Make Sure You Can Live Together
What a great time in your life! You're out of school, out on your own, following your own rules, and then you get your first apartment.
Soon you realize that all those bills your parents were paying were no joke and they're starting to pile up. To help get your budget under control a roommate is a good option, but you're worried you'll end up being the brunt of 'psycho roommate' stories. However, I'm here to tell you it's all in the planning.
The first thing you want to do is decide the kind of person you're looking for. Are you a smoker? Have cats? Like staying up and listening to music? Then it wouldn't do you any good to find a non-smoker who's deathly allergic to cats and is a light sleeper. You have to be specific to find someone compatible.
Second, ads are a good start when looking for a roomie. There are always ads in the papers and on the internet that will give you a little glimpse into the kind of person they are. Depending on the paper or website, the person posting may tell you a lot or a little so keep that in mind. Friends are also a good way to get referrals so ask around since they're already going to know the kind of person you are.
Similar Tastes Helps
When you get a few good leads, start with a phone call. Sometimes you can get a good feel of a person just by this initial interaction. You always want to screen before you actually meet so you won't have to waste either of your time if you already know it won't work out. Remember, you will have to live with this person.
I can't stress enough how important background checks are. Ask for references from former landlords or roommates and their employers if possible. They'll give you a really good idea of what you're in for and if they're gainfully employed.
All right, you've gone through all of this and you've found the perfect person to live with and it's time to move in together. The next thing to do is decide the living expenses. Unless one bedroom is bigger than the other, rent and utilities can be split evenly between the two of you. That's only fair.
Now when it comes to common use items like food and toilet paper, there are a few ways you can do this. You can have a "house fund" where you both contribute, you can switch it up where you pay one week and they pay the other or just each buy your own. Find what works best to keep things stress free. This also goes for cleaning.
Hopefully, this will help you steer clear of the horror stories your friends told you of scary roommates. Those are just urban legends anyway, right?
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