House/Flat Sharing

getofmeland

Hi All

I need some advice, I am 23/24 years old and I currently live at home with my parents, I have never lived away from home before so I am nervous about moving out. The reason I am looking to move out is because I have been commuting to work for the past year and half, and now would like to move closer to work, so that I would be able to socialise with work colleagues and make new friends.

As I am new to the whole housesharing idea, I have joined a couple of sites for house/flat shares, but none of them have any basic advice about things to ask, and what to look out for. I am going to look at a place on Wednesday evening so any advice by then would be handy.

I would like to know if anyone has any experience of it, any questions I should ask on Wednesday?

Thanks in advance

Charlie

beingjdc

Get a place with a dishwasher. And more than one bathroom if there are more than 4 people. Do your best to check that they're not mad, and ask roughly how much the bills are. Try to make sure they're not in your name (should be ok if you're replacing someone in an existing share). Some other stuff, I imagine...

ecgirl07

Been a while since i rented and it was always with friends but:

Does rent include bills? if not how much are bills per month? How is the council tax paid?
How do they share costs of cleaning stuff (bathroom cleaner washing up liquid toilet paper etc)? We used to put money a kitty to pay for that stuff.
Does the flat have phone internet access?
Get an idea of the people are they party folks? are they all up early for work or does someone work in a pub and come home in the wee hours?
Are there house rules re having partners/friends stay over?
Whats the kitchen set up? You got your own cupboard for food etc?

Im sure others will be along other ideas but you will get a feel for a flat/house when you get in it. Good luck!!

joanneinwonderland

Once you have an idea of bills etc. it's best to make up a little budget. If you go to the DFW board there's links to a Statement of Account which will help you see if you can afford everything and may have a note of things you could have forgotten. E.g. contents insurance, tv licence etc.

Also check about sharing food etc. as they may all have their own cupboards etc. and everyone does their own thing or they may expect you to chip in? Not sure about it but something to ask perhaps.

Most importantly sign up for a short length of time e.g. 6 months as if you don't like it or don't get on with your flatmates you know that it's not too much longer you have to deal with it.

Another thing when I first moved out I did get quite homesick and would recommend not going home for as long as you can manage so you get a chance to properly settle in. Just throw yourself into your social life with your work friends and your new flat mates.

Enjoy!!

xxxx :T

bandraoi

Find out when they go to work and what hours they work - shift workers vs 9 to 5 ers vs students can have different life styles, different socialising (loud) hours etc. Also if everyone is gainfully employed there are less likely to be problems with the bills.

Look at the layout of the house and the location of the room. Are you over the sitting room, next to the bathroom? If you're sensitive to noise, or the sound insulation is crappy then you may have a problem.

Ask how the bathroom works out and when people shower/use it. If three people all need to leave the house at 830 on the dot and they all like to shower in the morning, then you'll need to be flexible.

Ask about people staying over/guests, and what their policy on cleanliness is, if there's a cleaning rota etc.

Check the number of sockets in the bedroom, switch the shower on to see if it's decent or not, look at the radiators and windows, is the house easy to heat? are the radiators big enough for the rooms, ask what the landlords like - interfering or impossible to get hold of if there's a problem.

roses

Cleaning and buying shared toiletries (washing up liquid and toilet roll) have always been the issues for me when sharing.

There is always someone (even when only living with two others!) who doesn't do their fair share.

And bills! There is always one person who has an electric heater in their room and leaves the heating on 24/7 at 40'C!

getofmeland

Thanks for the advice so far, I think I will compile a list of questions to ask on wednesday.

Pitlanepiglet

Most things have been covered above. Have you asked your workmates if they have space or if they know someone who does? If you work has a staff intranet bulletin board you could put a "wanted" on that. At least if it's someone who someone else knows the chances of them being barking mad are slightly lower!

If you're working don't go into an all student house, students are exempt from Council tax and you'll end up with a huge liability that the students won't in any way want to share.

Good luck, I was scared witless when I first shared but with hindsight I wish I'd done it earlier.

chewmylegoff

find out what they all do. personally i prefered to live with people who were all in professional 9 to 5 jobs. they're less unlikely to make noise at anti-social times, and get horrendously drunk on monday nights.

mixed gender houses tend to work out better in my experience.

if there are any australians on 2 year working holiday visas, avoid like the plague!!

getofmeland

Yeah I am not looking for a Student Flatshare if I wanted that I would go back to uni, lol...

The house I am going to look at is a mixed house.

And why do u suggest avoiding aussies??

chewmylegoff

getofmeland wrote: »

Yeah I am not looking for a Student Flatshare if I wanted that I would go back to uni, lol...

The house I am going to look at is a mixed house.

And why do u suggest avoiding aussies??

there's nothing wrong with aussies, it's just that the ones who are here on working holiday visas behave exactly like the brits who go to australia for a year: they get !!!!ed up a lot, have loads of parties, and invite their mates to come and sleep on the sofa half the time. they are, effectively, students with more money.