Real estate agents come across homeowners who have chosen to share a home, especially between friends, relatives, or direct family members.
However, when living with someone else under the same roof there’s a likelihood for unexpected differences that could trigger conflicts and worse, could lead to a falling out between friends.
Some factors may cause conflicts and here are some tips to avoid this and live harmoniously as housemates.
Lay down your cards
Take the time to sit down and discuss personal matters with your future housemate because this is the best time to prevent future disagreements or conflicts.
Have an open-minded and sincere discussion about your lifestyles, habits, routines, and preferences to see if you can be compatible or otherwise.
Plan and list down these key items to open up during your discussion. It can be like some sort of an interview or informal dialogue, but the key focus of this exercise is to emphasise the need to discuss these matters to avoid possible conflicts or misunderstandings when sharing a home.
Sharing of responsibilities
Ideally, the best way to do this is to have all parties sign the lease contract that details your shared responsibilities and rights. This follows having equal accountability in terms of handling and caring for the property, as well as shouldering liabilities that may be incurred during the tenancy.
Repayment schemes
To avoid conflicts or issues in terms of rent or mortgage payments, discussing how to split the payment costs and agreeing on it is a great way to go before signing the lease contract. There are a couple of ways to figure this out such as measuring the designated floor areas that each of you will be occupying and dividing it from the total rental or mortgage payment, or you can also compute it based on the property perks that are available in your particular occupied living space.
Paying the bills
Rationing or measuring your utility bills such as water, air conditioning, heating, and internet, can be part of your home sharing arrangement. This may include assigning the role of paying the bills or alternating those roles since bills are paid to utility services as a whole.
Try to figure out a way to calculate the bills for each of you and designate a schedule for the payment to avoid penalties or disconnections from the service provider.
Home chores and responsibilities
Surveys revealed that one of the most annoying problems to sharing a home is clean up and household chores. Addressing these responsibilities need to be ironed out to avoid getting into a conflict or an argument with housemates.
Create a weekly cleaning roster to distribute the tasks equally and everyone gets their fair share of the housework.
If you or your housemates are too busy, have very little spare time, or do not have the energy to get it done after work or during weekends, then you can discuss and set up pot money to pay for a home cleaning service.
Remember to keep your things within your occupied space and cleaning up after, especially in shared spaces is also important.
Agree on a clean-as-you-go policy or communal areas within the house and never leave personal things unattended which can become a cause for concern among housemates.
Food and cooking
As with any household chore, assign a schedule for everyone to get their fair share of the grocery, cooking, and cleaning dishes. You can also agree on contributing to a regular fund for your food, kitchen, and other needs.
Communication and respect
Always observe mutual respect and encourage open communication to help resolve conflicts and avoid getting into trouble with those sharing spaces with you.
Use of communal areas, parties, and visits
Be it a quick visit from family or friends, a meeting, or a visitation, establishing clear expectations and guidelines will help avoid potential problems with housemates. Don’t forget your housemate may have different preferences such as having guests or family coming to visit, so keeping everyone informed so they can avoid any untoward issue if a housemate wants to enjoy their privacy.
The same goes with pets because not everyone may share the same passion as yours. Make sure that this is brought up from the beginning so that all parties involved may benefit from it.
So, when planning to share a home with a family member or a good friend, remember these simple yet practical tips to avoid getting into conflict and maintain a harmonious relationship with your housemates.