How to Find a Reliable Roommate

It seems that everyone has a bad experience with a living partner, so let’s look at how we can find a roommate that won’t trash our credit and leave us stuck with a pile of bills. In a tough economy, people find it more and more difficult to make ends meet, and having a roommate is a good way to saving money. It can be challenge to find a roommate that is not only trustworthy, but you are compatible with as well.

Things to Address Before Signing a Lease

There are a lot of tough questions that must be asked before you end up signing that agreement. Things that should be addressed are issues such as:

• payments expected
• how utilities are to be handled
• expectations of cleanliness from each involved party

It is very important to be thorough in this endeavor. What may seem like overkill when you are trying to find a roommate may be your saving grace in the long run. When you are trying to find a roommate, it’s probably best to start out with a lease that is short-term or even month-to-month until you are 100% sure that things are going to work out fine.

Below are some other things you should think about and discuss with your potential roommate:

• Know your limits. You need to consider things such as what you can and cannot live with.
• Do you want it to be quiet or do you want to have the party house? If you are a busy person who puts in a lot of hours at work, it’s not likely you are going to want to live with someone who likes to party all the time.
• Will the roommate be able to have overnight guests?
• Are you looking for a pal to hang with, or do you prefer to be more private?
• What about drinking and drug use (it’s the new millennium – it happens more regularly than you might think)

This is not an extensive list, but is a very good start to helping you find a suitable roommate. Since not all people are compatible with one another, it’s important to take these things into consideration.

Reliability is Key

Let’s not forget the reliability factor either. If your potential roommate is someone that jumps from job to job and has no clear set goal in life, then he or she is not likely the best roommate for you.

Setting Boundaries

You must set boundaries with a person before you live with them in the following areas:

• My Space and your space
• Chores
• Food
• Having guests

You’ll do yourself and your potential roommate a favor if you nip these problems in the bud before they ever crop up. Finding a roommate is not a hard thing to do; the hard thing to do is find the one that is compatible. These tips should get you started in the right direction.