I TURNED MY EMPTY NEST INTO A RENTER'S RETREAT

Tracey Panayiotou, 60, lets out her spare rooms and has made friends from all over the world

I’ve always thrived in a busy home – coming from a Greek-Cypriot family, hospitality is hardwired 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.