Buy a house with other people

Renting or buying a flat jointly with others (up to 4) – you may decide that you want to live in a bigger group. Having a bigger group really makes the financial savings even more attractive and allows you to find very good quality properties and to share things you couldn’t otherwise afford, like gardens, additional living rooms and even swimming pools associated with the property. You might even arrange to have a cleaner or handyman come in each week.

You’ll follow the same process as letting out a room to one person, but you’ll have to deal with more than one lodger. Added to which, lodgers need to be carefully chosen to fit in with each other, not just yourself. The financial benefits are greater, but the time and care needed to run such a shared house are also greater.

Renting a larger house or flat (with 5 or more people) – this option is the same as above but can take longer to organise and may require more commitment over a longer period to make it worthwhile. This is because of the complexities of the legal and financial side of things, especially when buying. Building society mortgages are not designed to be shared by more than 4 people for example and finding more people able and willing to make the same financial commitment can take time.

Join an established co-housing scheme >>>

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