With prices rising on nearly everything, making sure that you choose the most affordable living arrangement is a top priority.

Share houses give you the ability to have the accommodation you want while cutting down the price.

With multiple tenants in a shared house, things can get a bit rocky. You want to do everything you can to avoid the common problems people see when living with other people.

While it may seem scary, a share house experience can be a smooth journey, and one for the books. After reading this article, you will understand:

What a share house is
How to use Braid for your share house expenses
Tips for living in a share house
Common share house rules

A share house is a rental property that allows different individuals to independently live under the same roof. Everything except for your private bedroom is shared equally with other tenants in a share house.

The tenants in a share house are responsible for splitting the cost of rent and utilities.

Share houses are commonly used as long-term rentals for people who are unable to afford to rent a property on their own, but there are other reasons that share houses are becoming more popular.

Let’s say you just moved in from another state. Congratulations!

The tough side of your new move is that you don’t have family in your area.

Fortunately for you, you recently reconnected with some old friends from college who live nearby.

You all talk about how it’s tough renting a one-bedroom apartment because of inflation and your jobs aren’t paying enough to qualify you for an apartment.

After some digging, you are intrigued by the idea of a share house. It’s the perfect solution to everyone’s residential problem.

You all plan to split every cost evenly, and after looking at your budget, you save a lot more than you would if you were living by yourself.

The plan is to live in a long-term share house with your friends and see how things are financially after one year.

It’s the summertime and you are completely over your hometown.

You’re desperate for a getaway, but only something temporary, because you’re not ready to make the big move.

You want to visit a new city for the summer, but you aren’t interested in hotel life—the costs begin to pile up.

You and your friends decide that Miami is the place to be for the summer events and fun, but it’s difficult finding a temporary stay.

You all decide to rent a summer share house for 3 months. It's a short stay but you’re excited for the memories and loads of fun.

You’re even considering making it an annual summer plan.

Share houses are an excellent option for people in either situation, but there are some things you should know before making that move.

A share house will come with—you guessed it—shared money and responsibilities.

Paying rent can become a hassle when the landlord or owner only takes one payment. It’s not a restaurant where you can split one check 10 different ways.

It’s up to you and your roommates to decide how to collect and pay rent.

But, rent isn’t the only thing you have to split in a share house. Water and utilities are paid monthly.

Another cost that will need splitting is food.

Let’s say you and your roommates decide to use dinner as a bonding opportunity and each roommate takes a turn cooking every night.

The weight of buying groceries for dinner can’t fall on one person while everyone else enjoys the food.

With Braid Money Pools, you can easily take care of your share house expenses.

When you start a free money pool with Braid, you can collect and manage from all the individuals in the share house.

With Braid, you can start a money pool and invite your share house roommates.

Members of the money pool can send contributions for:

Rent
Utilities
Groceries
Cleaning
Toiletries and more

As the pool admin, you can also manage money by sending out reminders for when payments are due and giving spending permissions to other tenants.

This makes it easier so multiple people can handle different tasks, like grocery shopping.

All of your share house expenses can be paid directly from your pool. No worries about transfers, or getting money orders.

Braid gives you a free debit card that can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted. And for rent payments, you can use the pool's account and routing number.

Ready to use Braid for splitting your share house expenses? Click here!

While living in a share house, there are a few things you may want to keep in mind to help make your stay enjoyable and not a regrettable decision.

1. Be on time with money

Understandably, times get hard, but always make it a top priority to be on time with payments.

When sharing a house, late payments not only put you at risk but your roommates as well.

You don’t want to become an inconvenience to your landlord or roommates.

2. Have things in common

Living with people you already know is a great option, but not everyone looking to cut costs has that privilege.

Share houses can still work well when the people living there have things in common.

Although there is a slight thrill to living with a diverse group of people, you still want to make sure you all share some common interests.

Living with other people could be the best choice you’ve made or the worst.

Some similarities you may share are age group, music, and/or food preferences.

3. Be open-minded

Being open-minded about your share house experience can help avoid a lot of misunderstandings.

Throw away any preconceived notions about your roommates or how you will get along with them.

Don’t go into a share house with a negative mindset or create scenarios in your head of fighting with your roommates.

Instead, be open to your new arrangement. Go into it with a social personality, but understand you don’t have to force close friendships.

Being optimistic about your new living situation will help you enjoy your time there.

4. Create bonds

Creating a bond with your roommates will help establish trust, respect, and a warm atmosphere.

Take time to step out of your private room and enjoy the company of the other people you live with.

5. Keep things in a secure place

While you have established bonds and trust with your roommates, it’s not over the top to be cautious.

Keep valuable things in a secure place.

Using a key for your private room can also help avoid misplacing things or theft—unfortunately, it happens.

5. Communication is key

Keeping the people you live with informed about things should be a no-brainer, but in case you need the reminder, here it is.

Communication will avoid messy situations and misunderstandings. If there is something you need to address with a roommate, do it before the problem prolongs itself.

One of the first things you should do once you settle into your shared house is take the time to make house rules.

Living with other people can get messy when boundaries aren’t put into place.

You and your roommates can create your own personalized rules list, but here are some common rules:

Ask first. Use later.
Be on time with payments.
Respect each other’s space.
Be mindful of noise.
Clean up after yourself.

You’re all set for your new living situation and you are going to make it a memorable experience.

Braid can help you and your roommates keep things organized and rent paid on time.

Braid is also completely free to use. All of the money your roommates contribute to the money pool is yours to use for your share house.