What To Do with That Spare Room in Your House

0
92
Spare Room in House

Whether you’re a new empty-nester or you just have a spare room in your house, you might be wondering what to do with that space. If you aren’t careful, it becomes the junk room, filled with boxes and other items that you or someone eventually has to go through and clean out. What should you do with that room?

Consider Ownership

If your child has gone off to college, even to someplace very far away, they might not be happy to get home and find out that you’ve turned their room into an office. For adult children, it may be best to ease into this stage. You might work with them to clear it out rather than simply turning it into yours overnight while they are away.

Consider Renovating

Maybe the extra space needs some work. Maybe it’s an attic or a basement room, or maybe you’ve decided you want to knock out a wall to make it part of a larger space. If you’re doing more than cosmetic changes, you might need more money as well. Many people use a home equity loan to pay for home renovations. An advantage of a home equity loan is that it can usually be repaid on fixed terms. You can find out whether you have enough equity in your home to qualify and review a guide on the process.

Consider Your Needs

There may be competing needs in your household. Perhaps you are a family of four and the kids want the ultimate game room or entertainment space while each parent thinks it should be their own home office. In a case like this, unless one person really does have extraordinary needs, like a private area they can use to be interviewed regularly on national TV, you need to think about what will benefit the whole family the most. You may need to think in terms of creating a family room that can provide something for everyone.

Rent it Out

One option is always to rent it out, either to a tenant or roommate on a long-term basis or for the short-term on a home sharing site. How well this works for you will vary a lot depending on the details to consider and your current living situation and if you live in a particularly desirable area. If you do live in a place that is popular with tourists, you can easily make in just a few nights of temporary rental as much or more as you would renting out the room on a long-term basis.

Consider Your Design

Another thing to think about is the decoration. This process will vary depending on your situation. If it’s going to be a family room, everyone should get some say about how it looks. If you are a single person with well-established taste, you probably already have a pretty good idea of what you want to do. If you are a single person who does not have a very strong opinion about home decor, you may want to spend some time online looking at photos so that you can decide what you want your space to look like.

 

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here