Can a Housemate Help My Mom or Dad Around the House?

It’s a success story we often hear from HomeShare Online users: an older home provider opens their home to a younger housemate to gain a helping hand in exchange for an affordable living arrangement. Read on for our answers to some of the questions you might have about arrangements like these and how they can benefit you or a loved one.  

Table of Contents

• Can I use HomeShare Online to find a roommate for my mom or dad?
• Can I offer reduced rent in exchange for chores?
• What chores could a roommate do for me or my parent? 
• I have a significant or medical caregiving need–can I ask a roommate to do it? 
• How do HomeShare Online renters let home providers know they're open to do chores for reduced rent?
  
  

Can I use HomeShare Online to find a roommate for my mom or dad? 

Of course! Many HomeShare Online homesharing relationships begin this way. In fact, HomeShare Online came into being because our co-founder's desire to help her own mother find a roommate. Homesharing is a wonderful way to address multiple issues at the same time: keeping up with the house, preventing isolation/loneliness and even providing extra monthly income.  

Can I offer reduced rent in exchange for chores? 

One of the great benefits of homesharing is that a housemate can help with grocery shopping, medication reminders, household cleaning and tidying, yard work—the small tasks around the house that can pile up, especially when one lives alone. 

That's why HomeShare Online's profile creator allows home providers and renters to specify what kind of work they'd be interested in/open to in exchange for reduced monthly rent. Unsure how much to offer? Consider how much you (or your parent) will save by not having to do these tasks or outsource them. 

How do renters let home providers know they're open to doing chores for reduced rent?

Make sure to specify your openness to arrangements like these in the “Tell Us About Yourself” section of your profile! If you need further tips on how to put your best foot forward, check out our blog here.

What kind of around-the-house help can a roommate provide? 

As long as you and your roommate are in agreement, there are number of possibilities! Options include: 

• Grocery trips or other errands 
• Cooking or meal prep
• Help with laundry or dry cleaning pickup/dropoff
• Yard care
• Snow shoveling 
• Technology assistance
• Pet sitting
• Etc. 

I have a significant or medical caregiving need–can I ask a roommate to do it? 

No—homesharing is not a replacement for caregiving or other medical support. It can, however, provide extra monthly income that can be used to bring on a professional caregiver, nurse, etc.

If you're looking for caregiving information, here are some useful resources: 

• Eldercare Locator: a public search engine run by the U.S. Administration on Aging designed to find care services by location.
• AgingCare.com: a website containing both care service information and local options for long-term senior housing.
• Care.com: a website used to connect care seekers to caregivers of a number of specialties, from medical to child care to pet care.

Between the extra income, help around the house and social benefits, homesharing can provide real peace of mind for the whole family. Explore HomeShare Online to learn more about finding a roommate match to build a Home Sweet Shared Home!