“How do I start room-share…?”
You might be one of those thinking like this.
Here are 3 main ways to start room-share:
・ Ask friends
・ Live with brothers/sisters
・ Find a roommate on the internet
Each way has pros and cons, but it’s totally possible to have a fun room-share life without trouble if you choose a way that suits you.
However, it’s still difficult to concretely understand how to start room-share.
So, this time, we explain:
・How to start room-share
・Preparation and procedure
・Pros and cons in room-share
・Things you should be aware of for room-share
Also, we recommend some other ways for people who don’t wanna deal with preparation, so please refer to that.
How to start room-share #1: Ask friends
First, let’s ask friends if they are interested in. This is an easy way to start/find a roommate and the most secure.
Friends are, for example, your old friends from high school or people who are connected through hobbies or work. You already know them, so you don’t need to develop friendships from scratch.
Since you are familiar with each other, you don’t need to pay mind much.
But, it’s a fact that financial and communication trouble could easily happen because you know them well. Please search how to deal with trouble, such as signing a joint contract, before moving in.
How to start room-share #2: Live with brothers/sisters
The second way is to live with brothers/sisters.
There might be many people who are originally from the countryside and moved to Tokyo for a new job. And, there might be many people whose brothers/sisters live in the same region.
In that case, you would consider asking your brothers/sisters about room-share.
You don’t need to pay mind if you live with your brothers/sisters, and also this way gives you more possibility of passing a tenant screening than doing room-share with friends. Since you are related by blood, there would be less fight and breakup dramas. It seems more safe and trustful from a landlord or a real estate company’s perspective.
If you go with living with brothers/sisters, we recommend you to pay attention to a floor plan.
How to start room-share #3: Find a roommate on the internet
The third is to find a roommate on the internet.
If it’s hard to do room-share with friends or brothers/sisters, let’s find one on the internet. Although they are strangers, they are thinking of doing room-share like you, it would be easier to find one.
You can develop a new friendship, so this way is recommended for people who don’t hesitate to meet new people.
Steps and procedure of starting room-share
When you get prepared enough to start room-share, let’s proceed with the procedure.
The procedure is as follows:
- Find a roommate
- Organize information, such as an ideal floor plan, and conditions/terms that you don’t wanna give up.
- Find an apartment that accepts room-share
- Proceed with the contract procedure
- Decide a moving-day and move into
After you find a roommate, the procedure is basically the same as the procedure you proceed to live alone or to move into an apartment. Let’s find an ideal apartment/property as making adjustments with each other.
We explained the ways of how to start room-share so far.
Most of you have probably decided to do room-share, but maybe some of you are still not sure.
We introduce the pros and cons of room-share in detail next.
Pros and cons in room-share
The pros and cons in room-share are:
[Pros]
・ Cut the initial cost, rent, and living expenses
・ More free time because of sharing housework
・ More secure because someone is home
・ Feel less lonely because you have someone you can talk to
・ Deepen a friendship with your roommate
One of the best pros is you can cut the cost of living. Even if you live in a spacious house, rent and utility costs are shared, so the cost of living gets cheaper than the cost of living alone.
[Cons]
・ Could be stressful due to the difference of life value and pattern
・ Might argue/quarrel for payment of rent and how to share things
・ Need to wait for bath, toilet, and kitchen while the other is using it
・ May have to end a friendship with a roommate
・ Burden expensive rent when a roommate suddenly moves out
On the contrary, one of the worst cons is you may have to deal with trouble related to human relationships since you live with others. Especially, argument/quarrel starts from small things such as one’s noise and unfairness in housework sharing.
However, cons won’t be a problem once you know how to deal with them. Also, you can avoid trouble by knowing them beforehand.
So, the next is about the things you should be aware of for room-share.
The things you should be aware of before you start room-share and how to avoid trouble
The things you should be aware of before you start room-share are as follows:
・ Decide how to pay rent and utility fees
・ Make house rules about sharing housework and common spaces
・ Think of penalties in case of breaking rules
・ Rent a spacious apartment/house so that everyone has their own private room
・ Decide a rule, e.g., you need to let your roommate know that you are going to move out 3 months before the moving-out day
The most common trouble is how to pay rent. Financial trouble such as someone forgets to pay rent or someone doesn’t pay in the first place would be a burden on a person.
Making rules is effective in avoiding trouble. Please make rules that both you and your roommate can have a comfortable life to relieve different sense of values/priorities with your roommate.
I wanna cancel room-share…The way to move out without any trouble
So far, we introduced the ways of how to proceed room-share smoothly, but there might be a case that you really wanna end room-share.
In that case, let’s talk to your roommate as keeping the following in your mind:
・ Tell honestly your roommate a reason why you want to end room-share
・ Inform your roommate of moving out 3 months prior to moving out
・ Ask your roommate if it’s possible to end room-share at the time of contract renewal
Especially depending on the time of ending room-share, the cost of moving out would be expensive. Informing your roommate 3 months prior to moving out is a basic manner, so we recommend you to plan earlier.
Less trouble and procedure in a sharehouse compared to room-share
We explained how to start room-share and such so far. But, some of you may feel, “Hmm…it seems room-share is tiresome.” In that case, we recommend a sharehouse.
Here are the reasons why we recommend a sharehouse.
・ You don’t need to find a roommate since a management company of a sharehouse does that.
・ Rent is paid individually, so there would be less trouble.
・ You can have your private space/time since a room comes with a key.
Not only you can avoid the common problem in room-share such as financial trouble, but also you don’t need to find a roommate since everyone in a sharehouse has their own private room. Moreover, a management company of a sharehouse does tenant screening, a dangerous/suspicious person can hardly move in.
Since you can avoid trouble related to finance and human relationship, you would enjoy a communal life without any stress as a result.
Summary: Trouble is avoidable if you know how to start room-share and are aware of key points.
In this article, we explained how to start room-share and the things you should know.
Here are the 3 ways of how to start room-share:
・ Ask friends
・ Live with brothers/sisters
・ Find a roommate on the internet
Room-share has some cons, but it would be a problem if you are aware of the following points and how to deal with it.
・ Decide how to pay rent and utility fees
・ Make house rules about sharing housework and common spaces
・ Think of penalties in case of breaking rules
・ Rent a spacious apartment/house so that everyone has their own private room
・ Decide a rule, e.g., you need to let your roommate know that you are going to move out 3 months before the moving-out day
If you feel making rules like the above is tedious, please consider moving into a sharehouse. You would feel less stressed in a sharehouse since each resident pays rent individually.
Let’s have a fun communal life as referring to this article.
