Whether you live together with other people under one roof or live together as a resident in an estate, all sorts of things happen, good and bad. While we always hope for the best, it makes sense to try and predict the worst in advance... re-think it before making any commitments to buy, rent or lease any property.
Even living in the family house with your parents, siblings and the rest of the family can be unpleasant when personalities collide. When strangers spend a lot of time together, each with different habits, or even a different cultural background, this may become a potentially explosive situation - if house mates and neighbors are wrong for one another.
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What could possibly go wrong?
1. Conflicts in cleanliness levels
Everyone requires a different level of cleanliness in a house or community. Some people are clean freaks while others think tidying up is less important. Unless there is a cleaning roster that is agreeable to everyone in the house or community, and everyone is sticking to it, wahala dey.
Real life experience:
My flat mate (Mr Salami), sees no reason why he should clean the compound because he's living on the first floor.
2. Late payment of bills and dues
Even though every house mate and landlord has their own share of bills and dues to pay (electricity, water, community development etc), when someone doesn't pay on time, everyone is in trouble.
Real life experience:
I cannot recount the number of time that the electricity cable of my rented apartment was cut off because one tenant (Mr. Salami) refused to pay.
3. Differences in personalities
No policy will ever work for incompatible personalities. If one house mate or neighbour likes solitude and the other is a party-rider, if one wants to be left alone, and the other is clingy and a tale monger, there simply isn't any policy that will rectify the situation.
So choose right, choose wisely before making any commitment. Research the property before making your final offer.
What experiences have you had? Drop a comment.