crazy penny-pinchers who will pull drama when something needs to be repaired or think the fact that they own the place means they can break out the spare key and stop by any time they want? Then no.  Sounds like yours are the good kind, so I'm sure it would work out great for both parties.

sucrets4

nebb - I completely hear you.  That's the other thing about moving back to NY - we *could* live with my parents and save tons of money for a bit if we needed/wanted to.  It's just nice to have that option.

amalama

We rent from BF's stepdad right now. When I was pregnant his mom started discussing the idea with us, and I said no way in hell at first. Supposedly he had been thinking about buying a rental property anyway, but basically she wanted him to buy a house for us to rent, because apparently it's horrible to have a baby live in an apartment.

BF convinced me we should at least discuss it with his stepdad, so we went over to have lunch with them one day, and his mom had arranged for a realtor to show us houses without telling us. So I was back to a no way.

Basically after having this discussion 8 bajillion times, and trying to figure out how we could afford a bigger apartment, I was eventually worn down. I don't necessarily think it's horrible, but there are some pitfalls.

Pros:
We rent for slightly less than what we would be paying at a house of the same size (when we moved in, rent I think might actually be lower now).
We painted and did whatever we wanted to the house when we moved in (within reason).
If we want to buy it from SD eventually, what we have already paid in rent will go towards buying it.

Cons:
We had to have a TON of discussion about what was and wasn't okay (stopping by, bringing other people by, etc.).
I am still kind of worried about what well happen if we don't want to buy this house, because even though they said he would have wanted to buy it anyway, I really don't think so.
We live REALLY close to their house, which was mostly because if we move it will be much more convenient for them to have to take care of it until they sell/find other renters.

Sorry this is such a novel, but my advice would just be to think about every possible problem and how you will deal with these issues. And if you do decide to do it, treat it as you would renting from someone else (in most cases). BF said in the beginning (when we were really broke) that we could pay late if we needed to, but I never let him do that because it makes me uncomfortable. They also have offered us lower rent but I don't like taking handouts.

swim1011

I'd do it, if there was a discussion including boundaries, and a formal rental agreement, signed by all parties involved.  You need to know exactly is expected of you, and whether its more than you would deal with in a normal rental.

If you have a good relationship with the parents, though, I would probably go for it.

betrothed123

I did it.  Shortly after my surgery H and I moved in to FIL's house because they were moving out.  We signed a lease, and started paying rent.  It was the biggest mistake of our lives.  The lease didn't mean shiit when FIL decided he wanted to come back to the house.  He showed up just before midnight on New Years Eve and told us to get out.  We ended up being forced to crash at MIL's, and later my parents' house until we were able to get an apartment to move in to.

bbyckes

Yes, I would definitely rent from parents.  Lots of pros.

As far as cons, check out kiki's post about FFIL boundary issues.  That would be enough to think otherwise.