How much rent should we charge?

[wombat2u2004]

My brother is moving in with us at the end of the month from Cincinnati. We get along really well, and he and my husband are friends, too. So hopefully all will go well in that regard.

He will be looking for a job after he moves in, and of course I don't expect him to help with rent when he's not working. He's planning on eventually getting his own place- so I don't want things to get too comfortable for him at our house, since I would really prefer that he eventually find his own apartment.

So, after he gets a job and before he gets his own place- what percentage of the rent should we ask him to pay?

He will have his own bedroom, but it is the small one...but then again utilities will be higher with him living here. I want to be fair, but I don't want to be taken advantage of (unintentionally of course).

One Third !!!!
Wom

[carole]

I agree with most, at first i would not charge him, it all depends really on how generous he is, and how long he ends up staying, but if he buys some groceries and offers to help, take it,and if he ends up staying longer than you intended him too, then i would broach the subject, my son had a friend move in for about a month, temporarily, and never charged him, he ended up becoming a room-mate in the end,so it all worked out just fine.

[Hellow]

none. he is family and should be able to live with you until he gets his own place.

[wombat2u2004]

none. he is family and should be able to live with you until he gets his own place.

Nope....sorry folks...I disagree.
People have to pay their own way for a number of reasons.
Firstly it's because people cost ????? They cost you money and effort, and you shouldn't have to spring that free of charge.
Secondly, if you make it too easy on him, then he isn't going to look around seriously for his own accommodation.
Too many times I've heard of situations such as these, when homeowners find they have a freeloader who won't leave because of the owners hospitality.
I know it's nice to do stuff for relo's and the like, but the situation can easily get out of hand, and you will be left with the big phone bills and electricity bills etc etc, after they move on.
Work out in your head how much it costs for you and hubby to live for a month....divide that by three, and that is what your brother should pay, because that is what you will spend.
Wom

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Nope....sorry folks...I disagree.
People have to pay their own way for a number of reasons.
Firstly it's because people cost ????? They cost you money and effort, and you shouldn't have to spring that free of charge.
Secondly, if you make it too easy on him, then he isn't going to look around seriously for his own accommodation.
Too many times I've heard of situations such as these, when homeowners find they have a freeloader who won't leave because of the owners hospitality.
I know it's nice to do stuff for relo's and the like, but the situation can easily get out of hand, and you will be left with the big phone bills and electricity bills etc etc, after they move on.
Work out in your head how much it costs for you and hubby to live for a month....divide that by three, and that is what your brother should pay, because that is what you will spend.
Wom

My husband thinks that he should have to pay a third after he gets a job, too. I don't feel quite right charging that much, but I do agree that he should kick in some money. It would be nice if some kind of barter worked out, but I'm pretty sure that won't be the case due to what happen the last time we lived with him.

I really don't want life at our house to get too cozy for him or he will never leave.

[carole]

Only you and you alone know your brother, it sounds like he would take to free-loading ,so perhaps you should implement a system from day one,so you don't end up in a sticky situation, if you think thirds is the way to go ,then i say go for it, now that you have explained things further i am more in agreement to ask him to share expenses as soon as he gets work.

[Marigold2]

Yes I do agree with you Wombat, but I would let him stay free for the first month to get on his feet, after that a set amount with a signed contract is good. This way he never loses his self worth and or pride which is a basic human need for any success.

Nope....sorry folks...I disagree.
People have to pay their own way for a number of reasons.
Firstly it's because people cost ????? They cost you money and effort, and you shouldn't have to spring that free of charge.
Secondly, if you make it too easy on him, then he isn't going to look around seriously for his own accommodation.
Too many times I've heard of situations such as these, when homeowners find they have a freeloader who won't leave because of the owners hospitality.
I know it's nice to do stuff for relo's and the like, but the situation can easily get out of hand, and you will be left with the big phone bills and electricity bills etc etc, after they move on.
Work out in your head how much it costs for you and hubby to live for a month....divide that by three, and that is what your brother should pay, because that is what you will spend.
Wom

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Thanks for all of your replies. I appreciate the responses, even if they were not quite what I expected!!

Perhaps I should be more clear: After 2 months, assuming he has a job, we are going to ask him to kick in for rent. My brother, as much as I like him, is extremely cheap. I'm quite certain that if we never asked him to pay a dime, he wouldn't...he'd probably think he'd died and gone to heaven and would live with us forever.

If he wants to find a place right away, then it's understandable that he would want to save, and I wouldn't begrudge him not paying for anything, but I'm pretty sure he will just hang out at our house for a while and I have neither the means nor the inclination to support another adult for longer than necessary.

We've actually lived with him before- right after college we all three rented a house together- and he ended up moving out and leaving Eric and I to pay for everything, which we didn't plan on. :/ So, I've already decided that's not happening again, and I want to be clear right from the start what our expectations are.