Making sure your potential roommate is a good fit before renting is essential to your future living situation. Whether moving to a new apartment with a new flatmate, or welcoming someone into your home, knowing a little background information can go a long way into making life pleasant. The renting process can be stressful enough, and even more difficult when a problematic roommate comes into play. Save yourself sleepless nights and trying days by pre-screening any potential roommates before putting pen to paper. You don’t need to know their life story, but there are certain things, both obvious and obscure, that you should be asking.
Cleanliness
This comes in as possibly the most contested aspect of sharing an apartment rental. Cleanliness varies wildly from person to person; some don’t mind laundry on the floor, while others can’t stand more than one dish in the sink. Finding out how clean a potential roommate is can save more than a few arguments. Someone who wants the toilet cleaned daily will probably not coexist well with someone who forgets to run the dishwasher.
However, that’s not to say people of varying cleanliness levels can’t live together. A mutual understanding that all shared living spaces will be cleaned can sometimes work, while still giving each party their own bedroom to control. Another option is to start a chore chart, eliminating arguments surrounding whose turn it is to clean.
Schedule
They say opposites attract, but when it comes to schedules the saying isn’t so applicable. If your potential roommate works nights and you work days, you might find each other making inadvertent noise, and no one likes to be kept up at night. This also extends to the hours they might keep on the weekends. Someone who enjoys late nights on the town is likely to clash with someone who spends their weekends on the couch with a book.
Proof of Income
If you’re already looking for a roommate, chances are you can pay the bills on your own, but wouldn’t mind a little help. Making sure a potential roommate has a source of income may seem like a personal question, but remember, your finances are about to become linked with this person. A simple pay stub will suffice just fine; don’t be hesitant to ask for tangible proof. While they may have the funds to pay rent, can they also help pay for the various utilities?
Ask About Contacting Former Roommates
The reality of picking a roommate is that you’ll never truly know what the person is like until you’ve lived with them. There are a plethora of little things that can make or break a roommate relationship, and the chance of learning them all in an interview is slim to none. Getting the inside scoop on living with someone is the best way to determine if a potential roommate will be a good fit. Any and all questions can be asked, and they may even answer a few you overlooked. Of course, always ask the person in question for permission to contact their former roommates before playing detective.
Welcoming someone new to your life isn’t always easy. It’s important for both you and your roommate’s well being to make sure the living situation will be healthy from the start.
Moving into an apartment is a big commitment, roommate or not. If you’re looking for apartments for rent in Boulder, consider our Habitat Apartments. Located off Diagonal Highway, we offer a friendly complex in a convenient location.