I need the help of the hive mind. Thank goodness for the internet.
Assuming all goes as planned, I'll be moving in a little over a month. Into My! New! House! Scary.
I'm currently in an apartment with a roommate and I've invited her to come with me. I sort of feel obligated - otherwise I'm breaking the lease and abandoning her. She's a friend, and it feels like the right thing to do. Besides, it's a 3 bedroom house, and rental income will be awesome.
So here's the question - what do I charge her for rent? Remember, we're in the Washington, D.C. area, which is pretty pricey.
Currently, I pay the bigger part of the rent, and she pays $950, all utilities and cable included. In our house, the mortgage will be about $250 less than my rent, but that doesn't include utilities or all the extra costs, like the security system I want to put in, and of course the awesome awesome taxes. Roommate is not the cleanest person in the world, so I'm also planning to hire a maid service to come in about twice a month. I'm thinking that will cost $80-$120/visit. It's expensive, but it will save a lot of stress on my part, as I know it will infuriate me to have to clean her bathroom for her and clean the kitchen. (Yes, I realize this doesn't make her the ideal roommate, but it is what it is.) The interior of the house is all recently refurbished and I really want to keep it nice.
The house is significantly bigger than the apartment, but the downside is that it's much further from the Metro. She's going to have to take a bus to the Metro to get to work (or ride with me when it's convenient for her).
So what do I charge the roommate? I was thinking of asking $750 plus utilities, but after a quick survey of Craigslist, that might be high. So now I'm thinking $750 flat. Does that sound fair? Too much?