Split the Bill

Roommates.com Tip: Before you begin your roommate search, consider how you want to split expenses. Some people decide to divide only the cost of rent, while others divide food, utilities, and other household expenses. By deciding such things in advance, you can give potential roommates a clear view of your expectations.

Friends or Not?

You've found the perfect rental and roommate hunting is your next step. Be careful considering friends as roommates. Even the best of friendships can perish as the result of a roommate arrangement gone bad.

Before deciding to ask a friend to be your roommate, consider whether or not your friend is reliable and pays bills on time. Will he or she be respectful of your wishes? Do you share the same or similar living habits and expectations? Will you feel comfortable asking for your friend's portion of the rent, even if he or she is struggling with finances? If the answer to these questions is no, choose someone else for an optimal rental and roommate arrangement.

Neatness Counts

Be honest with potential roommates about your level of housekeeping skill. Are you a Martha Stewart type or more carefree? If you're a neatnik, you may drive a messy roommate crazy and vice versa. Talk this out with your roomate before you move in.

Though it's not necessary to choose a roommate who shares a love for your level of tidiness, doing so may make matters more comfortable. However, if you and your roommate are polar opposites when it comes to neatness, laying some simple ground rules may help to keep things tolerable. For example, you and your roommate may agree to keep one or two rooms neat and leave the rest of the rental looking lived-in.

Bedtime Bliss

What kind of a sleeper are you? Do you like to go to bed early or are you more of a night owl? Are you a light sleeper or able to snooze through anything short of an explosion? These things are important to consider as you search for an apartment roommate. Discuss your preferences and habits with potential roommates before you make a choice.

Sleeping habits are particularly important in an apartment. Apartments tend to offer less overall space than most homes. Often, walls are thin and televisions, music, and even friendly chats can echo down the hall to disturb others. To avoid conflict, choose an apartment roommate with sleeping habits similar to yours or start looking into soundproofing.

Get Money Down

Paying your rent on time, every time is of extreme importance. Landlords can and do evict tenants who fail to pay. In most cases, evictions become a part of a person's credit history file and can make renting a new property much more difficult. Depending on the details of your lease, you could be held responsible for the entire rent if your roomate fails to pay.

Once you've found a person you'd like as a roomate, be sure to ask for a deposit. Depending on the laws in your area, you may want to ask for a deposit equal to one or two times the monthly amount of your roommate's rent. In the event that your roomate loses his or her job or moves out without notice, you can use that deposit money to avoid being evicted.

What Comes First?

Finding the right apartment rental and roommate can be challenging. You may find the perfect rent and have difficulty finding someone to help you to pay the rent. In such a situation, you may be tempted to rent the apartment on your own now and look for a roommate later.

It is not imperative that secure a great rental and roommate at the same time. However, if you plan to rent on your own while looking for a roommate, make sure you can afford to carry the rent and bills all on your own. You need to be prepared in case your roommate search takes longer than you expect. If you can't pay the bills in the meantime, you'll be risking eviction. In most cases, it's simply not worth the risk.

Split the Bill

With living expenses on the rise, many individuals find themselves looking for ways to make ends meet. Taking on a roommate can be a good way to cut your household expenses. A roommate can help you to pay your rent or mortgage, freeing up more of your income for other, more exciting things.

Have References?

Many people feel they are good judges of character. As such, they often make decisions about others without checking references. If the first impression is good, they don't feel the need to look further. Don't fall into this trap. You're looking for someone to share the costs of living with, but also someone who will become a trusted friend and living mate. Ask potential roommates for references and check them thoroughly. You may uncover information that could save you from big trouble down the line.

Choose the Perfect Roommate

It's said that opposites attract, but that's not always the case when it comes to roommates. Sometimes roommates who are too different simply get on each other's nerves. Think carefully before you choose a roommate. Butting heads with another person can make home seem anything but homey.

Putting time and thought into considering the type of person you want for a roommate could save you frustration in the future. Consider whether you want a smoker or non-smoker, carefree party person, or someone more mellow. Be upfront with potential roommates during the interview process. Be clear about what you desire in a roommate and where you are willing to compromise.

Dog Gone

Be sure to ask about pets when looking for an apartment roommate. Problems can arise if the roommate you choose has pets to which you are allergic. You don't want information like this to come as a surprise on move-in day. Let potential roommates know about any pets you own as well.

Many apartments don't allow pets at all. Read the terms of your lease to determine what pets, if any, are allowed. Don't break pet rules, even for the most compatible apartment roommate. Breaking the rules of your lease can have serious consequences.

Listen Carefully

Often, you can tell a lot about a person from a simple phone call. The same goes for potential roommates. As such, it makes sense to screen potential roomates by phone before you meet with them in person.

Prepare a list of questions to ask potential roommates and keep your list by the phone as you set up interviews. Pay attention to voice tones and your first impression of the person on the line. If you don't feel comfortable with the person on the phone, don't bother setting up a face-to-face meeting.

Be Honest with Your Roommate and Yourself

It is important to be honest about your expectations as well as your personal characteristics when seeking a roommate. Before you even begin the search for a roommate you should carefully evaluate what you are looking for in a roommate. You should consider factors such as gender, race, age, sexual orientation, personal habits, tidiness, leisure activities and sleeping patterns. It is important to evaluate yourself carefully and build a list of your attributes as well as the attributes you are seeking in a potential roommate.

 

As you meet with potential roommates you should keep your list of attributes in mind. During the interview, ask questions to determine whether or not the prospective roommate will be an ideal match. It is also extremely important to be honest about yourself during this interview. This is important because the individual you are interviewing is also trying to determine if you are a suitable match for him. It is not possible to make this determination without accurate information. Therefore, if you tell the other person you do not smoke, and they are allergic to smoke, they will likely be disappointed if they move in and find out you were dishonest. They may also be eligible to break the rental agreement in this situation.

Exercise Caution when Selecting Roommates

Caution should always be exercised when selecting roommates. This is especially important when the potential roommate is a stranger or acquaintance as opposed to a known friend. Some of the precautions you can take when selecting a roommate include arranging initial meetings in public locations, verifying references and even performing a background check.

 

When meeting a potential roommate for the first time it is ideal to have this meeting in a public location such as a coffee shop. This will help to discourage those who have malicious intent and are not legitimately looking for a roommate. A public location will help to put you at ease by minimizing the risk for foul play.

 

It is also extremely important to verify references when selecting a roommate. Call each reference and speak to them about the individual you are considering. If the reference is a previous roommate, ask for specific information about living with the individual. This will help you to make an informed decision.

 

Finally, it may be worthwhile to pay for a background check before selecting a roommate. There are many companies which offer this service for a fee. Information such as previous convictions, work history and even credit information may be obtained through this background check.

Sharing an Apartment with a Roommate

Sharing an apartment with a roommate has many benefits, but it can also be problematic if not managed correctly. Before moving in with a roommate or allowing a roommate to move in with you, there should be an honest discussion about a number of different aspects of living together.

 

Some of the aspects of living together which can cause problems include cleaning of common areas, accounting for food items, having visitors to the apartment and quiet hours. In many cases, these areas will not be a cause for concern unless the roommates have very different opinions on these matters. Therefore, it is important to discuss these issues before they become problems. Bathrooms, kitchens and family rooms are typically common areas in an apartment. If the roommates will share these rooms, they should also share the responsibility for keeping these rooms clean.

 

Roommates also typically share a refrigerator. Some roommates shop together for groceries while others prefer to shop separately and consume only what they purchase. Understanding and agreeing upon these expectations will help to avoid conflict.

 

Visitors to the apartment and quiet hours can also be a cause for concern in a roommate situation. If one of the roommates has frequent visitors or keeps odd hours this can result in resentment by the other roommate. Setting ground rules for when visitors can be present and when the apartment must be relatively quiet is a good idea in these situations. Roommates who have schedules which do not match may not be ideal partners for sharing an apartment. Specifically if one roommate works nights and sleeps during the day this can cause problems if the other roommate works traditional hours.

Schedule Roommate Meetings Regularly

Regularly scheduled roommate meetings can help to avoid conflicts or quickly resolve conflicts if they develop. Roommate living situations are notoriously problematic. Conflicts tend to arise in all types of roommate situations. This includes friends who decide to live together as well as strangers who meet online or through an advertisement and enter a rental agreement together. Roommates tend to fight over a number of different issues. Some of these issues include paying rent, visitors, cleaning and noise levels.

 

Roommate meetings do not have to be held very often. In fact meeting held too frequently can result in resentment among the roommates. Monthly meetings are usually sufficient. These meetings can be supplemented with interim meetings if issues which need to be dealt with immediately arise between regularly scheduled meetings. Monthly meetings provide the roommate with sufficient time between meetings to evaluate whether or not progress has been made since the last meeting on issues discussed during the meetings. It also provides a an opportunity for roommates to discuss time sensitive issues which arise during the course of the rental agreement.