Moving into a house-share can be a daunting experience in the best of circumstances, however this can be made even worse if you don’t know the dynamics of the house that you’re about to move into.
Getting the opportunity to talk to someone who is already living in the house before you sign a tenancy agreement can be a massive help in ensuring that you have the peace of mind that you will fit in, that no issues will arise and you’ll have a great time with the people you’re about to live with!
The Essential Questions
With that in mind, here are Taylored Lets’ top 5 questions that you need answered before you move into a houseshare.
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How clean is the house, is it always spotless?
Houses should obviously be kept clean to a high degree, however this can be taken to the extremes by some houses. Leaving pots and pans in one house until the next day may be ok in one house, but not in another. Find out exactly how clean the house is typically to ensure that it meets your standards, and that you’re also willing to uphold the current standards.
As a newcomer, it’d be unfair that these people have to adapt to your cleanliness, and so making sure that you’re a match in that aspect is absolutely essential for harmonious living.
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How sociable is the house? Do you go out often together?
If you’re moving to your city without any friends, you may be looking for your housemates to be your new social circle, however this dynamic changes from house to house. Some houses are extremely close, and here at Taylored Lets we encourage that, however many houses are a bit more isolated and only see each-other when passing.
If you already have a large group of friends to socialise with, that may not be an issue either way for you, however if a house is going out as a group regularly and you don’t want to join then you may become somewhat of an outcast.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a social circle in a house-share that’s a lot more isolated and don’t do much socially, then you can quickly become dissatisfied with the house-share and it won’t match up to your expectations.
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What work patterns do you all have?
Although sometimes this is unavoidable, having working patterns that don’t match means that you must respect each other’s sleeping patterns, which can become an issue for some people.
For example, if your house-mates prefer to have a few friends around every Saturday for a few drinks, but you in your room (situated right above the living room) have work early on a Sunday, this can quickly become an issue.
Similarly, if you like to play music and watch TV during the night (as you work nights) but someone is sleeping in the room next door, this will be less than ideal.
Most of the time, these issues can be worked around by compromising, however if both parties can’t come to an agreement then this can quickly create some animosity and be less than ideal for the house atmosphere.
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What space is available for storage?
If you have a lot of items, such as gym equipment or a bike, it can be difficult sometimes to find somewhere to store the equipment in a house-share. Again, this is something you can likely work around if necessary however you wouldn’t want to be put into a situation where you need to store your bike at a friends house, or get into an argument because it’s blocking a hallway!
Typically, the houses are big enough to be able to store everything you have, but it’s nice to know in advance.
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What hobbies and interests do people in the house have?
Moving into a house in which you share similar interests can really bring together a group of friends. If you’re a big basketball fan for example, and there’s two other people that enjoy watching it in the house then this can be a major sign that moving in will be a big success.
Talk to us
There’s no right or wrong answer to all the questions above, but here at Taylored Lets we understand that finding a property that is tailored to your specific schedule, interests and needs. We want you to be as happy as possible, and to keep the houses operating in harmony and take into account all of these factors when recommending house-shares.
So if you’re looking for a house-share in Newcastle, contact us.