House-sharing forms lifelong friendships

Angela and Sherylanne have been house sharing for 18 months via The Room Xchange and have now formed a lifelong friendship. In this episode we’re talking about their journey, how they negotiated their rent offset and how they worked through any issues that arose.

About Angela and Sherylanne

Angela is epidemiologist and a kidney specialist who works long hours. Sherylanne was building a dance school just before Covid hit. They came together just at the right time. Not only where they a great support for each other during the 18 months house sharing together, they were also able to support each other through Covid.

Using The Room Xchange to find our housemate Sherylanne was simple and the benefits over the last 18 months have been huge! It's a much easier process than trying to find occasional outside help. I had more time for myself and got to spend more quality time with my son. We went through lockdown together and forged an extra strong bond. We'll miss her so much when she moves overseas; she'll leave a big gap in our household!" Angela Webster - Homeowner

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Benefits of having a housemate

Sherylanne helped to create a lot of stability around their home during covid. The consistency of having someone older and more mature around Angela’s son Felix, created a more solid experience for him and for Angela.

She was also able to fill the gaps for Angela and be there as another adult to help raise her son.

Negotiating the rent offset

Sherylanne and Angela did a full rent offset. It changed over time as it was needed, and they constantly talked about their needs and the changes that were required to fulfil them. Their advice is, if you keep the lines of communication open you’ll be fine. They also found our House-share Agreement helpful as well as our Interview Questionnaire. They also accessed our House-sharing Concierge and with our help were able to negotiate the right house-sharing arrangement for them.

House-sharing with children in the home

It’s a natural concern as a parent to ensure the safety of your children. There are things we consider when someone is around our kids who might have any form of influence over them. Asking questions and being clear about your views as a parent is important and as a housemate you must back up the parents. Having another adult in the home can have a huge positive impact on the children especially if you are a single parent family. The additional support and adult opinion can sometimes help to divert arguments or issues that the children might challenge you on.

Being able to offset my rent has allowed me to financially get back on my feet after the lockdown closed my business. This beautiful surroundings with the garden and animals has been a lovely place to live while balancing my daily tasks and work. Supporting Angela with help at home was a beautiful experience and has formed a lifetime friendship with both Angela and her son Felix." Sherylanne McLeod - Housemate

Lifelong friendships

The most beautiful thing they now have is a lifelong friendship. That’s what house sharing does. It creates friends for life. Sherylanne is now moving on overseas and Angela is looking for someone new. They are sad that the arrangement is coming to an end but they’ll be friends for life. There’s even talk of visiting Sherylanne overseas sometime down the track.