While moving into a place with new housemates can be an exciting change, there are some direct conversations you need to have with your potential housemates before you apply for a place. To make sure everyone is on the same page, we’ve listed the things you need to discuss when you’re looking for a place.
Learn about each other’s schedules
One of the most important things to consider when you’re looking for new housemates is everyone’s schedules. If you’re someone who works long hours, you may not want to be sharing a home with a shift worker or students who stay up late. Make sure you ask your potential housemates what their schedule is like and that you share your schedule with them as well to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Get an understanding of expectations
Some share houses like to keep things such as staple pantry items and cleaning products in a place separate while others may be more communal. This is why you need to make sure you chat with your potential housemates about how they like to run the house so you can see if it’s a fit for your lifestyle and expectations.
Understand everyone’s lifestyles
It’s important to understand how your housemates like to spend their time when they’re not working. Going a little further than knowing their schedules, this will help you to understand if you share a similar outlook on life with things such as keeping fit at the gym or a yoga class. This may also help you with little things like sorting out how your kitchen is organised by making sure you have a similar approach to meal preparation and storing food and other items. It may seem like small things now, but it gives you a clear idea of what to expect when you’re both at home and whether you’ll be a good fit as housemates.
Maintenance and bills
Have a chat with your potential housemates about how the household maintenance and bills are split. You can do this by checking to see if there are things like a roster of chores that need to be completed regularly and if there’s a system in place for how the bills are paid each month.
It can be difficult to have direct conversations with people you’ve only just met, but the challenge is worth it to help you find like minded housemates. You can even make a small list of your non-negotiable s before you start looking for a place to help you narrow down the options as you’re talking to potential housemates.