“Is there an interview to move into a sharehouse?”
Many people might be thinking like this.
Technically, there is no interview in tenant screening to move into a sharehouse. But, in many cases, the communication/interaction during the house viewing also is an interview at the same time.
It becomes easy to pass the interview/tenant screening if you understand the points you should emphasize during your visit.
However, it isn’t easy to know what specific points that an interviewer check during an interview.
So, in this article, we explain the following.
・Points that an interviewer check during an interview
・Can people who are unemployed pass an interview
・Tips to pass an interview
・What to do if you fail
・Things you should ask during an interview for a sharehouse
Please refer to this article and get a feel for the process of moving into a sharehouse!
Interview criteria for a sharehouse 1: Occupation and annual income
The first is ‘Occupation and annual income.’
You can move into a sharehouse regardless of your work style. Even people with unstable income, such as freelancers and self-employed people, can easily move in.
However, the ability to pay rent is essential. A management company of sharehouses cannot keep running sharehouses without rent.
You are not required to have a high annual income or a steady job, but the management company will check your ability to keep paying rent.
In general, the standard rent is ‘one-third of your monthly income.’ Please be careful that you may be refused to move into sharehouses whose rent is higher than the standard.
Also, sometimes, concept-based sharehouses specifically check your occupation in detail. It’s because the concept is based on the occupation itself for sharehouses such as ‘Engineers-only Sharehouse’ or ‘Entrepreneurs-only Sharehouse.’
Please be sure to check the rent compared to your monthly income, and the compatibility of the sharehouse’s concept and your occupation.
Interview criteria for a sharehouse 2: Reason for moving in
The second is ‘Reason for moving in.’
In general, sharehouses will not refuse you to move in if you have positive reasons for moving in.
What you need to be careful is negative reasons.
For example,
・Evicted from an apartment for failing to pay rent
・Had to move out due to trouble with neighbors
・Evicted for not following the rules for the common areas such as dumpsites
Sharehouses mean a communal life with others, so the distance with other people tends to be closer than living in an apartment. Therefore, rules, cooperation, and consideration for others are things more necessary in a sharehouse.
It is unlikely that you will be allowed to move in for the reasons above.
Basically, please think of positive reasons, such as ‘I want to make more friends in a sharehouse.’ or ‘I thought the facilities were excellent.’
Interview criteria for a sharehouse 3: Humanity and personality
The third is ‘Humanity and personality.’
Humanity and personality are particular points for sharehouses to check. Living in a sharehouse means a communal life with people you meet for the first time, so a management company can run the sharehouse more smoothly with cooperative people.
For example, humanity and personality are checked in the following points.
・If you wear clean cloths
・If you are on time for the interview
・If you meet the deadline for documents you need to submit
・If you can communicate friendly
・If you can greet other residents
Please be sure that you follow common social rules in an interview and tenant screening. If you do what’s expected as expected, you rarely get refused to move in.
Can you pass an interview to move into a sharehouse even if you are unemployed?
So far, we introduced the checkpoints for a sharehouse’s interview.
Some of you might have thought, “Well, if they check my occupation and annual income, people who are unemployed may get refused.”
To be honest, it becomes harder for unemployed people to pass a tenant screening, even for a sharehouse. Without regular income, a management company tends to think, “Isn’t it hard for him/her to pay rent?”
However, some sharehouses accept unemployed people since there may be a reason, such as looking for a new job.
Also, unemployed people can pass the tenant screening by taking the following measures.
・Telling that you are looking for a job
・Having enough saving to pay the rent for a year
・Making a good impression with your personality and reasons for moving in
Especially, ‘money.’ After all, if you make the management company feel that it’s challenging for you to pay the rent, it will become hard t to move in.
Please give the management company a sense of security by letting them know that you have savings and plan to get a regular job.
Tips to pass an interview for a sharehouse
Next, we introduce the tips to help you pass the interview.
Please be careful of the following during the interview.
・Never tell a lie in the application for moving in
・Try to communicate cheerfully and energetically
・Prove income, savings balance and such with documents
Needless to say, please do not tell a lie in the application for a tenant screening. If it’s found out, it’s hard to move in, even if you meet the required income.
If you feel nervous about your income, we recommend you pay attention to your communication.
A sharehouse is a communal life with others, so smooth communication is essential. Even if your income is not enough, you can still make up for it with your communication skills.
Keep the above points in mind, and let’s have an interview for a sharehouse.
Once you pass the interview and tenant screening, proceed with the move-in process.
What to do if you fail
If you happen to fail an interview for a sharehouse, give up on moving into the sharehouse for now. Even if you apply for moving into the sharehouse, for which you failed the interview, there is a high possibility that you will be refused.
Also, it’s not common for not just sharehouses but also apartments to tell you why you failed the tenant screening. Since it’s hard to know how you can improve, it’s faster to look for another sharehouse.
If you failed the interview, please don’t persistently ask why. Instead, just say thank you and look for another sharehouse.
Things you should ask during an interview for a sharehouse
So far, we talked about points that an interviewer checked during an interview for a sharehouse.
You may feel only interviewees are checked. However, in fact, the interview is the time for you to check the sharehouse.
It’s because if you know/figure out the sharehouse and its management company well during the interview, you can prevent any misunderstandings after moving in.
Things you should check are the following.
・If there are many visitors
・If there are rules for cleaning and taking out the trash
・How to pay the rent
If there is anything you want to ask, please ask. It’s better to ask before you move in so that you and the management company start a new life without any worries.
Summary: It’s not hard to pass an interview for a sharehouse if you know the points
In this article, we explained the interview criteria for a sharehouse.
In many cases, the following three points are often checked during the interview.
・Occupation and annual income
・Reason for moving in
・Humanity and personality
Also, we talked about the three tips to pass the interview.
・Never tell a lie in the application for moving in
・Try to communicate cheerfully and energetically
・Prove income, savings balance and such with documents
You can move into a sharehouse even if you are unemployed or a freelancer without a steady income. But, in that case, it’s necessary to prove that you have enough money in savings.
Please refer to this article, and let’s go take a look at sharehouses that you are interested in.
