Years ago, I spent an expensive hour with a consultant who helped me list out all my requirements for a house. As I left I was irritated. I thought I knew everything on the list! Why had I spent so much money? Then I went house shopping. The list was extraordinarily helpful. No waffling for [...]
Posts under ‘Sharing Housing Basics’
Housemates: “Birds of a Feather Flock Together”?
A friend forwarded to me a link for an article in the Contra Coastal Times, reprinted in the Keene Sentinel, on Roommates: Finding the Right One Can Be Tricky. It starts with an absolutely awful story and is largely full of good advice, similar to advice found here on this blog. The main point of [...]
Nightmare Housemates
A note of warning. Though this blog is dedicated to the idea that there is a good housemate for every person and that sharing housing is a great idea, there are people who are not good housemates. Those housemates I call “nightmare” housemates, because their behavior can make home far from the haven it should [...]
Housing – Beyond the Boomerang Effect
Where do young adults live? Last week, the Pew Research issued a report , “The Return of the Multi-Generational Family Household,” drawing on an earlier study of December 2009. One in eight Americans between the ages of 22-29 reported moving in with their parents as a result of the recession. Pew calls this the “Boomerang [...]
Can Single Parents Share Housing?
Absolutely. In addition to the other benefits of reducing housing costs, there are other advantages for two single parents sharing their home. How well it works depends of course on the adults, the children, and the space being shared.
The first advantage is that the children can play together. This of course depends on the [...]
Action News-Las Vegas Seniors seeking housemate
Action News in Las Vegas did a short piece on a senior considering renting a room in her house to manage her difficult finances. It describes Rita, who after her husband died lost his pension and veteran’s benefits (reducing her income by 70%) and can no longer afford her home. She really wants to stay [...]
Bluechips – Finance for people who share housing
I recently posted about Housemate’s Companion, an out-of-the-box app for Windows users who simply use computers.
For those who program in Python, Bluechips offers a package designed for “small groups of people who share expenses.” I don’t know how good it is. But really how bad can it be when the developer(s) use the Stooges for [...]
Who makes the match?
There are programs that take on responsibility for matching householders with home seekers. In general these programs are non profit social service programs focusing on people in need for reasons of age, disability or low-income.
The National Shared Housing Resource Center provides a directory of programs in states, updated in March of 2009. A casual count [...]
Software to the Rescue-Housemate’s Companion
Confused by the bills you need to track in your shared home? Tired of using an spreadsheet and working out the formulas? Housemate’s Companion by Slamdunk Software comes to your rescue. It’s brand new and looks exactly like the basic tool that everyone needs. It not only offers easy management of the bills, it sends [...]
Methods to divide chores
Every home needs to be cleaned. When people share housing the question arises about how the common areas that everyone uses are cleaned. Here are three methods that work.
Hire a Pro
If you can afford it, the easiest, best way to get the house cleaned is to have someone else do it. Seriously – once every [...]