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Have You Ever...- 6-20-07

Thought of Getting a Roommate?

By ChaChanna Simpson

You may have decided you can’t afford an apartment on your own but you don’t want to stay home with your parents anymore. Some people like to move in with their friends and that is okay but I think that is a way to trouble. Although you guys get along fine, you two are not living together and that could make a huge difference. It could also ruin a relationship. I have and I’m sure you have heard of stories of friends becoming enemies. I’m not sure why that happens but it does.

Think long and hard if you really want a roommate, compare the pros and the cons. The pros would be you have someone to split the rent and utilities with, you could afford to get a bigger apartment, someone to hang out with when your bored, someone to share the responsibilities of keeping the apartment tidy, a new friend.

The cons would be you’d always have someone in your space, so you don’t get so much privacy, sharing your space with someone in general could be an issue, you have to depend on someone else paying their half of the expenses on time, and let’s not forget there is always a conflict of personalities. But if you have thought about all of that and are still determined to have a roommate, then go for it.

After deciding you want a roomie, next take time to write out all the things you are looking for in a roommate such as: do you want a same sex roommate, does it matter if they are a heterosexual or homosexual, are you open to them having a live-in boyfriend or girlfriend, do you want to live with a smoker or a drinker, do you care if they are a morning person or a night person, can they bring pets, and if so, what type?

Shopping for a roommate
There are many ways to find a roommate. You can post an ad on an online classifieds, such as craigslist.org or in your local or regional newspaper. When you place an ad, by law, you are not allowed to say that you are looking for a certain race, religion, nationality, sex, color, handicap or any other type of limitation. That is called discrimination.

Once you have finally chosen someone to be your roommate, it is imperative that you both sit down and have an honest discussion or create a roommate agreement. In the agreement you list how much rent each roommate is responsible for paying for and who will be the designated person to hand it to the landlord. Also how you plan to deal with other expenses such as groceries, utilities, etc. If either one of you decided you want to leave the apartment, what procedures must take place and how much notice do you need to give the other person?

Also good topics to discuss that may or may not be in the agreement are guests. Are you both comfortable with sleepovers and for how many days? Any parties that have a pet should be responsible for any damages that the animal causes. Are there designated quiet hours, sharing time with the TV? Just make sure that you bring up any other matters that are important to the both of you.

Living together
Now that you’re living together it is important to keep the lines of communication open and be considerate of each other. You can be sure that there is going to be a blow out between you and your roommate because hey, you are sharing your space with someone new and it takes time to get used to each others living habits.

The first rule in any relationship is to not keep something that upsets you to yourself. As soon as something occurs, speak on it right then. Otherwise you will blow up at them because they left a dish on the counter. Talk things out in the beginning and then hopefully you won’t have huge blow outs on a regular basis.

When expectations and agreements are not met you should call for a house meeting to discuss any issues. Create an agenda for the meeting and keep all the issues in the present and don’t bring up issues that happened a month ago. Don’t yell, argue or accuse each other because you do have to continue to live with this person throughout the term of the lease.

Although this jolt to your life, having a roommate can be great fun once you get to know each other better. The road may be rocky at first but it’ll pay off. After all, anything is better than staying home with your parents.

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