London Shared’s history of house share: It’s not just in our name
House sharing or co-living is nothing new; it has been around for years, and we’ve been doing it for some time now. Thirteen years ago London Shared was born of a combined passion for making a difference in the competitive property market, and building meaningful relationships with both landlords and tenants.
The house share concept: How it looks now vs. how it will look in the future
Sure, house share is nothing new. But how we continue to embrace it will make all the difference. Especially now, as we head towards the end of a dramatic 2020, riding the wave of a pandemic that has changed our lives forever, we are asking the question: How is COVID-19 likely to impact the way people live?
We’ve been dissecting, discussing and pondering this question for weeks and all we can say is, we’re ready. We are not about reinventing the wheel, and as such, we will continue to offer services that work. We will continue to focus on processes that are simple for our tenants to follow; and easy for our landlords to implement.
House share basics: We do what works
We don’t see professional house shares in London going anywhere anytime soon. The convenience of having an all-in-one home that basically requires you to only bring personal belongings, bedding and clothes, with the rest taken care of, is just too sweet to miss out on. Yes, there are those who prefer a one-bedroom boudoir or a two-bedder in the ’burbs for you and your boo, but that’s not who we’re talking to.
We are talking to the single, hustling, city-loving, “pour a glass of good Chardonnay at the end of the day” individual who absolutely loves the comfort – and have we mentioned the modern style? – of our homes. Our professional home shares offer some of the most enviable amenities and mod cons in the city:
- We take London homes off landlords’ hands and do our Cinderella-style magic by turning a blah-house into a wow-home.
- Your bedroom is literally sorted. In most homes we offer: orthopaedic bed, bedside cabinet, wardrobe and drawers. We also offer starter packs with brand new sheets, pillows, duvet and a towel set at an additional cost.
- Communal spaces? Again, sorted. Living rooms generally have a sofa, an armchair (or two, if space allows), coffee table, rug, dining table with chairs. And always: a big flat screen TV.
- And the kitchen? Yip. All taken care of. We pride ourselves on pimping out kitchens to the finest detail – including all cutlery, crockery, utensils, pots and pans, kettle, toaster, microwave and other essentials.
House share maintenance: What is included
We understand that you’re a hard-working professional on your way to the next step in your career, so why should you worry about the nitty gritty of utility bills and cleaning services? That’s why we take it off your plate, so you can focus on that Zoom meeting.
Not all house share contracts are created equal; that’s why we keep ours completely transparent.
If you sign a tenant contract with London Shared, the following is included:
- Weekly cleaning services. Only communal spaces, so please look after your personal space and keep your room sparkly clean. You don’t want washing in the background while on that Zoom call, now do you?
- Maintenance & repairs. Our dedicated property management team is available to organise a contractor or repairman to fix any issues within the property.
- Bills, bills, bills. You send us the monthly readings and we deal with the rest. No hair-pulling or housemate strife about who owns what.
Professional house shares: How to manage WFH in a shared home
Working from home is here to stay, and our London Shared homes are fully equipped to make your WFH life a happy one.
Prudence Ivey wrote this engaging blog post entitled Working from home in a shared house: how London renters are making the most of their WFH space – without falling out with their flatmates about the joys and perils of living with housemates and sharing close spaces with them while working from home. We acknowledge the importance of a “safe space” in our London Shared homes, now even more than before, so you can have a place to work comfortably and also switch off at the end of the day.
Our London Shared homes are built for today. Your room is big enough to close the door behind noisy housemates, while our communal spaces are ideal for closing the door on your laptop and enjoying gin o’clock with your housemates (that will probably become your ‘new family’ during your tenancy).
At the end of the day, your house share is what you make of it, and if the shoe fits, it is likely to be a stylish, yet perfectly comfortable one.
Keen to start browsing? View our available properties here.
Image credit: Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels.