How many bedrooms does your house have? Nearby colleges and universities are a GODSEND from a landlord's perspective. A friend of mine takes on boarders, generally foreign grad students at local universities, and they pay $400-$500/mo. for a bedroom and access to the kitchen, living room etc. So that could cut your monthly payment in half, without running afoul of the local "no more than 2 unrelated people" laws and probably without requiring anything along the lines of a lead inspection/remediation.
That said, if you take on only one boarder you're not even violating the local zoning law you described, since there are only two of you in the house. Also, most housing laws do not apply to you if you're continuing to live in the house and are just renting out a room or two; they apply to actual landlords (people renting out houses or apartments that they don't live in), not to people taking in boarders. So I'd be very surprised if you had to do anything along the lines of a lead inspection. If your personality is such that you want to make 100% sure to follow all rules, you can consult a local real estate/zoning lawyer to make sure taking on a boarder would be okay, but personally I would just do it.
House has 3 bedrooms. Currently has
5 4 residents - I have been renting out the spare rooms to various people. It's been a nightmare nearly every time.
Big Room - Me and my BF (things are getting serious) - BF is contributing financially
Mid Room - Male roommate been there 2 years @ $325 + equal share utilities, always a few days late with rent but lets me know, just announced last night he found a cheaper place and moving out in 11 days
Sm Room -
2 1 female roommate - undergrad girls at the university were here for the summer. $250 each flat rate. 1 just moved out, the other moves out next weekend.
They were a NIGHTMARE! always late rent/partial payments, leaving windows open while AC on (despite my constant bitching!!!!!), hogging the single bathroom, bitching about everything, no space in the fridge, immature, leaving food out on the counters, dishes everywhere, etc.etc....on and on. They didn't care about the skyrocketing electric bill ($220 past 2 months) b/c they had a contract for flat rent.
[[Small room before these 2 girls I had a long time friend in there. She was always late, then stopped paying. I had to take her to court, evict her, and lost a friend. Plus I lost a lot of money in the whole process]]
I have tried renting out rooms in the past (before above roommates moved in) and when students would come look at the house they would walk away "No Thanks" - the small room is TINY and the neighborhood is really not good, people are always concerned about safety - even though i've never personally had any issues in 7 years, nearby shootings and robberies really detract. Seems the only price I can rent for where people will overlook the neighborhood is about $300-$350.
So at the end of the month it will be just me, my BF, his dog and my 2 cats.
Also as I said, things are getting serious with my BF, privacy would be nice. He has agreed to contribute $400/month + 1/2 utilities. We plan to drastically cut electricity consumption. Also w/o roommates I'm cancelling TV. Without roommates the water/sewer bill will drop dramatically too.
Not sure where the balance lies, but he is rejoicing that the roommates will be gone and we can be together and have privacy. I'm nervous because I liked the extra cash, even though the roommates drove me crazy too. I mean they just sit around all day and watch TV or play video games or stalk facebook.