Room available in comfy terraced house w. garden

Hello! I'm Steph, and I'm looking for a lodger/housemate for my spare room. If you’re interested in it, let me know and we can meet for a coffee locally (on me) for a quick chat to make sure we get along before we do a house viewing :)

The house is a two-bed terrace, with a garden that I’m mid-way through doing up, excellent transport links and local amenities. It’s my home, and I like to keep it clean and warm and welcoming and I’m gradually doing it up bit by bit (although that’s on hold just now while I’m job hunting!).

Info below including:
What’s included in the room fee
Deposits and hanging pictures in your room (feel free to!)
What’s in your room
What’s in the rest of the house/what storage can you access
Transport Links
Local Area
Your new housemate(s)/landlord
On benefits? (welcome)
Sunday night - Friday morning lets
Not from the UK?
Small businesses?
Covid info

What’s included in the room fee (£440/month; £110/week - reduced for sunPM-friAM lets, see below):
Your room, full access to the rest of the house and garden (aside from my bedroom obvs), gas & electric, water, fibre broadband, council tax, tv licence, and streaming services on the main TV downstairs. As it's a lodging contract, things like bedding, towels, and loo roll are also all provided, as is general cleaning: every 7-14 days, the shared areas will all be cleaned - you're just responsible for spot-cleaning up after yourself and tidying your things away, dishes, and either cleaning your own room or making sure I can get to the floor & surfaces to hoover/dust if you want me to when I'm doing the rest of the house.

Deposit protection & hanging pictures etc:
Although it’s a lodging agreement, I’ll still be using the deposit protection service for your peace of mind. Normal wear and tear is absolutely to be expected and I’m not fussed about the odd scratch - if it’s a wall/door/skirting and I can paint over it after, it’s not a problem. If you are here for a minimum of 6 months, then you are welcome to hang your own art on the walls. Deposit will only be accessed in the event of significant damage to the house or it’s contents by you or a guest of yours, or if you left with any rent in arrears.

What’s in your room:
All furnishings brand new. Cosy space with lots of hidden storage. South-facing onto gardens and trees.
4ft double gas-lift ottoman bed, plenty of storage space inside, protective cover over bed base to keep it safe from damage (mainly just because of the cat if you decide to let her in your room!).
Wardrobe with integrated drawers and mirrored doors. Space above for suitcase or storage baskets.
Ladder desk which can be used either as a normal desk with shelves, or as a standing desk using the first shelf for your screen - pictured with a large 17” laptop as a size guide.
Chair or stool for desk - not pictured, waiting on delivery of this.
Bedside table.
Window with blinds and curtain.
Shelves above bed are spaced to be able to accommodate up to A4 sized items, and I’ve tested them with books.

Rest of house:
Garden with patio set and BBQ - currently gradually undergoing a makeover, with flower beds being added next year. Shed for storage, items stored in there at your own risk.
Living room. Comfy space with plenty of blankets, fairy lights, and cushions. Sofa and a loveseat, television with streaming services, fireplace (non-functional, just decorative), rug, distinctly average dvd collection.
Kitchen with oven/hob/fridge/washing machine, and small appliances (blender, toastie maker etc) available for you to use if you wish. You’ll have a shelf in the fridge to yourself, and a cupboard.
Dining area. Kitchen Island with stools for eating or working at. Currently a small freezer - this is being upgraded to a tall freezer so that you can store things in it too. Drop-leaf dining table that can be folded out for meals, projects, or work. Bookcase that can store some overspill books and things if you need it.
Basement. Slightly damp, but you’re welcome to store non-perishable items in there or use plastic storage boxes.
Loft. Boarded and insulated in 2019 - feel free to store things up there if you need to too.
Loft and basement storage availability is on a ‘do it yourself’ or ‘wait until my boyfriend is over’ basis as, while both storage spaces are completely fine and safe and have lighting etc, I’m an absolute wuss about going in them(!)

Transport to Manchester, London, Hospitals and Universities:
It's a two-minute walk to the A6, with busses direct to Stepping Hill, local supermarkets, and Piccadilly gardens or the MRI and both Universities in Manchester. It's a 7 minute walk to Davenport station for a 12 minute train into Manchester, or a 15-20 minute walk to Stockport station where you can be in Manchester in 10 minutes or London in 2 hours.

Local area & shops:
20 minute walk into central Stockport for shops, cafe’s, cinema, restaurants, library, and Stockport Old Town and market.
5 minute walk to Bramhall lane where you’ll find: pharmacy, post office, bakery, butchers, hairdressers, beauty salon, 2 convenience shops (Spar and One Stop), patisserie, general store, traditional chippy, clothes shop, and the Funky Monkey and the Milliner both do great food.
10 minute walk to coop on the A6.
15 minute walk down Bramhall lane to the Jolly Sailor which does excellent carvery and pub food.
5 minute bus/25 minute walk to Sainsbury’s or Aldi.

Other occupants:
Steph: professional, early 30’s, Queer. LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergence friendly. Respectful of religions, not vegetarian due to health but does eat low-meat. Fairly relaxed - as likely to have a cup of tea as a glass of wine, likes to go out dancing but not that often, fan of having a couple of people over sporadically for bbqs, games, Halloween, and Christmas/Yule. When I’m not working, I love movies, books, music and theatre. I like cooking and baking, I got really into d&d over the lockdowns in 2020, and I’m an artist and crafter. When I can afford to, I like working my way round the restaurants and bars in Manchester although lately Stockport Old Town has been getting really good too!

Mango: small fluffy and playful housecat. Afraid of being stroked but incredibly polite when being hand-fed a treat. Likes to sit and watch TV with people, or pounce on feet when she’s giddy (never using claws thankfully!). Currently banned from “your” room so that she’s used to that, so that you actually get to have a choice on whether there’s sometimes a cat on your bed. For peace of mind, I’ve been assured that the house never smells “catty”, she’s never pee’d anywhere that’s not her litter tray, and if I’m ever away for 1-2 nights I have a really nice DBS-checked cat sitter that I book who comes and feeds her and does the curtains etc.

Roughly 2-3 out of 4 weekends a month, my boyfriend stops over. He’s a nice friendly relaxed sort who’ll respect your personal space and be generally welcoming.

On benefits?
Completely fine. Let me know, and we can discuss that. As long as you can demonstrate that you can cover the rent amount and your own personal costs, you can pay the deposit, and you have a guarantor, then I’m happy to consider anyone on PIP/Universal Credit etc.

Sunday night - Friday morning lets:
Completely fine. In this instance, the rent will be £360/month, £90/week. You’re welcome to leave a couple of things here in a box at the weekend if you need to.

Not from the UK?
You’re very welcome here :) If you’re a student (or professional!) who’s new to the UK and want to find local societies and groups to connect with either for hobbies or to meet people from your home country to help you settle in, let me know and I’m happy to help if I can! I used to work at one of the Universities in Manchester, and am used to helping new students find their feet in the city.

Small business?
Unfortunately, if you have a small business, you cannot use this address as your trading address or on your listing with company’s house/hmrc. This includes arts and crafts, MLM's, and digital businesses.

Covid info:
I’ve had both my vaccinations against covid-19, and will be getting my free flu jab soon. I’d prefer a housemate who’s also fully vaccinated or who’s had at least one with the second booked in (as I totally understand that some people were nervous at first), and someone who’s happy to do the occasional lateral flow tests so that I can make sure my family are safe from us both when I see them.