Hollism Posted 23 July 2016 Posted 23 July 2016 Has anyone ever used it before? Any success stories? Even horror stories? I'm going to be relocating from Blaby to Coventry in August for a job, and the nature of the role means it's much easier to move there than stay here. I'm still young and single, so I'm looking for a housemate or two. Not just for financial reasons (although that's the primary reason), but to be able to chill out and be sociable with someone instead of going home to an empty flat/house every night. SpareRooms seems ideal for finding someone in a similar boat, but it seems to be a lot of students and time wasters. Any advice on how to avoid them? Or even a better route to go down to find a housemate? Cheers folks.
Carl the Llama Posted 23 July 2016 Posted 23 July 2016 Nothing wrong with it at all in my experience. Obviously take a look at the places first and have a bit of a chat with your prospective housemates before making a decision to fork over cash and sign a contract. Nothing's worse than tying yourself down to a place then discovering your housemates are massive cvnts whereas there's nothing like being able to get home from a long shift to find you're not the only loser planning on getting drunk in the kitchen.
Xen Posted 23 July 2016 Posted 23 July 2016 Had to move down to Basingstoke for my placement year. Didn't know anyone there or the other interns beforehand, so sparerooms was the only feasible option for the kind of salary I was on (16k). Definitely view the properties in person if you can. Some I was super excited about ended up being absolute dives when I saw them for real, practically unliveable in some cases. Ended up with a decent room in a shared house owned by a live-out landlord who had several properties, which made the whole thing easier to manage I think than other interns who were lodging with their landlords, who had a much worse experience. it is what you make of it at the end of the day. It's probably not gonna be a permanent solution for you unless you get lucky and get a really nice place and nice housemates, but short term at least it's great. been a while since I used it so it might be different now, but it's DEFINITELY worth getting a month of premium membership to get 'early access' to the good properties.
m4DD0gg Posted 23 July 2016 Posted 23 July 2016 5 hours ago, Hollism said: Has anyone ever used it before? Any success stories? Even horror stories? I'm going to be relocating from Blaby to Coventry in August for a job, and the nature of the role means it's much easier to move there than stay here. I'm still young and single, so I'm looking for a housemate or two. Not just for financial reasons (although that's the primary reason), but to be able to chill out and be sociable with someone instead of going home to an empty flat/house every night. SpareRooms seems ideal for finding someone in a similar boat, but it seems to be a lot of students and time wasters. Any advice on how to avoid them? Or even a better route to go down to find a housemate? Cheers folks. I assume you drive? If so that is a major ballache to move properties for a job that is literally a 25 mile journey. Coventry is a shit hole as well.
Fox92 Posted 23 July 2016 Posted 23 July 2016 I've used it before. Make sure to select professionals because there does seem to be a lot of uni students as you say, last thing you want is having to go to work in the morning and they are rolling in at 5am.
ajthefox Posted 23 July 2016 Posted 23 July 2016 I've used it 3 times and am actually moving tomorrow into a place I found via spare rooms. I think it's a great service and it's ideal if you're on a budget, but there are inevitable drawbacks. The first time I used it I was trying to find somewhere whilst working full time and sleeping on someones sofa and it was incredibly stressful. I have replied to a fair few ads and never had a reply, or had one that has come more than a week after my enquiry. I've also rocked up to a couple of viewings only to have been fvcked over and had my time wasted. There are some shit landlords out there who rake in money because they know the people using the service are often transient. One of the girls in the house I live in now has spoken to me 3 times since September, I shit you not. Just sharing my negative experience so as not to sugar coat it, but as I said it is a great platform to find something. I think my key advice would be to put a bit of yourself into messages you send, and enquire about as many places as possible, because you can guarantee some people won't check their messages or won't reply. Other than that, happy house hunting!
ScouseFox Posted 23 July 2016 Posted 23 July 2016 yeah got my gaff off it. seems pretty obvious from ads alone what places are good and what are less good, and then you obviously interact a bit with landlords and can make your own mind up from there. pretty big thing about house sharing is the people though. could live in buckingham palace but if the queen just wants to go to work then go to bed and is away every weekend you're gonna be pretty bored at home. and obviously it's pretty tricky to gauge a housemate or two from a house advert. just gotta get lucky i guess.
Hollism Posted 23 July 2016 Author Posted 23 July 2016 4 hours ago, m4DD0gg said: I assume you drive? If so that is a major ballache to move properties for a job that is literally a 25 mile journey. Coventry is a shit hole as well. Literally said in the OP that things will be significantly easier if I move there due to the nature of the job. Thanks everyone else for your input though, I really appreciate it. I don't much fancy being a lodger or having a live-in landlord, so I'm searching for a "buddy-up" to share a house with. Definitely want to meet anyone for lunch before house-searching with them to get an idea of the sort of personality they are. Don't want to end up stuck in a house with a couple of dickheads
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 24 July 2016 Posted 24 July 2016 On 7/23/2016 at 13:14, Hollism said: I'm searching for a "buddy-up" to share a house with. eh up
Christoph Posted 24 July 2016 Posted 24 July 2016 On 7/23/2016 at 13:14, Hollism said: Literally said in the OP that things will be significantly easier if I move there due to the nature of the job. Why so? Coventry is only like half hour away from Blaby. Not find a p[lace inbetween perhaps? Not sure I'd be rushing to live in Coventry
The Year Of The Fox Posted 25 July 2016 Posted 25 July 2016 Yeh I've had two lodgers off it. Well recommended
Ross-Kemp Posted 25 July 2016 Posted 25 July 2016 3 hours ago, The Year Of The Fox said: Yeh I've had two lodgers off it. Well recommended Didn't you scare one of them off
The Year Of The Fox Posted 25 July 2016 Posted 25 July 2016 6 hours ago, Ross-Kemp said: Didn't you scare one of them off i talk too much when drunk
Captain... Posted 25 July 2016 Posted 25 July 2016 The website is great, used it quite a few times. Can be frustrating waiting for people to get back to you, but most people are genuine and decent. Unfortunately there are no guarantees on compatibility.
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