FAQ

From Peoplebrokers

Frequently asked questions about house sharing

How successful is this agency?

We have been matching housemates for 20 years and at least 70% of our business is repeat business or word of mouth. So we are very successful. Your success, however, will depend on you and your lifestyle, ... and whether there are others compatible people on the database at the same time you are. Many people find excellent sharing when they register with us. Some have stayed together for over 10 years, sometimes moving house 2 or 3 times together.

If you are looking to move in with others some of the things which will slow you down are:

• pets,
• household furniture,
• smoking or intolerance to smoking,
• requiring off street parking,
• not able to pay more than $100 pw,
• being a couple,
• having children or visiting children.

If more than one of these things apply to you then it may be better for you to meet up with one or two others to start a new place and let us find someone to move in with you.

Regarding furniture, sometimes the person leaving the household has the furniture but the person remaining wants to keep the house so you could be most welcome. Also, some people really want a pet but cannot commit to the responsibility of owning one themselves - if may be happy to share yours.

If you have the place it will usually take longer to find someone if:

• the room is less than 7m2
• you are on a noisy major road
• you are territorial

In our experience the time it takes to find someone varies widely. One girl with a fabulous place ($140pw then) in Albert Park reopened her file in 1993 and took 3 months to find someone, when that person moved out a year later she found someone the same day that she reopened her file.

Observing 'from the sidelines' as we do, sometimes a person may take a few months to fill their spare room, then they will more often than not say that they needed that time to themselves.

Success in matching depends on the people involved and whether appropriate listings are available at any given moment.

We work with files until matches occur and we cannot estimate the time this may take. Our database changes constantly. For some it is hours, for some it is weeks and for others longer periods of time are necessary.

How do you match your members?

Carefully! You make an appointment to come to our office and fill in a registration form. The form is very detailed and covers every possible angle. We use a 32 bit custom designed database, which can match any number of requests. The more requests and stipulations usually the less matches. However if you know what you want be patient and wait, you will get it.

We get to know through your questionnaire and through the feedback. This gives us an insight into your lifestyle and attitudes. Then we get feedback from everybody with gives us a more complete picture to m Frequently asked questions about house sharing

How do you screen your members?

Our detailed questionnaire, developed over many years as well as our experience.

We must sight ID such as driver's license.

We must be given the name and phone number of a character reference and those looking to move provide their employer's name and number.

However, we stress that it is your responsibility to choose who you share with and we urge you to choose carefully.

We also record feedback about meetings between members which helps us fine-tune our matching.

We do not do Police or credit checks. If you want detailed checking done then you should arrange that yourself.

How long will it take to find someone?

This is a difficult question to answer, on average 2 to 4 weeks. That is if you do not make too many difficult requests and you are a likeable person. However, some people can find the right sharer within 24 hours.

If I don't find a sharer will you refund my fees?

No, your fee is an application fee that covers our costs to register you on our database. If you stop your search for any reason your file is deactivated until you need to use our service in the future. The amount you paid can be put towards any of our services at any future date. People are often amazed to come back to us years later to be told they have a fee in credit to use. Especially those we did a lot of work for. However, the fee pays for processing your data and once we have worked with you, we can work with you again in the future quite easily.

So, all unused fees remain in credit for future use.

What if we aren't compatible?

We give you 2 months to settle in with your new sharer. If you are not getting on we will reopen your file free of charge. The idea is that you discover the error within the first month and give a months notice (at the end of the first month) which gives you a month to find a new person. If your sharer wants to move because of a change of plan rather than incompatibility then we charge another fee to open your file.

I've got three days to find someone for my spare room or I have to move out?

We couldn't guarantee that someone would be available at such short notice but if you don't find someone in time you can use your application fee to find a new place to move into.

I don't know whether to find someone for my spare room or move into a new place with others

We advise you to register as a person looking for a spare room and have a look at what is out there. If you find that your place is better than you transfer your membership to offering a room. You can look both ways at once for the $50 fee. If you don't find a person to share with at the time, your fee can be used next time.

I only want to pay $80 per week, how many places have you got?

Not many. The people who use our service tend to pay higher rents - ranging from $150 to $300 per week. Sometimes there are places with lower rents on the database but they generally reflect the standard of accommodation.

Rents have increased dramatically over the last 2 years (some inner urban rents are up by as much as 15%) and at the same time the quantity and quality of available rental properties has diminished just as dramatically.