How do you find a lodger?

[Breadandsticks]

We are struggling with costs and want to bring in a lodger.

Where do we start?

Male vs Female? Student vs working professional? What does checking their background look like?

We are a family, so they would have a room within our home.

I have a few friends that have lodgers (and families) and I’m waiting for them to get back to me.

Thoughts I’d ask MN while I wait.

I found my lodger through Spare Room website.

I also used the spare room site in the past. We also bought a cheap licence agreement from WH Smith which we used to create some terms and conditions. We rented out to overseas students for a bit as well via an agency but it didn’t bring in much money and was a bit erratic

Our lodger is someone my daughter met through her work.

Dd used Spare Room. She specified weekdays only - she’s in a city with 2 universities and several hospitals, so it was relatively easy to find people who wanted to go home for weekends. It mostly worked very well for her.

Thanks. Didn’t even cross my mind for some reason. I’ve just posted our ad. Thanks

I’ve been on spare room for a while now and not even a single viewing. Every other day I DM people that are looking for a room in our area. I’ve paid to boost our profile for 4 weeks and nothing.

Are there any other tips?

Would you be willing to share your advert for feedback?
Are you priced competitively?
As a minimum you need good quality pictures of the bedroom / shared areas and details of the house/area eg: parking, local shops, local transport facilities.
I've seen some adverts detail the actual room size and list the furniture eg: double bed with pocket sprung mattress, double wardrobe, 6-drawer chest of drawers.
It's good to note the kitchen facilities eg: own shelf in fridge, own cupboard space, access to washing machine/tumble dryer.
Also some information about you/your family.