Tips for Finding a Great Roommate
Even if you can afford to live by yourself, choosing to have a roommate goes a long way in saving money. Plus, you may be the type who prefers to live with other people rather than come home to an empty house every day. To better ensure you don’t come to regret your choice in a roommate, consider several factors when narrowing down your pool of candidates.
photo/ pixabay
Will S/He Pay Rent on Time?
You may pay your rent on time (or even early) without fail, but your roommate could be a few days late, or a few hundred dollars short. Don’t beat around the bush when it comes to this question. Ask potential roommates flat out whether they can pay rent on time, and if they have the financial reserves necessary to cover rent should she or he suddenly become unemployed.
Does This Person Have a Criminal Background?
Just as you may want to run a property owner search to get a better idea of who your landlord/landlady will be, you may also feel better after running a background check on your pool of roommate candidates. Specifically, determine whether a person has evictions, arrests or the like. This lets you know how honest the person is with you, and can provide you with a great deal of peace of mind before signing anything or moving in with this person.
Do You Have the Same Views of Cleanliness?
Don’t just ask the person you’re thinking of living with whether she or he is clean or organized. Instead, it’s better to ask what she or he considers to be messy. You may wipe down the kitchen counters and scrub at the toilet a couple of times a week. On the other hand, a potential roommate may only clean for just under 10 minutes every couple of weeks. Be sure you have the same cleaning schedule before you sign a lease together.
Do You Keep the Same Hours?
Depending on how large your space is, you may not want to hear your roommate moving around in the kitchen or washing clothes at 11 o’clock at night when you’re trying to sleep. It’s best to live with someone who keeps the same hours as you; that is unless you’re a heavy sleeper and won’t be roused by semi-loud music or a late-night movie binge.
Are You Both Introverts/Extroverts?
You may be the type who likes to be around people and form a true relationship with the people you live with. Would you mind living with someone who keeps to him or herself most of the time? Roommates can easily start to grate on each other’s nerves if one is chatty and the other likes quiet time. This is another area that demands 100 percent honesty. Even if you aren’t both extroverts or introverts, you could find a good middle ground if you feel you’re still a good match.
Before signing a lease, be sure you take a long, honest peek behind the curtain of the person you’re thinking of living with. There’s an undeniable level of intimacy that comes with sharing walls with someone, and you both need to know who you could be sharing those walls with.
