What do you need to do when preparing for a lodger?
Are you moving into a larger property? Will this leave space in your house that is not being used for storage or anything else? Would you like to turn an empty room into money?
If the answer to these questions is yes, then why not consider moving in a lodger? By renting out the space on a single room basis, you can generate money and share your home with a friendly face. It doesn’t have to be a disadvantage to your living conditions either, as with a little preparation you can set up an agreement where everyone is happy.
Finding a Lodger
It can be quite difficult to find a suitable lodger. You can advertise in local newspapers and on both virtual and real life message boards, but until you live with someone then it is almost impossible to tell whether you will get on. Ideally you can tap into your social network and ask around if there might be a friend seeking a place of residence, allowing you to achieve a degree of social pre-qualification.
Set the Rules
What kind of rules do you want for your house, and more importantly, what is reasonable? It may be the case that you don’t want strangers staying over the night or you have rules around when the washing machine can be used. Make sure that you are clear about the way you want to live from day one and you won’t have problems further down the line. Try to think of different situations and how you would like to handle them.
Ready the Room
Everybody is entitled to a calming and relaxing living space. Make sure that you decorate your lodger’s room properly before they move in and that the room is up to the standard of the rest of the house or it could create a sense of disappointment or unequal living. This is not to say that you should deck out the room like a palace, but good carpet and furniture is essential.
Moving Day
And of course, you’ll need to be there during the day of the big move. It’s vital that you give your new lodger support and advice as they get all their belongings into the property. You’ll also need to be there to protect your paintwork and flooring from knocks and scrapes as they’ll be more concerned with getting everything in. Remember however to work as a team and have a positive attitude to problem solving to get the relationship off on the right foot.
The final matter is how much to charge. We cannot give you too much advice in this area, but find out the going rate from message boards and other information sources. And you want to really help, then there’s nothing stopping you from recommending your favourite removals company to support your lodger.
Call Alan Cook Removals and we can supply you with a van removals service to help you move your lodger from A to B. Then all that’s left to do is a little preparing for a lodger and you’ll be sorted.
