July 18, 2010

Renting from brother?

By Planet Wealth

I went out of my parents place at 19.I shared a Basement apartment for 5 a month with a co-worker, but making /hr was barely scraping by. I basically worked to pay rent and to pay for food and had small left over.

1 year later, I wanted to do something with my life.. My brother offered that I could go in with him and his wife for 0 a month provided that I help them around the house and am doing something with my life (going to school, seeking a career). I offered the current 0 a month i was paying now and he laughed and said he would never charge me that much. He said he would probably just use the 0 a month to fix things up around his house.

So I quit my job sold all my possessions, and drove 4100km to live with my brother.

2 weeks after moving in I found an awesome job and now make /hr and am enrolled as an apprentice. Part of my apprenticeship requires I goto school for 2-3 months at a time full time (no income for 2-3 months) I have also been working very hard to help them around the house. I scrubbed their kitchen floors, walls, and cupboards, mowed the lawns, helped them reroof the house, helped with bathroom renovations, and am constantly cleaning all the dishs.

I’ve now been living with my brother for 30 days and his wife keeps adding additional charges. She wants me to pay 0 a month for food which works out to about per day (which is reasonable) although all of her food is low stout and I am extremely skinny.. and she does not exactly pick up foods I like to eat, just whatever expensive low diet foods she wants.

So I don’t mind that although it is upsetting.. 0 for a roof over my head and food. But now the problem is that she wants to add another 0 – 0 a month for utilities. So the way I feel now is that she is profiting from me, not trying to help me, but at the same time I feel as though I cant complain because if I were on my own I would be paying slightly more.

My brother and his wife both have government jobs (police officer and probation officer) so they are doing very well for themselves.

I just feel frustrated because I feel as though I was misled, are my feelings justified? or am I being ungrateful?

Topics: renting shares | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Renting from brother?”

  1. Douglas D Says:
    July 18th, 2010 at 12:48 pm

    Where I come from a deal is a deal.
    You went there at your brothers invitation, so I suggest that you make your dealings with him, & let your brother worry about his wife.
    You are keeping up with your end of the bargain, So I suggest that you continue to do that & tell her to talk to her husband if she wants to renegotiate.

    Now as far as verbal agreements are concerned, they usually work out to be a mistake, & that gets compounded the more by the number of people who are involved.
    You made a verbal agreement with your brother, & that was two. Now his wife is involved ( but she kinda was by default anyway wasn’t she) & that makes three.
    Maybe it’s time for a written agreement to be worked out, & signed by everyone involved. It will include how much, & for how long, & any other things that you guys want in it like how much space in the house is exclusively yours (eg: your room) parking, shared utilities, food etc.

    This kind of arrangement has to be beneficial for everyone, & so far it sounds like it has. You are getting low cost room & board, & your brother & his spouse have a ready source of cheap labour at hand.
    You may feel like you owe your brother a debt of gratitude, but he & his wife are making out pretty excellent in this deal as well. If they rented your room out to a total weirder, I doubt that they would get much more money from him/her, & I seriously doubt that he/she would be helping them shingle their roof.

    You may be saving a small on room & board, but you may have to look at the TOTAL cost of this arrangement. Where family is concerned, you may want to separate them from business.
    You could end up spoiling your relationship with your brother.
    If the difference turns out to be just a few bucks a month then I would go out & keep the relationship with the brother intact.

  2. awommack Says:
    July 18th, 2010 at 12:48 pm

    just tell him

  3. mammamia Says:
    July 18th, 2010 at 12:48 pm

    Sounds like the wifey is being a small witchy. You say all the things you have done, and it sounds like they should be paying you. I would not hang out too long at their house. Check around and if you can get a furnished studio or small apartment it might be better for all of you, and you would have your own privacy.

  4. kywyldefyre Says:
    July 18th, 2010 at 12:48 pm

    You and brother had an agreement and believe it or not, verbal one but even that would stand up in court. You need to talk to brother and question him what’s up. He might not know his wife is doing what she is. Question him why all the sudden extra expenses since you’re doing exactly what he questioned of you. His wife sounds like a stingy, greedy twit and if he DOESN’T know what she’s doing he needs to. If he does then he isn’t being very brotherly now. Might also want to question him if he wants you to go out.

    If it comes down to it, take the money you’ve been paying him for rent.. and go find yourself an efficiency apartment. And hang in there with that new job!

Comments

« | Home | »