My view
Find out how Tracey Panayiotou, 60, got on when she turned her empty nest into a renter’s retreat
I’ve always thrived in a busy home – coming from a Greek-Cypriot family, hospitality is hard-wired into me. My motto has always been and still is ‘the more the merrier’. Our four-bed home in Southampton was always an open house for my children’s friends, from sleepovers to a memorable prom party when the house was filled with teens trying desperately not to look drunk.
When the children, Florence and Stan, grew up and eventually moved out, the house became much quieter. I was happy working full-time as a film studies teacher but my partner Stephen wanted to study for a PhD in music in Huddersfield. So in 2010, we decided the best way to finance that would be through letting out the two spare rooms in our now empty nest. Not only would it help us find the extra money, it would mean I wasn’t on my own while he was away. As a very social person, I couldn’t bear the thought of being alone. We took the plunge and registered our rooms with the local language school. I was nervous at first because I didn’t know what to expect. Inviting strangers to share our home was a big step. On the plus side, I reasoned, the lets would be shortterm, so even if I got someone I didn’t gel with, it wouldn’t be forever.
‘The kitchen is a sociable hub and we often eat together’
Our first guest was a French air traffic controller who couldn’t get his head around people eating beans on toast. At first, I cooked dinner so we could eat together. It seemed like the natural thing to do, b ut I ended up feeling like his mother. I decided future guests could cook for themselves and thought about setting some house rules. When he moved out, I had a steady flow of tenants from Theatre Digs Booker and SpareRoom. I had a mixture of postgraduate students in their late 20s who would stay for anything from three to 12 months, and bookings from actors, musicians and technicians who stayed a week while they worked at the local theatre. They catered for themselves and I simply asked them to clean up after themselves in the communal areas and lock the front door if they were the last one in at night. Simple things that would help us all get along well.
I had to get used to the different dynamics people brought to living under my roof, accepting my home was now their home too. I discovered couples preferred to stay in more than my young, free and single tenants. I also learnt the art of giving people a little privacy when needed by turning up the radio!
Fortunately, our house is ideal for sharing. I have my own en-suite so guests don’t have to contend with me darting out of the family bathroom clad in a towel. There are also two sitting rooms
