Homeowner sharing income with live-in girlfriend and keeping everyone happy?

[Eric385]

Hi,

I bought my house last year and since then my GF has moved in. We started listing the front half of our house, it's almost duplex like in that we close & lock a door and don't share space w/ guests. The GF helps with the airbnb listing from time to time and with laundry, cleaning, etc.

We've been trying to figure out a fair way to split the net income from airbnb. On one hand I've got a lot of $$ tied up in down payment, airbnb expenses, etc. On the other, she's helping and should get something out of it. I like to think that the airbnb income offsets the mortgage payment and keeps her rent at a better rate. The mortgate with special vacation insurance is 2100, her rent is 800 w/ all utilities, etc. included.

Any suggestions on a percentage split that works for cohosts? It'd be easier to just split 50/50 if we were both just renting the house from a landlordand splitting expenses.

Thanks for any ideas.

[Jann3]

Well, a few points:

1. Just remember, AirBnB income isn't worth losing a good GF over. The more money you both have - no matter how you split it - means a better life for you both.
2. She moved in before you AirBnB'd. You therefore set her rent before AirBnB. It could be said that she understands by AirBnB'ing you are able to afford a house you otherwise might not be able to afford. 

I really don't know what to tell you. I've been married too long. Money is "ours" not "mine" or "his"...sorry.

[Eric385]

Hi Jann,

1-Agreed, money complicates things and isn't worth having it ruin things!

2-This house was definitely purchased with the forethought that it's much affordable with either a housemate or airbnb (and the GF rent of course also helps pay for repairs/etc.) Portland rent is crazy, there are lots of super spendy 1-2 bedroom houses that I couldn't afford. I went a little bigger to get a place that has the potential for extra income from renters/airbnb. We initially had some renters, and that was easier than airbnb, but then we had 3 people living with us all the time.

Understand on the concept of money in a marriage... We have some older (~60s) married friends that split their airbnb income 50/50. They also own a house that was bought 30 years ago. Even adjusted for today they paid about half what I did, so that airbnb income is way less critical to the overhead. 

[Paul154]

Ah Youth.

The only way for your to answer your question is for you to make a choice, get burned and then learn from the experience.

You are already commited to a mess.

Oregon = community property state 

P.C. Oregon = permissive view of live-in girlfriend "marital"/domestic partner status.

So you already are keeping everyone happy. Just make sure that you are happy too.

[Eric385]

Paul, I'm a little confused. From what I've read, "Oregon is not a community property state like its adjacent neighbors, California and Washington. "

Not sure at what point things get legally complicated with the house and airbnb income, so I'm trying to keep it simple.

The girlfriend would be happier if she got something out of all this. We had mentioned putting money a percentage of airbnb income into a vacation trip fund, so maybe that's a good idea.

[Paul154]

My bad. I learned something from you today.

I just assumed Oregon was like Cali and Wa.

Yes, you can get creative with "payment".

It is a grey situation. Girlfriend is not an employee. obviously, but

You are taking all the risk with house. 

If you look at co-host payments they are around 15-20%. That could be a comparison.

Good luck

[Eric385]

I agree on the risk and cost factors, they add up!

We'd discussed something like figuring a percentage after costs/utilities/supplies, etc.  Good call on the 15-20%, I think that's more towards the fairer side of things. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Eric385  I'm in a similar situation so I can actually relate. 

My listing is in my (Jessica's) home - but I am almost never home during the week. Henry has his own place (technically, the family home), where he lives with his sister to take care of his mother together, but recently they've started some serious renovations + updates which was a problem for Henry because he works from home. The obvious solution was to use my place as his (temporary) work space, while Henry keeps an eye on my home when I'm away and also help with hosting. 

One thing to note is that Henry doesn't help me with rent or mortage or utilities - instead it was agreed that 1/4 of the income from hosting will to to our vacation fund. Also, another 1/4 goes into our shared expenses account (which we use for date night meals, movies, weekend trips and such). The remaining half is used (by me) to cover utilties and whatever is left over is considered mine - which I use to pay for coffee beans, beer, cleaning products, kleenex, TP, and random expendable stuff I need around the house. 

Based on the information you shared about your mortgage and her rent, if you would prefer to split and give your GF a portion of earnings, I'd say offering her a 25%, maybe 30% split (depending on how much of the hosting responsibilities she helps you with) sounds reasonable. Or 20% into a vacation trip fund, 20% to her, and you (as home owner and official host) take the remaining 60%.

I'm curious to know what your GF what she thinks is fair and what amount she feels should come to her for helping you with the cleaning and laundry related to hosting. In order to find a compromise, it's important to know where the differences are and why you feel differently about those points. Go somewhere nice for dinner and talk it out with a bottle of wine 🙂 Good luck~! 

[Eric385]

Hi Jessica,

Thanks for the ideas. I like your 25% vacation/25% shared expenses/50% overhead idea. With my GF paying rent, the 20% her/20% vacation/60% me might work better for us. Or use some percentage for date nights and all that.

Money is tricky, it's great when it doesn't complicate things.

[Kate157]

@Eric385 I would also add to the great responses you've already had from the others, that for me, cleaning is the worst. It hard, time-consuming work, but it is very necessary. I think if your GF is helping with this work, you should be generous with the percentage. Having this kind of help is very valuable.

[Eric385]

Agreed, cleaning takes the most time and can be the most hassle. We recently hired a cleaning person from a friend's referral. It's worth the added cost in that neither of us has to be responsible for it and thus eliminates some stress. We still will clean from time to time, usually when there's more than one day to deal w/ laundry/cleaning/etc. We still do laundry and shop for supplies, but the main amount of time is spent on laundry and communicating with people.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Eric385

I agree you need to consider your own unique situation. 

In terms of hosting responsibilties, I handle managing the listing page & calendar and all communication with hosts - a "management" role, while Henry does 80~90% of the hosting activities for cleaning, laundry and on-site support for the guest during their stay - basically providing most of the "labor" that goes into hosting.

I thought about giving Henry whatever is left over after utilities and basic operational expenses (cleaning products, amemnities) but he flat out said "I don't want your money." which is why we came up with the breakdown for vacation, joint expenses, and utilities+expenses, money we would have to use/spend/save anyway. By using the Airbnb income for these items, we both have more "personal" money to save or spend as we please.  

But just like every host is different, every couple is different 🙂