Hey IM's.
My husband and I own our house in QLD and I have a friend who will be staying with her 2 kids in our spare room as of Saturday due to her not being able to find a rental before her place gets sold unless she gets accepted for a rental before then. She's a single mum and has applied for hundreds of rentals and not been accepted for any.
I have never lived with a friend or roommate before and I'm wondering if there's any tips you can share to make the transition easier? I'm very introverted so this is really overwhelming, however I will not allow my friend and her kids to be homeless and QLD has it the worst in regards to the rental crisis so I'm unsure how long she will be in this position :(
All 3 of us (myself, my husband and my friend) all work thankfully which I think makes it a bit easier. Would appreciate any advice at all! Thanks
3 Replies
I've been in this position before, as awful as it sounds, I wouldn't do it again.
However, my tips:
Firm boundaries from the get go.
Make your expectations clear, ie, what (if any) financial contributions you're needing, what sort of household contributions like chores and cooking you're asking.
Establish a routine/roster of sorts.
Have a general chat about respecting each other's privacy and respecting shared spaces (such as living/eating areas, bathrooms, driveways etc).
Lastly, kindly but without beating around the bush, stipulate they they must continue looking for their own rental and it's not a long term arrangement. Sometimes people get a little too comfortable.
Thank you so much. I honestly don't want to be in this position so I'm hoping she finds a rental soon.
We're likely to be taking a friend and her kids in soon for the same reason. I'm just looking at charging her half the cost of a weekly house cleaner for rent so that we don't have the little things be the things that feel overwhelming.
Also, we are making a space for them to have time together away from us as wanted.
A bit of structure around who showers when for organisation will be needed. The rest should then work itself out.