[Diane Roberts]

hi Ruben

A friend and I began sharing a house 3 years ago. We were not sure what to expect as we are both independent women who were used to renting alone. But it was too expensive to do that anymore. We found setting out our ‘must haves’ and ‘prefer’ before looking at houses gave us a clear idea of each other and what would make it work. For instance- separate bathrooms were a must for us. And we both needed separate living areas- we need our own space.I needed an animal lover. She is. She needed more rooms/ space than I did. We agreed sharing a kitchen was ok as neither are really interested in cooking. We found a 5 bed 2bath double garage house that had a layout that worked. I got the front of the house with 1bedroom, lounge and bathroom. Kitchen and laundry inbetween. The back 4 bedrooms  and bathroom are her space. So she has a bedroom, a lounge a painting studio/room and a spare. We share the garden.

It works really well because we have that separation. It’s like a duplex or apartments. We see each other when we want to. But we took our time to look for this setup. We actually found three houses that we could divide in some way, but this was the best. So it is do-able even if you want to retain your own space. You do have to share bills, so setting up a transparent account is good. We intend to continue sharing as it not just less costly but it also offers safety and security. There is someone there in case you need them. Funny thing is she realises she needs less space now and so we will be looking for something smaller and even less expensive again. Even here, this house still costs us far less than two separate units would have!

The thing is planning. I think there should be a rental system in place for older people like this. One that shows houses that can be split into two with own bathrooms and just share a kitchen. (we actually have our own kettles and microwaves etcin our separate loungesas well.)