(no subject)

[ewt]

As many of you know, I am looking for two housemates.

What sorts of questions should I be asking them? Obvious stuff like 'What is your job?' and the necessary religious stuff (This is our level of kashrut, are you comfortable with that?), and 'what are your interests?' - argh, is there a better way to ask people what their interests are?

What else do I need to ask? Can I come right out and ask if they do washing up?

Ergh, and grah.

Comments

[redcountess]

Treat it like a job interview - how long did they stay at their previous accommodation, reason for leaving, etc. Also ask for references from previous landlords and agencies. Watch their body language - do they look into your eyes, act defensively or nervously?

[alysbowie.livejournal.com]

Definitely ask them if they do washing up- and what their habits are like. Heck, I know I would. :)

[ksta.livejournal.com]

washing up v important :)

[marnameow.livejournal.com]

Washing up may be important - but live-with-able-ness is just as important. So you need to talk about random stuff and see what movies they like and what books they read and what they like doing at the weekend and things like that as well. Because a super-clean-washing-up-all-the-time person that is absolutely horrible and nasty is probably going to be a worse housemate, overall, than someone who doesn't always do the washing up.

Mind, I think just about everyone will say that they *do* do the washing up.

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

I'm with Marna on this one. Just chat with people casually, sit 'em down and make tea/coffee/juice, see how they're feeling. Get to know them. Could you live with them?

people are going to be nervous, a bit on edge, just like a job interview; but hopefully you can get a kinda feeling out of them, whether they're going to get along with you, whether they seem "alright", honest, etc.

[ex-purplekaz150.livejournal.com]

Ask them, "Do you often bring back noisy munters in the middle of the night?"

Also, the kashrut thing is already a rule of the house. It's a condition of them moving in, so they don't really have a choice. Same with my flat.

[arkady.livejournal.com]

rather than asking about washing up, work it into the rules of the house along with the kashrut - make it clear that everyone is expected to do their share of chores.

Given that technical hardware is also likely to be of interest, find out what sort of stuff they're likely to bring. You don't want to end up with the sort of nasty surprise I encountered; networking mine and Sava's PCs only to find his PC was riddled with viruses because he hadn't updated his antivirus software in over a year. In a geek household, PC hygiene is important as personal hygiene!! It will also give you an idea as to whether and how much the electricity bill is likely to be affected by - not to mention household contents insurance; if the prospective tenants already have insurance they should say so.

[pammienyx.livejournal.com]

And don't worry so much about asking or telling them things. They're most likely curious as well, since they'll be making a commitment to live under your rules for a time and will want to know for sure what those rules are and how firm you stand on them. It's your place, your religious preferences, and your peace of mind you're protecting. If they can't or won't abide by what contents you, all of you will just be miserable or having to avoid each other for the time they're there.

Do ask for references. And check them out. Paranoia can be a very wonderful thing in this case ;)

*hug*

[paraphasiclotus.livejournal.com]

hello. how did you find me? I like you already.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

I think I was messing around in finding users by common interest (which seems to be gone today - nooooo! Why did they take it away???) and you turned up that way.

:)