Finding someone to move into your sweeeet share house – which is full of legends and has a perfect personality balance – is a daunting task. The fear of landing someone who doesn’t fit in with the gang (or even just doesn’t fit with you, if you’re a 2 person household) is very, very real. After all, it’s a lot harder to boot someone over, say, always having their boyfriend over than it is to just politely let them know you’ve gone with someone else in the search process.
The best way to avoid landing a terrible housemate and score a really excellent one instead is to have your questions sorted – and ask them everything. We’ve rounded up the key q’s to hit up your potential mover-inerers with.
WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A PLACE?
This is the first question to hit a potential housemate up with. Their answer’ll be indicative of whether they left their previous situation on bad terms, and can weed out bad attitudes toward living harmoniously in a share situation. Sometimes it won’t – people can totally lie, guys! – but it’s a good starting point.
DO YOU SMOKE?
Huuuuge one. Even if you’re fine with having a smoker live with you, it’s worth knowing in advance – and outlining any rules you might have about smoking in the house.
DO YOU HAVE A PARTNER?
Seems invasive, but hey – you’re gonna be living with this person. Finding out if they’ve got an s.o, and how often they expect that person to be staying over, can be a huge deal breaker for some people. Boyfriends/Girlfriends are often like an extra housemate, so it’s nice to know if there’ll be another body lining up for the shower each morning for most of the week.
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR WORK?
This is good to know in terms of logistics. Someone who works freelance is likely to be around the house a lot more, especially if they work from home. Does that work with the hours the rest of your house keeps? A nurse or chef will have night shifts – does this affect someone who has a bedroom near the front door? It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s worth having a discussion over work hours and working out if the hours they keep will fit with your household.
DO YOU LIKE TO PARTY?
One of the biggest share house gripes stems from partying. If you’re a house that likes to stay up late most nights, you’ll haaaate a newcomer that wants quiet from 10pm. On the flip side, someone who brings their mates home for kick ons every Saturday will drive your house nuts if you’re all pretty chill. It’s worth explaining to a potential housemate the amount that the existing tenants like to party, too.
HOW CLEAN ARE YOU?
Obviously no one is going to say “I’m a pig, actually”, but if you are a squeaky-clean type of household, this is a good segue into letting them know you will not be okay with their filthtown boots being left in the middle of the lounge room. Alternatively, maybe you guys are total slobs! In that case, if they’re all “yes I wipe down surfaces with three different kinds of antibacterial spray”, you know your place is not for them.
ARE YOU SOCIAL?
If you’ve got a household of people who love hanging out in communal spaces, shooting the shit and watching reality tv, is someone who keeps to themselves going to be awkward for you? Asking someone how social they like to be in their home is really just a way to gauge if your house suits their personality – there’s a good chance someone who prefers to hang alone is going to prefer an environment that suits that.
HOW MUCH INTERNET DO YOU NEED?
Some people use the internet to scroll Instagram and stream Spotify in their room. And some will stream Netflix all day and download like demons. It’s worth finding out what internet expectations are from a potential housemate – especially if you don’t have unlimited data on your plan.
ARE YOU COOL TO SHARE COMMUNAL FOOD?
Or, on the flip side – are you cool to buy your own food. Some households like to share staples like butter, bread and milk. Some like to separate everything. It’s worth asking what your potential housemate expects when it comes to food, and also outline what your house prefers from the outset. Plus, this is a great time to bring up allergies – one Ped.TV staff member mentioned he had an ex housemate who would actually need to go to hospital if she came in contact with walnuts, for example.
DO YOU HAVE/WANT PETS?
Asking about pets is a good indicator of a) if you’re dealing with someone who is allergic and b) if you’re dealing with someone who has a pet. They should generally disclose that BEFORE you even have to ask, but some people are stupid. That being said, the allergies factor is important to note if you/a current housemate is thinking about buying a pet sometime soon, or has one already.
CAN YOU HANDLE A BUG SITUATION?
Every household needs “the bug person” – the one who kills or catches the bugs. If someone says they’ll do it for you, forget everything else. ACCEPT THEM.
