Rent a room; Get whole house for 8 months /yr

ABOUT US
My husband and I are semi-retired and live 8 months of the year in Mexico. Our roommate will share our home in Van Nuys with us in the summer and around the Christmas holidays. The remainder of the year our roommate will have our house to themself.

When we are in Van Nuys we have an active, but quiet life. My husband is an attorney and works from home in the mornings. We have two friendly medium size energetic dogs that we walk (run) twice a day. We go to the gym yoga. I love to read and cook healthy meals and we entertain periodically. We have family and friends nearby who we see frequently. Entertaining by our roommate in the public areas of the house or the garden needs to be coordinated with us when we are in Van Nuys, and we will do the same.

We take pride in our mid-century home, enjoy the modern art that we collect, and our garden, where we usually sit each evening with a cocktail. We are not religious. We are liberal/progressive democrats, with a strong social conscience.

Our ideal roommate is a friendly, good-humored, positive person who is respectful of people of all races, religions, and sexual identity. This person should be very tidy and clean, responsible and financially stable. A quiet person is preferred rather than an overly chatty person.

ABOUT THE PROPERTY
Our home was designed by William Krisel (well known for designing modern homes in Palm Springs) in 1954. The house has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and common areas, including the living room, dining room kitchen and laundry and garden. Our roommate will have his or her own bedroom (available furnished or unfurnished) and access to a full bathroom (which is, from time to time, also used by guests and by us; the “public” bathroom).

Our home is located in Van Nuys, near the intersection of Van Nuys Blvd and Sherman Way, major arteries in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood is urban, mostly quiet and well maintained. There are many grocery stores nearby that, in addition to standard fare, feature ethnic (Latino, Armenian, Eastern European, Russian) products, as well as many ethnic restaurants.

Our home has cable television (TV is in the living room), with a cable connection in the roommate's bedroom and Wi-Fi. The costs of these services are included in the rent. We enjoy watching downloaded TV programs and movies in the evenings. Our roommate is welcome to join us to watch these programs when we are home. If our roommate prefers to watch daytime or other evening programming, we suggest a TV in the roommate’s bedroom.

We will pay 100% of the water expense for the household. and we will prorate for all gas and electricity expense when we are in Van Nuys, with our roommate paying 1/3 of these utilities costs. Our roommate will pay us monthly for all gas and electricity expense when we are in Mexico. We will invoice our roommate for gas and electricity (with utility company documentation) for the periods when we are not in Van Nuys. We will share our washer and dryer with our roommate.

We have upgraded the kitchen and bathrooms. The kitchen is fully equipped and we will share our dishes, silverware, pots and pans, cooking utensils and kitchen appliances with our roommate, PROVIDED that everything is well cleaned and maintained after each use. We request that the kitchen remains organized as it currently is. We will share the cost of common area cleaning supplies, detergent, dishwasher soap, cleanser, etc.

Our roommate will do his or her own shopping and prepare his or her own meals, as well as provide their own toilet paper and laundry supplies. Our roommate will provide their own food staples, like flour and sugar, condiments, herbs and spices, etc. In the event our roommate 'borrows' any of our supplies, our roommate will replace the item (same brand, etc.) promptly, so it will be available to us when we need it.

We have landscaped the front and backyards. The backyard is designed for relaxed entertaining and features a gas barbeque, Adirondack chairs, patio table and chairs and a fire bowl. If the barbeque is used, prior to our return to Van Nuys in the summer, our Roommate will refill the propane gas tank for the barbeque so it will be full when we arrive. We have a gardener who maintains the garden every two weeks. The gardener puts the "green" trash barrel at the curb when it is full. When we are not in Van Nuys, our roommate will be responsible for putting the "blue" and "black" barrel at the curb each week and returning all barrels to the storage area behind the gate (not left in the driveway) after trash pick-up (Thursday).

We keep our house neat and have a housekeeper when we are in Van Nuys. We leave the house clean when we depart for Mexico and expect the house will be clean when we return to Van Nuys. We want a roommate that also likes to live in a neat and clean space. Each person needs to clean up after himself or herself daily. Common areas should be kept neat. Our roommate’s dirty dishes and pans should be loaded in the dishwasher and the countertops and cooktop cleaned immediately after each use. Our roommate will be responsible for regularly cleaning their bedroom and keeping the “public” bathroom clean. Our house cleaner, when attending to the rest of the house, will clean the roommate's bedroom and bathroom, upon request, for $25.

Parking for the roommate’s vehicle is in the driveway when we are in Van Nuys and in the carport when we are in Mexico. If the roommate does not have a car, Metro bus lines run on Van Nuys Blvd and Sherman Way with connections to the Metro Orange line (2.4 miles to the south) and the Metro Red subway line station in North Hollywood, providing access to all parts of the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles.

Our roommate can have guests visit in our home if they do not disrupt the quiet enjoyment of the household and neighbors, and follow the household rules. The bedroom we are renting is for one person. When we are in Mexico, overnight guests are allowed for short stays in the roommate's bedroom only. Guests cannot move in personal belongings and cannot use other bedrooms in the house. When we are in Van Nuys, overnight guests are not allowed.

Occasionally, at times when we are either in Mexico or in Van Nuys, our family members or friends will stay in the guest bedroom while visiting Los Angeles. We will provide advance notice to our roommate when guests will be visiting. When we are in Van Nuys we occasionally entertain friends and family for dinner and for holiday events. We will notify our roommate when we are scheduling these events. On the occasion of an event, guests will use the “public” bathroom.

We do not expect our roommate to make repairs or physically maintain our home; but our roommate will have the predisposition and skill set to keep the house clean, observe the garden for any issues with plants or irrigation, notify us of issues around the house as they arise, and coordinate with service people we employ as needed.

No smoking, pets, or firearms are allowed. Social cocktails are fine, but excessive alcohol consumption is not. A security deposit of one-month’s rent is required. A cleaning fee of $150 will be deducted from the security deposit when our roommate moves out. References, credit and background check and current Covid vaccinations are required.