Love it or hate it Big Brother is back: prepare for a summer of headlines about housemates' arguments, tantrums and traumas - you can find out what the Times Online team are saying about it all on the Big Brother blog.

But do these onscreen hysterics bear any resemblence to real-life flatsharing? Over 85% of the members of Spareroom, a flatshare site, said that they didn't think so. But are these real-life housemates any better than the contestants themselves?

Mention flatshare and many people immediately think of students, beer, and not much else except a complete disregard for personal hygiene. Ten years ago, this might have been a fair assessment, but the average housemate of today is far removed from the stereotypical images of TV shows such as 'The Young Ones'. House prices continue to rise, more and more graduates have thousands of pounds' worth of debt. People are sharing for longer because they simply cannot afford to buy. As a result the average shared house in the UK now is just as likely to be populated by 30-something professionals as twenty-something students: Spareroom, has found in a recent survey that the average sharer in the UK is 33.26 years old - and this figure is increasing by 14 months each year. Should this trend continue at the current rate the average sharer in the UK would be 40 by the time of the 2012 Olympics.

However, for those who still believe that flatsharing will be Friends-style time of hanging out with their best mates, the following facts and stats will surely change your mind:

Forget talking politics over familial Sunday roasts for a start. According to spareroom.co.uk only 8% of house shares buy all their food together and split the cost. As for personal hygine, beware: 10% of people have used their housemate's toothbrush without them knowing (including 3% who said they use their housemate's toothbrush regularly or always).

When it comes to trust, you may as well forget it: 7% admit to having lied to prospective housemates in order to get a room. Porkies include lying about being a smoker, over exaggerating income and pretending to be single. The search for a tolerable roomate is a marathon task at the best of times, shown all too clearly in 'my quest for a tenant' - a diary of dilemnas by a would-be landlord deciding who to give their room to.

Although 70% of people think personality is the most important thing to look for in a housemate, over 1% thought appearance was the most important factor in choosing your roommate.

However, if you don't have the time or the energy for this tortuous selection process, there is another way; 'speed flatmating' as Antonia Senior found out. Or, plump for moving in with a family - they're a lot less likely to nick your toothbrush.

Explore Property

• Buying & Selling

• New Homes

• Overseas

• Interiors

• Investment

• Gardens

• Cool In Your Code

• Specials

Times recommends

• Analysis: frustration for everyone - except investors
• Spanish property: why it's crunch time on the Costa del Sol
• Buy-to-let: professional investors cash in on the credit crunch