F.A.Q

Finding Flats, Rooms and House shares on RoomMatesUK

Q: Why post a flatmate ad?

A: in order to contact any of the other members on the ads who already created a flatmate ad, you must have an active ad yourself. this allows you and the other members you contact to know more about each other and help you in finding your best matches.

posting your ad is totally Free. And by using our Smart agent, any newly created ad will be compared with your own ad, keeping you updated 24/7 of new matches made.

Q: What is the Smart Agent?

A: The SMART agent is a great service which saves you time and effort. It’s your personalized virtual agent, working 24/7 around the clock, helping you find the best suitable matches for your search. whether you are looking to rent a flat or find tenants, or if you are interested in meeting new roommates sharing the same interests as you, or even just to buy used study books, or to adopt a dog, the SMART agent will automatically notify you by email whenever a new match for your search is made, is made, giving you an advantage in the search! You can see an example of the Smart agent Here.

 Q: How do I use the search box on the site?

A: Using the advanced search options will assist you in finding your perfect flatmate match.

In the blue search box, which appears in the middle of the page, you can filter ads by their type (you can search by either available rooms to rent or flatmates looking for rooms), areas (for example, East Central London), you can be more specific and select by postal districts (for example: EC1), and by rental price range/budget per week.

in the free test search box, you can write whatever you are looking for (for example: “close to gym”, “french speaking students in London”, “next to Kingston university of London”, etc. and any ads which match these phrases, will appear.

notice: in the blue search box you also have an “advanced search” tabs which allows you to search for flatmates in London in more details. for example: you can search by age, gender, students in a specific university in London, period of letting, travel zone and more. You can see an example below:

 

Q: I get an error page or I can’t see any pictures on the site, how can I solve it?

A: usually, these types of issues are generated due to either an old version of the explorer you are using (for example, Internet explorer 6), or “cookies” which needs to be cleaned from your browser (“Cookies” are data stored on the web browsers).

to clean the stored cookes, you should follow these steps:

on internet explorer –> in Tools, click on Options, then in the new box which will open, press the General tab and select Delete all cookies.

on Firefox –> under Tools, click on options, then in the Privacy tab click on Show all cookies and select Delete all cookies.

Q: How many ads can I advertise on the site?

A: Private members with a Free basic package can advertise one ad for a flat to rent and one ad for a room for rent. (so for example, you can publish one ad to rent out your flat and another ad to search for a room). Members with upgraded packages can publish more ads, depending on the package they selected. Letting agents can benefit from discounted packages, allowing them to adversite unlimited number or rooms or flats in London and across the UK.

Q: How can I compare ads and profiles I like?

A: To compare ads you like, just press the “add to comparison list” link next to the relevant ads. you will then see a blinking yellow envelope at the top left of the corner, press it to see a detailed comparison of the ads you chosen. Notice: you can compare all kind of ads (flatmates, flats, MarketPlace). Those will appear in separate tabs on your comparison list. You can see an example below:

compare profiles

 Q: What are bonus credits? 

A: Bonus Credits allow you to promote your ad and increase its exposure with the site’s visitors and members in a discounted cheaper way. You can either buy a credits package from your control panel, or get Free credits which you can use to promote your ad by sharing ads of RoomMatesUK.com on Facebook when you click on the “share with facebook and get credits” button next to the ads:

Share on FacebookQ: Are the ads on the site up to date?

A: RoomMatesUK is not performing as a letting agency, but as a platform for flatmates, landlords, and tenants to connect. the published ads on the site are advertised by various individuals and letting agencies, and we encourage them to manage their ads. as a backup, we automatically deactivate inactive accounts and ads which were not accessed for more than 30 days.

 

Editing My Ads & My Profile

Q: How can I edit my ad?

A: simply log in to your account (press the “MEMBERS AREA” on the top right side), select the ad which you want to edit and press the “edit ad” link.

notice: if you have several types of ads, each one will appear under its respective tabs. for example: if you have the following types of ads: “I am looking for a room”, “I have a flat for rent”, “I am selling my guitar”, then in your control panel, they will appear under the following tabs: “Flats”, “Roommates”, “MarketPlace”.

Q: How can I edit my personal information?

A: to change your personal information, email address, password, phone numbers, profile picture and email notification settings, just login to the site and press the “my settings” link appearing on the left side (under your profile picture). Once the changes are made, press the “save” button appearing at the bottom of the page.

Q: Is it important to put a lot of details and upload pictures to my ad?

A: the more detailed you put in your ad, the better matches you will get as the Smart agent will compare the details you put with the details other members put. in addition, ads which are more detailed will appear in a better position on the site, and ads with photos will appear before ads with no photos. (so for example, if you create a new flatmate ad without a photo, it will appear after older ads which contain photos), this is in order to provide an interactive and informative platform for our members.

Q: How can I add a picture?

A: you can upload different pictures to your Profile and to your Ad. The difference is that pictures which you upload to your Profile will be visible as your profile picture when you chat online with other members of RoomMatesUK, while the pictures which you upload to your ads will be visible in your ad.

if you don’t upload a Profile picture, then the first picture which you upload to your ad will be used as your Profile picture.

To upload a Profile picture, log in to your account, press the “my settings” link on the left side (under your profile picture image), press the green button to upload your picture and afterwards, press the “Save” button at the bottom of the page.

to upload pictures to your ad (in case you didn’t upload a picture when creating the ad), just log in to your account, select the ad you want to upload picture to, press the “edit ad” link and then select the “photos” section. press tee green “add photos” button and then press the “Save””button at the bottom of the page.

Q: My pictures are very big. what should i do?

A: if you try to upload very big picture (more than 1mb), it might cause your ad to get stuck, and even when published, and other people would like to view your photos, it will take a lot of time to pictures to load. As such, you should make sure your ads in a standard website size. To resize your pictures, right click on the picture you want to upload, open it with any photo editing software and resize it. (an easy way to do it is to open a picture with Microsoft office picture manager, chose Edit picture, then press the Reszie button on the right and Select “Predefined width x height” = website small. just make sure you save the picture under a new name, otherwise, the smaller picture will delete your original picture.

Q: The map on my ad doesn’t show the right location of my flat or room for rent. how can I fix that?

A: Our system uses Google Maps in order to locate your location. please make sure the postal code and street address are correct. Google sometimes have difficulties with pin pointing a location in some areas, in that case, you can put a main street name which is close to your location or a landmark. If you are still having difficulties with that, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to assist you.

 

Getting My ads on the top of the results

Q: How can I get my ad to appear in the top of the results and get more inquires from other members?

A: In order to get more exposure to your ad and rent your flat or room quicker, you can do the following:

  1. Share RoomMatesUK ads on facebook by pressing the “share ad” button on your ad: If you share your own ad or share other members ads on facebook using the “share ad” button, you can get your ad highlighted in bold colors and appearing higher in the search results, or get Free Bonus credits which you can use to promote your ad and have it appear higher i the search results. (to use the bonus credits, select the ad you wish to promote, press the “promote ad” link next to it, and then select the option to activate the service using Credits).
  2. make your ad detailed and add pictures: As more detailed an ad is, it will appear higher in the search results. In addition, ads with pictures will appear in better positions than ads with out search results.
  3. upgrade your account to enable many more features (such as online chat, smart agent, contact members, etc.) and have your ad appear higher in the search results. to upgrade your account, simply login to your account and press the “my package” link on the left.
  4. Promote an ad by highlighting it with paypal or Bonus credits: To promote an ad, log in to your control panel, select the ad you wish to promote and press the “Promote ad” link. you can then chose the way you with to highlight it (make it bold, use the Smart agent, etc.) and select the payment method best suitable for you (Paypal or Credits)
  5. Get a bonus credits package: Buy a credits package to promote your ad to appear in a higher location for a discounted price. (*this option is available only for those with a whole flat for rent).

Contacting other members

Q: I am looking for a flat, not a flatshare, can i use the site for Free and contact landlords and letting agencies publishing their available properties in London?

A: Yes. if you are looking to rent a flat, you can contact any landlord and letting agency via message or online chat on the site completely Free! If the landlord and agency advertised and authorized the usage of their private email and phone number, you will be able to access those as well.

You can also post for Free your Smart ad with the criteria of what you are looking for, and the Smart agent will automatically scan all ads on the site 24/7 and will let you know whenever a new match for your flat search is made.

Q: I am looking for a room or for a flatmate, can i use the site for free and contact other members looking for a flatshare?

A: As a basic member, you can post your ad for Free and contact all members which upgraded their accounts or highlighted their ads. By upgrading your account, you will be able to contact all members, and all members will be able to contact you! you will also be able to use the online Chat to chat with other members, have your add appear in a higher place in the search, use the comparison and favorites tool and get your ad posted on our facebook group wall.

You can send an “I’m interested” message for Free to any other member (letting the other member know you are interested in your ad). To do so, you will have to open an ad (Which is Free) cause we will send the other member your profile with your Contact details.

Q: What is the difference between a basic membership and an upgraded one?

A: As a basic member, you can post your ad, send message only to Upgraded members and send “I’m interested” notifications only if you advertised your own ad (which is Free).

As am upgraded member, you can communicate with all other members and all other members can contact you. you can Chat online with other members, Contact other members by phone numbers and email addresses of other members (if they published those), get your ad highlighted and appearing higher in the results for a longer time, have your ad published on our external groups, publish more ads and use these tools to find your flatmate or flat match quicker.

To upgrade your account, simply log in and press the “my package” link on the left side control panel. or – send a message to another basic member and select your upgraded package solution.

Q: how can I contact other flatmates?

A: To contact other members you will need to be logged in and have an active ad on the site. You can then browse the ads on the site, filter the results via the search box, and screen the profiles the Smart agent recommended. Then, you can contact contact another members by:

  1. pressing the “Chat” bubble on the member’s profile (pending the member is online and that you have an upgraded account, or a highlighted ad).
  2. pressing the “contact member” link on the member’s profile. in that case, if you have an upgraded account, you can send the member a message and get reply. if both you and the other member have a Free account, the message will be sent automatically after you upgrade you package on the Send Message Popup.
  3. Pressing the “show interest” button on the member’s profile. we will send the other member your own profile. If the other member chooses to contact you and has an upgraded account, then you will get a message sent directly to your inbox.

Q: How can I read and reply to my messages?

A: To read your message, Log in to the site, and press the envelope on the top left corner. If you have new message, the envelope will blink in a yellow color. Your messages will appear as threads (organized by members sending you the messages and dates). to Reply to a message, you will need to have an upgraded account (or that the sender of the message is already an upgraded account) and press the “Reply” button under the text box.

Q: Can I see email addresses and phone number of other users?

A: Yes. those will appear in the “contact member” link of the profile which interest you. However, those will appear only if you or the other member has an upgraded account and the other member authorized to display these contact details publicly to everyone on the site.

 

Benefits of getting my account upgraded

Q: How will upgrading my account assist me with renting my room or flat?

  1. Upgrading your package will allow you to contact all other members on the site (rather than just the basic ones)
  2. Upgrading your account will enable any member on the site to contact you and reply to your messages!
  3. Upgrading your account will allow you to view other member’s email addresses and phone numbers (if they allow it) and display yours on your ad.
  4. Upgrading your account will make your ads appear as highlighted and appear before basic free ads (even of those are newer than your ad!)
  5. Upgrading your account will allow you to Chat Online with other members!
  6. Upgrading your account will allow you to post more ads, get Free bonus credits and generally assist you in renting your room or flat quicker by giving you full advantage of the advanced, interactive features RoomMatesUK provides.

 Q: How much does it cost?

A: Posting your ad is Free. Sending messages, Chatting online and replying to messages from other members requires that the other member, or yourself will have an upgraded packages. The packages are attractively priced at a discounted price range of  less than £9.99 for a period of up to 45 days and contain many promotional features to help you rent your place and find your matches quicker!

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Q: Which payment methods are available?

A: We use paypal as a secure payment facility, as such – you can also pay with most credit/debit cards.

If you are a letting agent working for a property management company, you can select a tailored package which you can pay for via paypal, credit/debit card or bank transfer.

 

Email notifications

Q: How do I manage my email notifications?

A:To change your automated email notification settings, you need to log in to your account, press the “my settings” option on the left control panel and  then you will see at the bottom of the page check-boxes indicating which notifications you are interested in receiving. Mark/unmark the relevant check-boxes and press the “Save”‘ button below.

Alternatively, you can press the unsubscribe link which appears at the bottom of the email notifications sent to you.

Q: The notifications I get about my matches don’t match my search criteria, can I change that?

A: The notification you get are based on the information you entered when creating your Smart ad. to change those, log in to your account, select the ad you wish to edit, and press the “edit ad” link. you can then modify the criteria of your search.