Here is a simple checklist to help you choose the best roommate to share your apartment with.
Choosing A Roommate
- Decide what person you would like
- Go with gender, hobbies, or character e.g male or female, smoker or nonsmoker, younger, older, or the same age.
- Use the close network to find a reliable/ suitable person.
- Make sure your potential roommate is legit.
- Get a sense of a potential roommate’s finances.
- Invite potential roommates for an interview.
Expectations
- Communicate openly
- Be honest with each other.
- Decide how you handle rent
- Determine how to address utility payments.
- Agree on handling cleaning responsibilities.
- Decide on how to handle messages/ emails.
- Decide on whether to share household supplies or not.
When Expectations Are Not Met
- Stay calm.
- Schedule house meeting.
- List what you want to address
- Talk to one another
- Come to an agreement.
- Look at what to do differently.
- Communicate face-to-face/ over the phone.
- Confront issues bothering you ASAP.
Once You Move In
- Decide how will be responsible for calling the landlord
- In case of any problems with the house determine solutions
- Decide whether to give notice if you will be having visitors.
- Decide if guests can stay overnight.
- Decide on how to address cleaning responsibilities.
- Agree on smoking, drinking, and drug use.
- Agree on how to label “common areas” rooms.
- Set guidelines in line with private spaces.
- Decide who shares a key to your apartment.
- Decide on whether to share clothing, music, dishes and other items.
- Communicate with each other.
It is important that you have a great roommate and that the relationship is also smooth. This checklist just gave you the best way to start off.