Tip: Program matches seniors with renters
Older Long Islanders have a lot to share. For some, the most valuable resource they can share is their home.
HomeShare Long Island matches older homeowners with adults looking for an affordable place to live. The not-for-profit program, part of a nationwide effort, is aimed primarily at homeowners 60 and older who need financial help to stay in their homes. Homeowners who just want companionship also can apply. The renter must be at least 18.
But don't think this is an instant mix-and-match service like Craigslist, where you'll get potluck - if you're lucky.
"We check references, we do criminal background checks and then we stay involved," says Dolores Tibbets, who runs the Nassau HomeShare program. Tibbets' staff checks whether the potential room seeker can afford the rent and visits the homeowner to make sure the house is fit for renting. HomeShare also does background checks on the homeowner.
"We're not real estate agents," says Karen Boorshtein, president of Family Service League, which runs Suffolk's HomeShare program. "We're looking to make the best matches."
If a successful match is made, the homeowner and the renter each pay a $200 fee. In Nassau, $50 of the fee is payable at the time of the application. Suffolk asks for $100. The fee is needed to defray the costs of background checks.
Tibbets says average rents are $600 to $700, but there's a sliding scale. In cases where the renter agrees in writing to help the homeowner with chores, Tibbets suggests the rent be lower.
Many homeowners who apply with HomeShare live alone and like the idea of someone else in the house. "If you had to pay to have someone in your house, just for an emergency, that could easily go for over $2,000 a month," Tibbets says.
Boorshtein agrees. "To simply know that there's some other living soul there, it's very comforting."
For information on Nassau's HomeShare program, call 516-292-1300, ext. 2312, or visit familyandchildrens.org. In Suffolk, call 631-427-3700, ext. 305, or go to fsl-li.org.
