The day finally arrived – my lodger has moved in.
This is quite a big house, and I have a good sized attic – it isn’t a loft conversion, it’s an actual attic, with proper stairs. It was originally used by Blanche, the housemaid who worked for the first owner of the house, back in 1911.
It’s up in the eaves, so the rooms are a really interesting shape (but a bugger to decorate). I don’t know what it was like in Blanche’s day, but now it’s a double bedroom, a sitting room with a little kitchenette in one corner, and a shower room. I’m guessing Blanche didn’t have a shower room… It isn’t self-contained, but it’s private, if that makes sense.
I’ve been looking for a lodger for a while now. There have been a few people interested
- The Spanish lesbians who nearly came to stay for a week but didn’t in the end because of illness
- The man who wanted a room for his wife because she was about to be evicted, then tried to tell me I was charging too much. Don’t go there…
- The man who was all set to move in, and then told me four days beforehand that he’d bought a house. Just – odd.
Anyway. Here we are.
It’s going to be a bit strange sharing the house with someone. But also quite nice to have someone around. It’s odd that at the moment he’s a complete stranger, but soon won’t be. Well, not a complete stranger – we exchanged emails/phone calls, then we met for coffee (he paid!), then he came to look at the accommodation. In the meantime I’ve checked him out on Facebook and so on. He appears to be… normal. Which is really all I want from a lodger.
Some people have queried the sanity of having a male lodger, rather than a female one. When I first decided to go down the lodger route, I did think about saying I only wanted a woman (you can do that) – but generally more men than women need lodgings and it seemed daft to limit my market. I decided that what I really wanted was a civilised human being, regardless of gender.
Since making that decision, I’ve done more research – and it’s generally agreed that having a male lodger is preferable. And here’s why: you can do references on your lodger, check them out and decide whether you want them in your home. But you can’t do references on any girlfriend/boyfriend that they may have. You’re more likely to get hassle from a woman’s boyfriend than you are from a man’s girlfriend.
We can discuss at length why that might be, but in the meantime I’m content to have a male lodger.
I hope he likes it. Lodgers normally just get a bedroom, and share the rest of the house. Mine’s got the whole attic but I’ve made it clear to him that he’s welcome to use the living room, dining room and kitchen – he doesn’t have to stay up in the attic in splendid isolation if he doesn’t want to. Basically, he’s got a floor, I’ve got a floor, and we share a floor!!
And – the most important thing – he’s paying rent. This will help the finances considerably.
He arrived at 12 noon prompt, as agreed. He brought his stuff in, we did the last of the paperwork, we sat in the garden with a cup of tea, and life is good.
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