How is it to live in a shared home?

By shared house do you mean two houses joined together (ie semi-detached) or a couple of families living under the same roof.

@Ame_Evil I think it’s an upper level/ lower level situation by the look of the picture. Right now, the lady that owns the place lives there, along with one tenant. The tenant’s lease is up and should be moving out soon.

I see no problem, it happens all of the time. You will have basically your own apartment right? Your own kitchen, etc.

@JLeslie I guess so. It’s just very foreign to me

And, the ad said it’s 1400 sq. ft. Do yall think that’s the entire house, or is it truly just the one floor?

Is it a separate entrance? What I mean is you are not able to enter the other part of the house and she will not be able to enter yours? Separate keys?

@JLeslie I have no idea. Carson will find all that out when he goes.

I grew up in three such flats. In Milwaukee, we called them duplexes. I also lived in house like that at uni. As long as you meet with your new neighbors and hash out things like shared space rules (basements, attics, yardspace) and times when you all expect it to be quiet, and whatever else will allow both units to live together peaceably, then it’s like any other apartment experience.

I remember in the first place I lived in like this, the lady upstairs let her kids make noise all night, they drew all over the walls in the shared back hallway and she left her garbage back there, sometimes for days, before taking it out. She was also very loud and obnoxious, and her bf’s always seemed to be casing our apartment. My aunt documented everything that she could that she thought was wrong and sent photos to the landlord, who kicked “Miz Gussie” right out. OK, first of all, I think just the name “Gussie” was all kinds of wrong, but you can’t kick someone out of their flat for that.

Yes, it’s done all the time, AND how it works out is completely dependant upon your house mates, and your compatibility. It can be a pain, or it can be amazing.
If you can, spend a little time with this lady and find out about her lifestyle and preferences before signing anything.

@aprilsimnel Duplex! That’s what it’s called. I thought that was only when the place was divided down the middle, not top and bottom, but ok. He said she seemed nice, and the current tenant has been there for 5 or 6 years, so we’ll see.

@1_sherpa Good idea

The big problem with these is noise. That place looks really solid so I wouldn’t worry. I would avoid it you like to party and play loud music with a lot of bass.

@johnpowell Nah, we don’t do that. Just loud sex, but that’s not my fault; it’s his haha

You might want to watch the movie “Pacific Heights” first.
Very cool place.

1400 sq.ft. is a big chunk of space, BTW. Well done! I can’t imagine how much a apartment that size would go for in NYC!

@aprilsimnel It’s completely affordable too. I hope we can snatch it up :)

Seems nice. Looks like it could be a duplex, which I wouldn’t ever refer to as a “shared house” but two separate floors in a house are apartments, private entrances (usually one main entrance though), your own kitchen and bathrooms. If it’s a shared house, you might share things like a kitchen or whatever.

My grandmother once had an apartment in a house, and the upstairs tenants literally walked through her living room to get to the stairs. Not very far into the living room, but I always found that weird.

I share a house with my parents. We basically have our own apartment upstairs, a door separates our two bedrooms and bathroom. We share a kitchen and dining room, but we each have a living room and tv room as well as the bedrooms and bathrooms. We share an entrance and it works quite well for us. But, that’s family.

@casheroo You’re right; I didn’t know what to call it. Thanks for the info!

Looks like an interesting house. Since the lady downstairs has rented out the top bit before, and had tenants that stayed a while, she is probably pretty good at setting and keeping ground rules.

I have seen “shared housing” not just as a duplex (or as in this case, a house turned into two apartments), but as actual shared housing. Each couple or family has bedrooms, bathrooms and a family room of their own, but the kitchen, yard, garden and parking facility were all shared in common.

well, you have to share everything, sometimes fire sparks, just keep your cool and calm

cheers..

@Darwin I’m hoping this house isn’t like that. I’m completely uninterested in sharing common areas. And, we’d have the bottom half, BTW