RealEstateTube.com for example has hit 21, 000 users in 12 months – it’s one of several emerging platforms entering a space dominated by major players in an industry ripe for disruption.

The issue of housing affordability is not exclusive to buyers: renters are being priced out of the areas in which they work and applying for tenancy has become depressingly like an auction.

Last month, we saw historically low wage growth, fixing a number to what we already knew: the housing affordability crisis is not limited to buyers.

Housing affordability is a headline issue in major cities all over the world, for good reason.Along Australia’s eastern seaboard, the median house price is hovering around the million-dollar mark, rent rates are skyrocketing and finding shelter is increasingly competitive.  Average salaries have not risen with CPI and are not proportionate to the enormous surge in property values in recent years, so living alone isn’t viable for a growing number of people.

The solution is house sharing, and it’s one being increasingly drawn upon by those outside the ‘student phase’: divorcees, empty nesters and retirees are demographics on the rise.  We can embrace taking on tenants to pay a mortgage or “rent-vesting” as a fiscal solution, but what if we are missing the real value here?

Modern humans are lonely. There are so many lonely people in the world, as we become more distant from family, ritual, religion and community. What if you could live with people who improve your life, while sharing the costs and chores?

Living with strangers and the “roll the dice” element of selecting roommates online is no picnic, nor is it fun having to traipse from house to house selling yourself as a good human to randoms…. and let’s not talk about the special brand of rejection that comes from being dismissed by strangers in a social setting…. but there is help.

Using www.realestatetube.com  you can upload a selfie video, it’s global so you can find your tribe before you even get to a new city or even country, and a video says an awful lot.
If you have a house and want to fill it, you can “meet” people via a video much more easily than if you see a simple headshot and blurb. You just know 4 seconds in if it’s a yay or a nay. Likewise if you’re the roaming prospective tenant, preparing to insert yourself into a ready-made household.

The good news is that as well as vetting out the nasties, this is a fabulous way to find your tribe and live your best life.

Are you a senior citizen who needs help around the house, could do with some cash on top of the pension and wouldn’t mind a young person to fill one of your rooms?

Are you a newly-arrived migrant struggling to learn the language, looking to slot in with a family – and maybe, that family might need help with their mortgage?

Do you miss living with friends, now your kids are grown up and out of home?

Maybe “home” doesn’t look like you thought it would – maybe it’s better.

What if we told you, you could make a minimum of $7,800 a year?

No, not by working extra hours or by selling unwanted goods…

What if we told you, you could make a minimum of $150 a week by doing nothing at all. Yep, we’re serious!

Do you have a spare room?

The median price to rent a bedroom in a sharehouse is $150 per week nationally. Studies have shown the average person in Australia moves out of home between the ages of 18-25.

So, your kids have moved out, or your a first home owner needing help to reduce the stress of your mortgage repayments, and you’ve got an empty room in your place. Imagine if you had a housemate paying you weekly… what would you do with the extra cash?

• A. Pay off your mortgage
• B. Save for an overseas holiday
• C. Buy a fancy dinner every week
• D. Take salsa dancing classes
• E. Buy a pet sloth
• F. All of the above

If any of these answers seem appealing, you definitely belong on www.realestatetube.com. The possibilities are endless!

Don’t procrastinate any longer… Tidy up that spare room, take a quick video and upload a listing today. Plus, the life-long friendships you create are absolutely priceless.

Of course it is. Everyone knows that! Though you might be throwing the best party that will be the talk of Facebook for the next month, you don’t need the hangover of upsetting the po-po…or the landlords. Or other housemates, because yanno, you gotta live with them. So here’s a guide to throwing the best party minus the “oh shit!” moments.

1. Check your lease agreement

You read everything you sign, right? Especially iPhone software update licences – all 90 pages! Before you host an intergalactic kegger you should check if your lease agreement explicitly prohibits mass gatherings (especially in flats) or disturbing the peace – which could get you officially warned or thrown out. Of course, this messes up any future chance of leasing, which is…not good.

2. Tell the neighbours

If you don’t want the 5-0 showing up at your door, its common courtesy to tell your neighbours to expect a bit more noise than usual. That way, you’re on good terms with them from the start, and they can approach you first before getting the fuzz involved. Who knows, they might be rad and rock up for a shoey! (They probably won’t.)

3. Don’t fight for your right to party – know your rights

In many jurisdictions throughout Australia, noise approaching or exceeding “nuisance” levels must lawfully be turned down. In Victoria, The Environment Protection (Residential Noise) Regulations Act 2008 states this in clear detail. It prohibits the playing of excessively loud music at the following times:

• Monday to Thursday: before 7am and after 10pm.
• Friday: before 7am and after 11pm.
• Saturday and public holidays: before 9am and after 11pm.
• Sunday: before 9am and after 10pm.
  
  

Of course, what constitutes a “nuisance” is subjective. I mean, your metalhead neighbours may object to ear-ripping George Michael marathons, for example…

4. Information lockdown

More often than not, we hear about house parties that “went viral” on social media, causing hordes of people to crash and cause mayhem. This type of mayhem you do not want, nor need in your life. To avoid being the next Corey Worthington (remember him?) keep your house party plans to a trusted few, and put a cap on +1s. Make this boundary clear from the outset, to avoid any last minute “hey is it alright if X comes?” texts.

5. Contents insurance

If you break it, you bought it is the mantra of the shopkeeper, but its way harder to enforce on your mates. If you leave sentimental and high value items about the house, it’s best to put them out of sight. Even though Spotify accounts stop people from stealing LPs and CDs we no longer own, that dodgy-looking mate of a mate who swore up and down he was a top bloke might avail himself of some pre-owned merchandise…if you aren’t careful.

What are some of your tips for throwing a party without the shit bits?