Question for those renting rooms in shared accommodation

DareGod

Those of you renting rooms in shared accommodation, do you have any preferences or rules regarding who you are willing to live with? E.g. will you live with females only, guys only, avoid accommodation that is owner occupied, avoid living with couples, or with much younger/older people, etc etc, and why? Was it due to bad experiences in the past and what were they?

Personally I couldn't live in a place that's owner occupied. I think I'd feel on edge all the time. I also think I'd prefer to share only with people around my general age range.

The answers to this question are personal and individual so try to avoid judging others for their feelings about it!

TheSheriff

Avoid owner occupied at all costs.

Also avoid people who don't have full time jobs, the last chap I lived with on moving in told me he "worked for himself", which I came to learn meant staying up till 2-3am each morning drinking , then getting up the next day at 2pm. Rinse and repeat.

Ken.

I was a bit hasty closing this. Reopened.

Winterlong

I used to try to share with people as close to me as possible in terms of age, work etc. The better the fit the less chances of falling out IMO.

Worst people to share with are those who like loud sex. Fck that! (I dont think you can put 'silent riders only need apply' on the advert though.

Arcade_Tryer

Winterlong wrote: »

I used to try to share with people as close to me as possible in terms of age, work etc. The better the fit the less chances of falling out IMO.

Worst people to share with are those who like loud sex. Fck that! (I dont think you can put 'silent riders only need apply' on the advert though.

Considering you can put 'females only', I'm sure there would be no problem.

mud

I've just moved into a funny one. Owner-occupied, married couple with a 2-year-old. I know the wife for years and the husband for the last five.


I was dreading it a bit but we're a week in and it seems to be working out great. I have my own room, full use of the kitchen etc, a great back garden and as much privacy as I want.

Clearly, this won't be a forever thing but I actually think it'll work out for a good while.

We've agreed to speak up if something needs to be said but so far so good.

I'm a good housemate anyway. I like keeping the place clean and having a nice atmosphere. I work Monday-Friday so I'm not hanging around the house during the day so I think we all get what we want.

DoozerT6

^^I'd be worried about the inevitable noise/tantrums/being woken by the child crying in the middle of the night, that would happen from living with a toddler. And when it's not YOUR child, there's very little you can do about quieting or disciplining them.

jr86

TheSheriff wrote: »

Avoid owner occupied at all costs.

Not quite owner occupied but my last place I lived with the daughter of the owners

I was so close to work and super location but honestly I'd never do it again for love nor money.

I mean she was a nice person but completely sweat the small stuff as did the owners. They would show up pretty much every week too, feck that

Now I always keep things clean and keep myself to myself when at home, and thankfully there weren't any issues but you're on edge the whole time and it's no way to live.

Eventually they just moved their other daughter in all of a sudden to take my room and honestly I was half delighted, I actually ended up getting a lovely place now with three others a similar age to myself, it worked out very well thankfully.

mud

DoozerT6 wrote: »

^^I'd be worried about the inevitable noise/tantrums/being woken by the child crying in the middle of the night, that would happen from living with a toddler. And when it's not YOUR child, there's very little you can do about quieting or disciplining them.

Yeah, I have earplugs and a lot of experience with smallies so I don't get angry when he's venting. It'll pass.

Lady is a tramp

I've lived in soooo many house-shares, including several with owner-occupiers. I've no problem with it, in principle. The house will almost always be in much better condition, with better quality furnishing etc, and any problems tend to be rectified very quickly. However I would always expect to be paying less than the going market rent in the area to share with an owner-occupier, to make up for the fact you have less rights in this situation than you would in a regular house-share.

Any time I've rented recently, I've needed a lot of flexibility/informality in terms of length of contract etc, and I've found you're more likely to get that with an owner-occupier - i.e. a month-by-month informal agreement, rather than a fixed term contract.

Other than that, I'm not too fussy about who I share with. I tend to prefer sharing with guys rather than with other women, as I find girls sometimes want to be your new best friend, whereas guys are more likely to leave you to your own devices. I'm not anti-social, I just prefer to do my socialising on my own terms and outside of the house!

I've no problem with sharing with someone my age or older than me (I'm 31), I'd be less likely to share with young'uns, college age etc. Wouldn't rule it out though. I'd prefer not to share with someone who has pets or children; again, wouldn't necessarily rule it out.

A big thing for me would be to make sure that whoever I live with has experience living in other houseshares - I've no interest in house-training someone who's had everything done for them by mammy until now!

fg1406

I've lived with people my own age in my 20s and about 5 years with an owner occupier. I'm not sure which was the worst option. When I was just out of college, house sharing with my mates was brilliant. We were footloose and fancy free but we lived in some dives, had dodgy landlords and some of us fell out permanently after finding out we were completely incompatible as housemates.

On the other hand being with the owner occupier gave me a better sense of stability. She didn't have any lease etc but she didn't ever ask about me leaving, never put up the rent. the house was in much better condition than any others I had lived in but you always feel like a guest. You never feel "home" but the lower rent was something that I really needed as I had changed jobs and had taken a pretty big pay cut.

Murrisk

I avoid owner-occupation or any scenario where the landlord can let themselves in. Fuck that shit, you can never relax fully. Did a stint in an owner-occupied place once. Never again. And you have no rights as a tenant. I'd only do it again if I was desperate and it was very cheap rent.

jr86

Lady is a tramp wrote: »

Other than that, I'm not too fussy about who I share with. I tend to prefer sharing with guys rather than with other women, as I find girls sometimes want to be your new best friend, whereas guys are more likely to leave you to your own devices. I'm not anti-social, I just prefer to do my socialising on my own terms and outside of the house!

Yep this is similar from my own experience. Many girls I've shared with often see housemates as a "social" group, and do a lot of their socialising in the home - it's nearly a separate social avenue for them. I don't do a whole lot in the house except eat and sleep to be honest!

Lads I've lived with tend to appreciate more when you need down-time and leave you to your devices.

On the flipside I've found women - from my own experiences - have been far quicker to pay bills, and in general clean up much better after themselves

Ideally I would live on my own or with a partner but it's just not financially viable at present.

I'm generally easy-going about whoever I live with, though I would be hesitant to live with close friends. We'd just get fed up of each other in no time, and I feel it'd be impossible to avoid clashing

Dr Crayfish

I'm an owner with a spare room. My mate throws me a few quid at the moment but I don't think I'd take a stranger in, no way. What if I didn't like them and wanted them out etc? Could be totally awkward. I think whenever my mate moves on I'll just live on my own, which after years of flatsharing or living with an ex, is absolute bliss.

Gael23

I'm cautious of owner occupiers although I live with one just now. It has its benefits in that the house is likely to be well looked after as it's the owners home too but the drawbacks in some cases outweigh that for me.
The first place I rented was male only which I thought I would prefer but I see pros and cons to that too. It really depends on the people.

SteM

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

I'
What if I didn't like them and wanted them out etc? Could be totally awkward.

Just tell them to leave, they have no rights in that situation.

r93kaey5p2izun

Not owner occupied, no couples, no children. Don't care about age, occupation or whether male/female. I'd compromise on the couples and the children before going owner occupied - never again unless homelessness is the only alternative.