Homeowners

Homeowners

We created Olive & Coop to provide a living arrangement that benefits both you and the home sharer. Our goal is to help create the opportunity for you to age at home longer. From your side, you offer lower rent in exchange for work in or around the home. These are some of the recommended steps you should take in the process:

  • Decide what you are looking for in a home sharer and what kind of help you need around your home. For example, consider if you’re looking for someone to help with chores, or run errands, or if you’re hoping to find someone who has time to sit and chat during breakfast.
  • Be as clear as possible up front about your preferences and expectations - talk to potential home sharers about quiet hours, sleep habits, work hours, your policy on guests in the home, what amenities the renter can use, storage space, level of cleanliness, parking, rental payment options, flexible lease terms, internet use, etc.
  • Make sure to meet your potential tenant for the first time in a public place. It’s always a good idea to let a loved one know when and where you’re meeting a potential tenant.
  • Always request a criminal background check and ask potential tenants to provide two or three references who can speak to their character.
  • Obtain a credit report for any potential tenant. This is a great way to help ensure there will be no surprises when rent is due. Olive & Coop is affiliated with RentPrep.com, which provides credit reports. You can find out more about RentPrep in the Olive & Coop Toolkit link below.
  • Consider checking Google and social media accounts, like Facebook, to learn more about potential tenants.
  • Once you find the perfect tenant, it’s still always for the best to be on the safe side. Be sure to notify your bank that you have a new renter and be sure to let them know that only checks with your signature are valid. Let your bank know to contact you if they ever notice any unusual banking activity.

Keys to a successful home share match:

At the link below, you can see how to screen and select tenants:

Here are more useful links to enhance aging in place:

NATIONAL COUNCIL ON AGING - FALL PREVENTION

COUNCIL ON AGING of Central Oregon: AVOID SCAMS AND GIVE FRAUDSTERS A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY.