“Milky Way, a Jack Russell terrier/corgi/Chihuahua mix has been called a hero after getting help when her owner suffered a stroke and collapsed on the bathroom floor in December” thus begin the article in the Post Bulletin. It’s a great story. The dog reacted to her collapse by racing to the housemate’s bedroom [...]
Posts Tagged ‘housemates’
That Last Housemate -”Never Again”
As I have interviewed people for my book and talked to others about the whole world of sharing housing, I have noticed a pattern. People who had lived with housemates successfully, ended the experience because they had one nightmare housemate. And after that experience they said, “Never again.”
At this point I ask some probing questions. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Messy Housemates
Sometimes I find myself grumbling about mess in the house, something along the lines of “Why doesn’t he EVER clean up after himself?” Years of experience have taught me to look again. Oh, I say to myself, “That’s mine and that’s mine and that’s mine..” It is a very natural human tendency to look at [...]
Reference Checking
Guidelines for how to check references for possible housemates. Includes down loadable form.
Avoiding Foreclosure
Has your house become too expensive for you? If so, you are hardly alone. According to RealtyTrak, in 2010 between 3 million and 3.5 million foreclosure warnings will be issued. This is up from 2009’s record of 2.8 million. (USA Today, Feb. 11 2010) That’s a lot of houses, that’s a lot of unhappy people.
If [...]
Four Degrees of Sharing
Authors and attorneys, Janelle Orsi and Emily Doskow, have developed a model they call “four degrees of sharing”. The first degree requires minimal cooperation and no planning, while the fourth degree requires extensive cooperation and long-term planning. The whole model can be read here:
They assign sharing rental housing or a single family home to the [...]