Discovering Shared Housing

✓ Information you can’t get anywhere else.

This course has been a wealth of wonderful information. I think you have something special here that you have to keep spreading.” 

Anne C.

I got so much out of this class. It calmed some fears, answered my questions and motivated me to move forward.”

Kathy

How about learning how you might share housing?

Come take a Zoom class and learn how it might work for you or someone you care about.  A class offers the liveliness of talk—listening, speaking, dialogue, questions, and answers. You have the opportunity to engage with others who are also considering the shared housing option. You get to participate as you learn.

Do any of these sound familiar to you?

• Stressed by paying for your housing by yourself.
• More space in your house than you need.
• Spending more time alone than you like.
• Letting maintenance go because it’s too much to do by yourself.
• Worried about a loved one and how that person will manage.
• Wanting to downsize.

What We’ll Explore Together

• The five benefits of shared housing.
• The research of the health benefits of companionship.
• Your personal requirements for comfortable home-sharing.
• Transitions and how to manage such a big change in your life.
• Perspectives of the other participants so that you get a sense of what is reasonable to expect and what isn’t.
• A proven selection process.

At the end of the class, you should have a solid understanding of whether shared housing is an option you should pursue. And you might decide it isn’t for you but then you are making an informed decision not having a knee jerk reaction.

The class, Discovering Shared Housing, was a gem.   For me, three  take-aways “worth the price of admission” were these:
* the concept of “home-mate,”  as opposed to roommate or even housemate,
* the notion of “enough,” as in finding a home-mate compatible enough (along the way we thought about “must haves” and “deal breakers,” and
* a process for finding a home-mate that is thorough enough—with a process for getting the right references.

I enjoyed the class and recommend it with enthusiasm.  ZOOM was easy to use and made the instruction more interactive.
Having taken the class, I feel confident/comfortable enough to forge ahead into the new territory of shared housing.

Bethene

After reading an article in AARP magazine, I made a call. It was to a woman who gave a workshop on “Home Sharing.” My erroneous thought was “Sure, another scam for money.” I was quite wrong. Annamarie Pluhar is an excellent instructor, very eloquent, really interested and interesting. And yes, wise as she explains the pitfalls, highs and lows of home share. Her skills are well honed. I do recommend her unequivocally. Thank you Annamarie!

Charlotte – Florida

This class definitely opened up the possibility of sharing housing for me. It got me thinking about the idea, but I’m not 100% sold on it. Might be something I have to do for my finances. If I have to downsize my only option living alone is a studio, but I’m a chef! I’d like to live in a nice house and share it with two other women. Together we could rent a nice place – one with a kitchen like I used to have before my divorce. The tools I learned in the class to set up home sharing would make it be more successful. Now that I have the tools to use, it feels like less of a gamble. It was good to hear what other people have to say. I liked the interaction with others.

Rachel, New Jersey

When

Autumn 2023 on Wednesdays: Sept 27, Oct 4th, Oct 11th, Oct 18th 1 PM ET/ 10 AM PT

Each class is 75 minutes.  All classes will be recorded. If you have to miss one you can view it later. If you want to review the content you may also do that.

Note: Class discussions and breakout groups are a part of the course. The videos by themselves are not the complete experience of the class. If you prefer to learn on your own time and schedule without class participation, please consider taking Sharing Housing 101.

I learned a lot from this course. Worries and concerns about sharing housing were addressed. Lots of examples of successful sharing and also things to watch out for were described by our teacher, Annamarie. I enjoyed how diverse our group was as far as where we lived and what we were looking for.

Lisa, North Carolina

How Discovering Shared Housing Will Meet

We’ll use Zoom. You’ll be able to see and talk with the other participants.  We’ll meet for seventy-five minutes once a week for four weeks. There will be some exercises to do between each session that might require one to two hours of your time.

ZOOM is great! I liked being able to see everyone.

Class Evaluation

Your Instructor

I will be teaching Discovering Shared Housing as I have for the last twelve years. Since the publication of Sharing Housing, A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates, I’ve been focused on helping individuals discover that they can share housing. I love teaching. It has been a consistent element of my professional life whether I’m working as a management consultant, non-profit director, or instructional designer.

Becoming an expert on shared housing was the result of choosing to live in shared housing for what became more than twenty years of my adult life. My expertise grows from my observations, learning what works and what doesn’t, and a fairly good understanding of the psychology of human nature.

It is natural for me to teach. I like the interaction that is possible and want you to enjoy it as well. I’m passionate about sharing housing as a solution to multiple problems and am convinced that most people can find another (or two, three, four…) with whom they would be compatible. That said, if you decide it’s not for you, then you will be making an informed decision.

Cost

What is it worth to you? Seriously. We are asking you to “pay from the heart.”

What’s the right price for this course?  We don’t know. The class is unique. There’s nothing like it anywhere else on the web or in person. That would make it very valuable. On the other hand many people start considering shared housing because they are feeling so pinched by their economic reality.

We are asking you to pay what you feel is a fair price for you. Our software will give you several options. Please check in with your heart, consider how you use your income. This is a genuine offer. So much of what we do at Sharing Housing is driven by a sense of mission and ministry.

We want you to be able to take the class.

Being Sustainable

That said we are not offering Discovering Shared Housing for free. We also need to pay our bills. When we did a canvas and asked how much we should charge some people said $125. We think that somewhere between $75 and $95 is appropriate. But we don’t want you to not take the course if you can’t do that. We are putting a bottom limit at $25. And if you can’t afford that please be in touch.

Paying for class creates in you a commitment to taking it. Imagine how discouraging it would be for us if a whole bunch of people signed up for the class and then didn’t show up. That would feel awful.

So please, pay what it is worth to you and what signifies a commitment from you to show up and do the work to make it the best learning experience you can.

Questions

Do you have questions? Use the form below to ask.

Guarantee

Your learning is really important to me. Discovering Shared Housing is designed for you to understand the dimensions of sharing housing and equip yourself to venture into new territory.  If after you have taken the first two classes you decide it’s not what you were expecting I’ll be happy to refund you your investment.