Renting Flatshare, Speed Flat Mating

Date Published:

27/05/2008

The days of traipsing the streets in search of the ideal flatshare are over, it's time to welcome in a new era of flat hunting- Speed Flatmating...

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Searching for a flatshare can be a long, tiresome and sometimes scary process. First there's the endless trawling through ads, then the phone calls and finally, the viewing. Ahhh the viewing, a make or break experience that could either have you finally relaxing in the relief of finding the ideal flatmate or fleeing the scene, your copy of Loot trailing behind you...it's a jungle out there.

For those of you embarking on such an adventure, take heart. There's a new phenomenon sweeping the country that makes the housemate hunt a much less harrowing experience- Speed Flatmating. This new craze takes the concept of the infamous speed dating, where potential suitors must wow each other within a few minutes, and uses it to match despairing households and new flatmates.

The concept is the brainchild of business partners Gemma Craft and Rupert Hunt who came up with the idea whilst researching for their flat hunting website www.spareroom.co.uk. "We've had some horror stories from people who have advertised rooms in the past" explains Gemma.

"There are some very strange people out there...Rupert and I were discussing ideas for extra services on our site, a friend had gone to a speed-dating event the night before and suddenly it clicked: speed flatmating."

Promoted as "the faster, safer, friendlier way to find flatmates" this new express matching service seems to be the ideal helping hand for people without the time or patience to dedicate night after night to viewings. Firstly the event is held on mutual ground, which also happens to be a pub.

Gemma continues, "We have had a lot of feedback from people new to an area, who perhaps don't know anyone locally yet, who said how good it was to make new, like-minded friends".

So not only is it a much safer option than the awkward first visit to a stranger's home, it's also a much more relaxed affair. Each event is more a chance to meet new, like-minded people over a couple of drinks than a nervous voyage into the unknown. If you're new to an area this can be a godsend.

For just £7.50 per person Speed Flatmating offers the bonus of viewing ten potential flatmates in the time it takes to meet one the conventional way. Both room seekers and those with a room to let are given a scorecard. Everyone ticks who they like, those with reciprocal ticks will be sent each others contact details to so they can arrange room viewings.

Basically, you get to filter out the people that might push you to the edge of your sanity before you waste an evening's viewing on them. This might sound a little harsh, and perhaps five minutes is not enough time to judge if you'd like to live with the person sitting opposite you, but it's certainly a good start that saves a lot of time.