Urgent help req'd please - questions to ask prospective lodger

[Nyx]

My colleague is trying to let out a room or two in her house, and this evening she has her first prospective lodger coming to view the place. She's pretty nervous but hopes it'll go ok.

Please could anybody who has been in this position help with questions she should ask a prospective lodger? Our minds have more or less gone blank! She's not had much time to prepare, she's had to move quite quickly.

Any advice would be appreciated - I'll keep checking until 5pm!

bump

Blimey, the last time I did this was 20 years ago, interviewing for rooms in shared houses. I think we asked them whether they wiped the bath out, did they play the trumpet and did they vote Tory? So not much help.

I think she needs to work out a) what bothers her most - mess, noise, antisocial hours, and ask questions that lead to this and b) try and work out whether they seem like a nice bloke/girl with a similar outlook. I'd have problems with a heavy metal fan who liked World of Warcraft, but that's just me...

Not so much questions, but has she decided what her house rules are? Where will the lodger be eating, is there room for food? Whose utensils etc will they be using?

If she is doing this for cash, then locally taking in foreign language students seems to be very lucrative.

Um, it's been a while but:

What hours do they work and where
What other hours do they keep
How long in previous places, why did they move
Will they be happy for a basic credit check to be performed (can be done for about £30 online btw)
Are they keen on cooking? (translates - do they have vast quantities of special equipment they'll want to clutter up kitchen with)
Are they vegetarian? (translates -do they have a problem with being around meat and fish)

Does your colleague have children? If so, then the lodger needs to be able to fit in with routines (ie not hogging bathroom in the morning, being quieter around bedtimes and so on)

Oh, and if finances permit - will they be happy for a cleaner to hoover in their room once a week (translates - are you keeping bodies/pets in there and won't open the door to anyone)

Finally - make sure there's a hefty deposit, take photos of the room before lodger moves in (so no arguments about how many holes in carpet etc) and sign a contract.

HTH..

Do they have a criminal record?

Do they like the film Pacific Heights?

Thank you all for your replies! I have sent my colleague a link to the thread. I would never have thought of a lot of those and I'm glad I asked you lot