Rent a Room to Help with the Mortgage Payment 

A growing trend in the San Francisco and East Bay Areas of California to cope with a high mortgage payment is renting out rooms. As ARM's reset and the monthly mortgage payment rises, more and more Bay Area homeowners are taking in renters.

If you're considering this route to help with a rising mortgage payment, keep the following in mind:

• Evicting a tenant requires 30 days notice (60 if they have rented more than a year)
• Tenants must give 30 days notice before moving out.
• Update your homeowners insurance
• Get a damage deposit
• Put it all in writing

Checking Craigslist, I found:

• Danville, CA - 36 entires from $675 to $1200
• San Ramon, CA - 40 entries from $400 to $1300
• Dublin, CA - 46 entires from $495 to $1000
• Walnut Creek, CA - 93 entires from $500 to $1000

Renting out rooms to cover expenses is nothing new, but the growing trend of renting rooms out in upscale neighborhoods is growing and that is new. Not since the Great Depression have so many homeowners opened their homes up to renters.