Ever want to turn back the clock, and relive your days of sharing a group home with your BFFs?

A small but growing number of single baby boomers—many recently divorced—are doing just that by forming group houses with their single peers.

Now, a Bowie, Maryland woman who started taking in roommates in 2008, as her marriage and the housing market were collapsing, is launching a business that aims to match prospective roommates, ages 40-plus.

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Demand for such arrangements has been fueled by the rising number of gray divorces, says Bonnie Moore, CEO of the match-making service, called Golden Girls Network (after the television show of the same name).

Currently, more than one in every three baby boomers — born between 1948 and 1964 — is single. Over the past two decades, the divorce rate for people ages 50 and over has doubled to its highest level on record, according to research by Susan Brown and I-Fen Lin of Bowling Green State University. In 2009, one in four filing for divorce were 50 or older, up from one in ten in 1990.

So far, Ms. Moore says, the Golden Girls Network has 475 members — male as well as female — who live across the country.

This past weekend, I spoke to Ms. Moore, 70, via telephone about the trials and tribulations of launching a business and of group living – and how those interested in such arrangements should approach them. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation.

Q: How did you decide to start the business?

A: My husband and I bought a very nice older house. It has five bedrooms. We had started remodeling it when the recession hit in 2008. Then, we split up, and suddenly, I was stuck with this house that I had put a lot of money into and which had lost a lot of value. Was I going to walk away from it and lose the house I had just remodeled into my dream house? I love this house. There is still work to be done but it is very unique. I have designer kitchen, a glass sunroom, and a huge deck. I figured I had lost a lot of money, but at least I had the house. I started looking for roommates. I decided to focus on women in their 50s and 60s in similar circumstances to my own. People kept asking us what it was like and, after a couple of years, one roommate and I decided maybe we ought to go into business helping other people do what we had done. We came up with the name Golden Girls Network and I got the domain name. She eventually backed out but I kept going. It’s been fun. I incorporated the business in 2011 and came up with a business plan. Now, I have a team of 15 employees. Things are starting to happen.

Q: Have there been any bumps along the way?

A: If you think of all the problems people have with startups, I had every one of them.

When I first put together a business plan, I worked on it for about two years, but eventually realized the plan wasn’t quite right. I got discouraged and was ready to walk away. Initially, we were going to do a lot more handholding—including helping clients clean up their houses and find good matches. But we needed to charge a larger fee – and people didn’t want to pay a big fee. I am an accountant and an attorney and I also realized that we had a legal liability if we were going to match people up. As I was struggling with the idea, I realized that what I needed to do was build a database, a match.com-type service, and let people find their own matches.

I also had a hard time finding someone who could take the idea and build a website.

I was ready to give up and then, in the spring of 2013, National Public Radio called me and asked to interview me about the shared housing movement. I said to myself, ‘I guess I can’t stop now.’ I was in the NPR story. It was the first time I got any press, but it convinced me to stay in business.

Q: How does the website work?

A: When you go on the website, you can register as a homeowner or as a roommate. You can also search for roommates and write emails. I found two of my current housemates on the Golden Girls Network.

To register, you have to be 40 or older. Most people are between 50 and 70. We charge $39 for a six-month membership, although we have a campaign now where you can register for free.

Q: How do you advise people to approach taking in roommates?

A: I just wrote a book on the topic. One of the things I highly recommend is a written house agreement. It should spell out the details of how you want to handle things including the kitchen and the house cleaning. The book is a compilation of everything I have learned, mostly by mistake.

Q: How should you approach house cleaning?

A: It’s important to talk about cleaning in the interview process. If you are a very clean person, you need to be clear about what your expectations are. For example, if you don’t like any dishes left in sink, you need to tell people to please put your dishes in the dishwasher and please wipe the stove when you finish cooking. And that needs to go into your house agreements so you are communicating from the start. As for the refrigerator, I recommend that each roommate get a shelf in refrigerator and a shelf on the door. Everyone can share the top shelf where the milk cartons go.

Q: What about a lease?

A: You should have a lease agreement.

Q: What if it doesn’t work out?

A: It’s fairly easy to break a lease if it’s not working. I have found that new roommates generally get along in the first month. It’s like the honeymoon. The second month is when the problems start. If you can work things out, everything will be fine. If not, you should make the decision to end the lease. I am currently coaching a woman on how to end the situation as pleasantly as possible. You should give 30 days’ notice. By law in every state, you have to give 30 days’ notice. I helped her write an eviction notice and told her how to go to the courthouse and file the eviction papers. Now that she’s done that, she only has to wait 30 days.

Q: How has your experience been?

A: I have had 15 or so roommates. There have been some people who I have asked to leave. Some have left after a few months because it wasn’t working for them. And some have stayed for several years. At the beginning, I didn’t have enough confidence in what I was doing and I let some roommates take over. I had to learn to be assertive. I now tell people, ‘You are the owner, you make the rules. You can have any rule you want. If you don’t like overnight guests, it’s your house. It’s all about what works for you.’

In beginning, I tried to make all the decisions jointly, by giving all my roommates a say on who should move in. But there was always someone who would say no. So I evolved into a situation where I would do the interview and give everyone an opportunity to meet the new person to make sure she was going to fit in, but we don’t take votes anymore. I seek input but not approval. That works a whole lot better. I am the one who has to pay the bills. I need to be assertive and take charge.

Q: What is the upside to having roommates?

A: One of the best things about it is the sense of companionship we have. You know that when you walk in at night someone will say ‘How was your day?’ And someone is there to have coffee with you. We don’t go to the movies every weekend but we are friendly.

My roommates and I are all very busy but we try to get together once a month and have a sit down dinner. Two women are retired. One is working full-time. Another has retired from her career job but is going to theology school.

I have had two recent roommates who were newly divorced. Both were over 50 and at that age it’s not easy to start all over again. You feel a little lost when you are in that situation. It’s comforting to move into a house where there are others there who have been there and done that, who will listen to you when you need to rant about your ex. It’s comforting to know you are not alone.

Of course, there are also financial benefits. I have had people move into my house who have cut their rent in half.