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The New Roommate, Choose Wisely
Whether it’s the first or fifth time that you’ve decided to find a roommate, it’s always important to protect yourself from any potential harm or grievances that could potentially come from signing on the dotted line. Treat a roommate search with the same amount of care that you’d apply to finding the perfect mate. Even if you’re in a rush, you’ll thank yourself in the long-term by doing the following:
Roommate Advice When Someone’s Moving in With You
- Get references from past roommates. And remember that while many of us probably have a “Roommate from Hell” horror story, the key here is to look for consistencies. If a potential roommate has 10 past roommates yet no available references, you may want to dig deeper.
- Get references from past landlords. They can verify residency and on-time payments from your potential co-habitant.
- Perform a credit check on the person. This should give you a good indication about the person’s ability to make bill payments, especially if you plan on sharing phone, cable or Internet services.
- Spend a few hours with the person in a neutral location (like a coffee shop) and get to know one another’s interests, likes and dislikes.
Roommate Advice When You’re moving into Someone Else’s Place
- If you’re moving into someone else’s existing apartment or house, ask to meet all of the roommates.
- Ask to view a copy of his or her existing lease.
- Confirm with your potential new landlord that you can be added to the lease.
- Spend a few hours with the person in a neutral location (like a coffee shop) and get to know one another’s interests, likes and dislikes.
- Ask your potential roommate(s) why there is a vacancy.
Roommate Advice When You and your new Roommate are moving into a New Place
- Get references from past roommates. And remember that while many of us probably have a “Roommate from Hell” horror story, the key here is to look for consistencies. If a potential roommate has 10 past roommates yet no available references, you may want to dig deeper.
- Get references from past landlords. They can verify residency and on-time payments from your potential co-habitant.
- Perform a credit check on the person. This should give you a good indication about the person’s ability to make bill payments, especially if you plan on sharing phone, cable or Internet services.
- Spend a few hours with the person in a neutral location (like a coffee shop) and get to know one another’s interests, likes and dislikes.
The more research you do – and the more questions you ask – will go a long way in insuring a happy coexistence between you and your new roommate(s).
Content reprinted with permission from www.moving.org
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