Flatshare
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A flatshare is the name given to a flat or house that is shared. A flatmate is a person with whom one shares a flat. In American English, they would be referred to as a roommate. Typically flatshares are for professionals but include students living in cities where accommodation is expensive, or where the occupants prefer to live with others and share communal amenties.
One difficulty is finding suitable flatmates. A survey conducted by FlatShare.com shows that flatshare(ers) consider personal security and financial savings as most important in determining their flatsharing needs. Cleanliness and honesty were also considered crucial to a successful flatshare. Agencies such as www.perfecthousemate.co.uk exist for matching up suitable flatmates. Some universities organise matching up events.
Living with a flatmate can mean much less privacy than having a flat on your own, and for some people this can cause a lot of stress. The ideal size for a flatshare is normally 3-4 flatmates. Larger flatshares often suffer from disputes of a partisan nature, especially when no flatmate has the time or will to come forward as a "flat leader" to administrate bill payments, cleaning, etc. Double flatshares are subsceptible to animosity too, as there flatmates can get annoyed with each other very easily.
[edit] Online Flatshare Service
Serveral online roommate services are now available online to help its users find a place to live. These services are genereally asking fees after user registration to get access to more information. These fees are usually hidden as the user thinks it is free. Other few flatshare services offer now 100% free services on the internet and are based on advertisement marketing.
