Yeah, renting to family is a pretty bad idea IMO. If I had a place to live, that I did not have to pay rent or any fees for, and family wanted to move in or use the place, sure. But I would not rent to family for the most part as I could see the money/business aspect being a reason for issues to arise.
Let's say, if I was renting, I would not rent to a relative, but if I was looking for a place I would try to rent it from some relative you know? Ahah, not wise at all to mix business and pleasure...
Personally I think it's a bad idea. They will take advantage of you as a family member and try and get away with things a normal renter wouldn't be able to. You will feel guilty knowing who it is and feel obligated to help them if they need it. I learned the hard way!
Renting to a family member can be a double edged sword of a situation if one is not very careful to maintain specific boundaries. Ones family can take advantage sometimes worse than any stranger would dream of doing. But, on the other hand there are those who believe someone who is far better off than another family member should help those kinsmen as much as they can. I am one of these people. It is our responsibility to care for underprivileged family members who can't help their situation.
This is the way I feel, too... but the original poster didn't mention anything about the family member being underprivileged... just whether or not we'd rent one of our investment properties to a family member. And that could be a huge can of worms, methinks.
Doing business with family normally tends to end badly most of the time. Family members believe they have the right to make late payments or when they can't they simply know they can explain it away: "we've got the same genes, I'll be there for you in future," etc. That's why I must agree with the posters who say it's not a good idea to rent a house or business premises to family members. You can't trust them to pay.
I will never rent out to a family member. This is because when I do rent out a place, I want it to be a business. Sometimes, once you start making transactions with relatives, that's when you start killing your business. They will ask for discounts, or ask to be late in payments, or tweak the rule on deposits and advance rent, and things like that. If you charge high, you will even look bad in their eyes, which is of course quite unfair for you.
Some time back when I was looking for a place to rent, the owner was looking to rent to someone with a family. I had gone with a girlfriend of mine; therefore I was not eligible to rent in that area. Most people with families are likely to stay in one place longer than a single person. Their children need stability; a single person could break the lease to move in with their significant other or relocate for new opportunities.
Very good thread, if I could, I would have given you a "like". More often than not, business with family members turn more sour than with people who are not your family members and just your business partners, on the other hand, business with family can be the best thing you ever did in life...if the family members have high a level of intelligence and know what to do in order to steer a business on the successful path. I say all that of to say this, I would only rent to a family member after we have come to the agreement that what we have now is a business relationship, separate from being family related, so, yes, I would rent to a family member, and no, I have never rented to a family member, my immediate family members and all those I know that they extended all have homes so there end my chance of ever getting to do that :-( so, in closing, I have no experience in this situation, but, I would rent to family
