Why and how house shares save money

As a Leeds letting agents, we know how many things you have to take into account when it comes to deciding where you want to live.

There’s a lot to consider, including location, convenience and of course, the general pros and cons of living with other people.

For example, a pro of opting for a house share might be that you’ll meet new people who are having the same experience as you, but a con might be deciding whose responsible for the full bowl of washing up that’s been lying out.

However, one absolute positive about house shares is that it is much cheaper than living on your own.

Let’s take a look at a few reasons why that’s the case.

1. Overall cheaper rent

To find out more, read our blog post on how house shares save you money.

It’s cheaper to rent out a room and share facilities than rent an entire house or flat on your own in almost all situations.

We suppose it’s possible to find the most expensive house share in the city and compare it to the least expensive flat to rent, but realistically, the rent will almost always be cheaper because it’s split across several people.

2. You have more options

There’s an absolute treasure trove of house shares in Leeds and that lower price means that the options you have available to you in terms of location really opens up.

This is especially true for areas with a high student population where this kind of accommodation is most popular.

If you’re in higher education, it just seems like the obvious choice.

3. It’s not just the rent you’re splitting

When you’re in a house share, you are essentially splitting the rent of a large property, hence why you can get such great bargains.

However, this principle also works for other things, such as your broadband and TV costs, council tax and utility bills.

Although there will be higher usage of things like gas and electricity in a house with multiple occupants, it is still very likely to work out cheaper when the overall bill is split between several people.

4. There’s other ways you can save money too

If you’re organised and get along with your housemates, there’s no reason you can’t save even more money by splitting other things, with the most obvious example being shopping.

Buying in bulk is always cheaper, will reduce waste and just makes sense when several people are sharing the same space and need a lot of the same things.

For example, everyone buying their own milk would cost more than simply buying a large carton of milk and sharing.

Perhaps you could find a halfway point, with agreed upon items being paid for collectively, while other items are bought personally.

Either way, it’s an easy way to save more money.

5. Pool your resources

Another way you can save money is by sharing things where possible.

If for example, one person has a television and a games console they don’t mind setting up in a shared area, then that saves money and energy.

If in return, other housemates have some kitchen items that are needed for everyone, then you’ve pretty much established a trade in which everyone saves a little.

It’s also a great way for housemates to bond and spend more time together by not isolating everything to their rooms.

All these examples are great ways to save money, but they require open and honest communication, which of course goes for most aspects of life in a shared accommodation.