Brilliant vlog Jane, thank you very much. So interesting and certainly it appears to have been of great benefit for extra income for you and social benefit for your girls over the years. I love the story of the little 12 year girl....so sweet.
I've been a lodger in various houses over the years. I'd say you need to be a people person to do this from both sides. I have lived in houses with people who clearly wanted the money but didn't like the inconvenience of someone getting in their way and you really feel those vibes. Also having to work around each other's routines is tricky especially with bathrooms and kitchens. I'm in my own place now and I much prefer it but if you have bills to pay it can work out well as a stop gap if you find the right fit.
We have been really lucky with ours so far. I guess I would prefer not to have one, but I am pretty tolerant and a lot of the time I quite enjoy the company and chat! It wouldn't suit everyone, for sure.
I had a few experiences with foreign exchange students and never ever again. I found that the main bills eg electricity etc didn't increase that much but my first student was veggie. I knew beforehand and thought OK. But 1st night she arrived I had made a homemade veg and chickpea curry which she refused point blank to eat. She also refused filled pasta with either pesto or tomato sauce....she also refused a risotto I had in the freezer. She then informed me she didn't eat most veggies, cheese dairy tofu eggs pasta rice etc etc....but she DID demand the top branded names of everything eg Sam Pellegrio water Bon Maman ams etc etc. My food bill doubled and then I got wise and bought the brands I was buying and stopped giving her so much choice because u couldn't please her. The other thing that annoyed me was that on a few occasions I came in from work and she had had friends over and literally emptied the fridge and cupboards cooking dinner for them all etc. No offence - I didn't mind her having her friends over but am not running a cafe or community food bank. One eve I hadn't much in, so used up veg tins tomatoes and beans and made big pot of veggie chilli and rice. Thought this will get us by for 2 days till I go shopping. Went out that eve to work and got home at 10pm starving. Went to pot and every scrap of chilli was gone. Asked her what on earth happened. "Oh the others came over and we ate the chilli 🌶 🍚 and 🥗 and the girls brought leftovers away for lunch tomorrow " she replied. I was absolutely LIVID had literally nothing in house and too late to start cooking so had to order a takeaway I couldn't really afford. Its honestly not worth the hassle. 2nd student I had was Spanish and not as fussy. However all the host parents on this exchange got screwed because we were not being paid until AFTER the students returned home. .....it was a 3 months sumner exchange. Howeer we were never paid and the agency suddenly went bust leaving us all out of pocket. There are hidden pitfalls so beware. Also some foreign student are quite rude and demanding......their attitude seems to be "well my parents PAID for me to be here so I'll do as I like" and also they think because u are renting out a room that u are desperate for money so you'll put up with any old BS. NEVER AGAIN
Wow - you were unlucky. We did have one ridiculously fussy student, but in the end you can only do so much to accommodate people. I would have asked the organisation to take your first student away to be honest. Very rude behaviour. We always get paid weekly, which works well. I have only worked with two organisations, but they were both good, thankfully.
@@ShoestringJane I would have but at time I needed the money as I was paying off my mums funeral. First agency I got paid monthly but she also broke the blind on her bedroom window which couldn't be repaired and had to be replaced costing me €150. She also moaned that the shower in the bathroom SHE HAD ALL TO HERSELF was not a top of the range rain shower - its a standard electric shower. We have low water pressure unfortunately and only remedy is a pump costing €800 approx and u would need to retile entire bathroom afterwards as the entire bathroom is tiled. Her father rang the supervisor from Germany complaining that his daughter couldn't take a shower!! V unfair and UNTRUE. I ended up paying €40 for a new shower head tho to try to help with the problem. There are other hidden costs. When she arrived she left her phone at the airport. We found it online in their lost property section and the agency insisted I had to travel up with her to retrieve it as they didn't want her travelling the country alone so soon. Fair enough but between train and bus fees to get up there, lunch out drinks etc on trains and my dog was only a tiny puppy at the time so I had to leave her in doggy daycare €30 for the day - between the whole lot the day cost almost €80. This came OUT of my first months pay. I'm sorry now I didn't tell the agency point blank that they would have to bring her there to look for the phone as it wasn't MY fault she left it behind in first place. On that subject, I would say avoid agencies who will not pick up students at airports as a group and deliver them to a meeting point in the town that is hosting for host families to meet and greet. We were told we had to pick up and drop off students at airport. But I had to hire a taxi as her flight landed in late and public transport on that particular night was very patchy and I was forced to hire a private taxi. Even having agreed a price as he is a friend the trip cost €95 all in. We had to wait at airport as flight was delayed and this incurred extra parking fees and having to sit in a cafe having ☕ etc which soon adds up. This also comes out of your first month's money and the agency couldn't care less. In my case as I live alone am limited in the agencies that will even take me on as a lot of students and their families will request a family with kids. At the time I did it purely as a way of paying my mums funeral and headstone and then decided it wasn't worth the hassle and put a stop to it.
Spare rooms can also be used as office/warehouse space for selling on line. It helps to have a dedicated room for business as merchandise can take over living space if allowed.
It wouldn't work for me, like my own space. Plus the council tax would raise 25% for me as I'm a single occupier. I work funny shifts too, so me rolling in at 2am and having to keep quiet - where I usually put something on catch-up or listen to some music. Someone I know took a young 19 year old English student in on one of these schemes and she ended up sneaking "male friends" in late at night. It's a shame as I've got the ideal house for it - 4 bedroomed, 3 car drive, 1 bedroom is downstairs with its own en suite, but no, lodgers ain't for me. Plus the extra gas, electric, water, wear and tear - is it worth it?
It’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely worth it for us. No 25% discount to lose and they don’t use much extra in the way of utilities. We have the heating and hot water on anyway. Tricky when you work shifts though.
Brilliant vlog Jane, thank you very much. So interesting and certainly it appears to have been of great benefit for extra income for you and social benefit for your girls over the years. I love the story of the little 12 year girl....so sweet.
Thanks, Simone. Having the room has certainly helped over the years
That was really very interesting Jane. I. have wondered about having a lodger in the past, and may well look into it again.
It’s more fun than you might think!
An excellent video! Very helpful with all your personal experiences!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching
I've been a lodger in various houses over the years. I'd say you need to be a people person to do this from both sides. I have lived in houses with people who clearly wanted the money but didn't like the inconvenience of someone getting in their way and you really feel those vibes. Also having to work around each other's routines is tricky especially with bathrooms and kitchens. I'm in my own place now and I much prefer it but if you have bills to pay it can work out well as a stop gap if you find the right fit.
We have been really lucky with ours so far. I guess I would prefer not to have one, but I am pretty tolerant and a lot of the time I quite enjoy the company and chat! It wouldn't suit everyone, for sure.
I had a few experiences with foreign exchange students and never ever again. I found that the main bills eg electricity etc didn't increase that much but my first student was veggie. I knew beforehand and thought OK. But 1st night she arrived I had made a homemade veg and chickpea curry which she refused point blank to eat. She also refused filled pasta with either pesto or tomato sauce....she also refused a risotto I had in the freezer. She then informed me she didn't eat most veggies, cheese dairy tofu eggs pasta rice etc etc....but she DID demand the top branded names of everything eg Sam Pellegrio water Bon Maman ams etc etc. My food bill doubled and then I got wise and bought the brands I was buying and stopped giving her so much choice because u couldn't please her. The other thing that annoyed me was that on a few occasions I came in from work and she had had friends over and literally emptied the fridge and cupboards cooking dinner for them all etc. No offence - I didn't mind her having her friends over but am not running a cafe or community food bank. One eve I hadn't much in, so used up veg tins tomatoes and beans and made big pot of veggie chilli and rice. Thought this will get us by for 2 days till I go shopping. Went out that eve to work and got home at 10pm starving. Went to pot and every scrap of chilli was gone. Asked her what on earth happened. "Oh the others came over and we ate the chilli 🌶 🍚 and 🥗 and the girls brought leftovers away for lunch tomorrow " she replied. I was absolutely LIVID had literally nothing in house and too late to start cooking so had to order a takeaway I couldn't really afford. Its honestly not worth the hassle.
2nd student I had was Spanish and not as fussy. However all the host parents on this exchange got screwed because we were not being paid until AFTER the students returned home. .....it was a 3 months sumner exchange. Howeer we were never paid and the agency suddenly went bust leaving us all out of pocket.
There are hidden pitfalls so beware. Also some foreign student are quite rude and demanding......their attitude seems to be "well my parents PAID for me to be here so I'll do as I like" and also they think because u are renting out a room that u are desperate for money so you'll put up with any old BS.
NEVER AGAIN
Wow - you were unlucky. We did have one ridiculously fussy student, but in the end you can only do so much to accommodate people. I would have asked the organisation to take your first student away to be honest. Very rude behaviour. We always get paid weekly, which works well. I have only worked with two organisations, but they were both good, thankfully.
@@ShoestringJane I would have but at time I needed the money as I was paying off my mums funeral. First agency I got paid monthly but she also broke the blind on her bedroom window which couldn't be repaired and had to be replaced costing me €150. She also moaned that the shower in the bathroom SHE HAD ALL TO HERSELF was not a top of the range rain shower - its a standard electric shower. We have low water pressure unfortunately and only remedy is a pump costing €800 approx and u would need to retile entire bathroom afterwards as the entire bathroom is tiled. Her father rang the supervisor from Germany complaining that his daughter couldn't take a shower!! V unfair and UNTRUE. I ended up paying €40 for a new shower head tho to try to help with the problem.
There are other hidden costs. When she arrived she left her phone at the airport. We found it online in their lost property section and the agency insisted I had to travel up with her to retrieve it as they didn't want her travelling the country alone so soon. Fair enough but between train and bus fees to get up there, lunch out drinks etc on trains and my dog was only a tiny puppy at the time so I had to leave her in doggy daycare €30 for the day - between the whole lot the day cost almost €80. This came OUT of my first months pay. I'm sorry now I didn't tell the agency point blank that they would have to bring her there to look for the phone as it wasn't MY fault she left it behind in first place.
On that subject, I would say avoid agencies who will not pick up students at airports as a group and deliver them to a meeting point in the town that is hosting for host families to meet and greet. We were told we had to pick up and drop off students at airport. But I had to hire a taxi as her flight landed in late and public transport on that particular night was very patchy and I was forced to hire a private taxi. Even having agreed a price as he is a friend the trip cost €95 all in. We had to wait at airport as flight was delayed and this incurred extra parking fees and having to sit in a cafe having ☕ etc which soon adds up. This also comes out of your first month's money and the agency couldn't care less.
In my case as I live alone am limited in the agencies that will even take me on as a lot of students and their families will request a family with kids. At the time I did it purely as a way of paying my mums funeral and headstone and then decided it wasn't worth the hassle and put a stop to it.
Spare rooms can also be used as office/warehouse space for selling on line. It helps to have a dedicated room for business as merchandise can take over living space if allowed.
Very true!
Very interesting... food for thought👍💙
Hi Jane we did this for 10 year s but with older people loved it till I got too old haha Bx
That's interesting. Were they lodgers or did you offer support?
Thanks for this video Jane. I used to have lodgers years ago and now think I should look into this again.
It’s a good way to make a little extra
👍❤
It wouldn't work for me, like my own space. Plus the council tax would raise 25% for me as I'm a single occupier.
I work funny shifts too, so me rolling in at 2am and having to keep quiet - where I usually put something on catch-up or listen to some music.
Someone I know took a young 19 year old English student in on one of these schemes and she ended up sneaking "male friends" in late at night.
It's a shame as I've got the ideal house for it - 4 bedroomed, 3 car drive, 1 bedroom is downstairs with its own en suite, but no, lodgers ain't for me.
Plus the extra gas, electric, water, wear and tear - is it worth it?
It’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely worth it for us. No 25% discount to lose and they don’t use much extra in the way of utilities. We have the heating and hot water on anyway. Tricky when you work shifts though.