Before you have a potential roommate sign the lease, be prepared to ask them a number of questions, some of which may be rather personal. Leaving the comfort of your parent’s home is new and exciting, but choosing the wrong roommate can sour the deal real quick.
Here are six critical questions to ask the girl (or guy) you’re considering sharing your space with.
1. What do you do for a living?
Asking your potential roommate how they earn a living is quite possibly the most important question you’ll ask them. Although it’s not necessary that they earn six figures, if they’re in-between jobs right now, you could be stuck with paying their half of the rent. Therefore, if you discover they’re unemployed or can’t pay their bills on time, they might be more inclined to break a lease. Seek another candidate to split the rent with instead. It will be easy to find someone to share your beautiful Pewaukee apartment.
2. Are you a smoker?
You’ll definitely want to determine if your potential roommate is a smoker. If you’re a nonsmoker, you probably don’t want a roommate that does. Also, ask them if they smoke anything other than cigarettes while you’re on the subject. The more you know about this person, the better off you’ll be.
3. What’s a good way to split the bills and chores in your opinion?
Some roommates are great people except when it comes time to pay the utility bills or do the dishes. If your potential roommate hates to vacuum or won’t wash a dish, this is something for you to consider before you room together. Do you want to get stuck doing all the chores? Pewaukee apartments should ideally be kept clean and the rent paid on time for a good roommate experience overall.
4. What are your biggest pet peeves?
What does your potential roommate absolutely find annoying? What do you find annoying or intolerable? For instance, do you mind if the TV blasts all night long or playing hostess to parties all the time? Find this information out now so you can keep your sanity later.
5. What is your dating situation? Are you seeing someone?
Sometimes love is more trouble than it’s worth. This is especially true if you’re the one watching the drama play out from the other side of the room. While not everyone is actually inconsiderate, if your potential roommate goes on and on about her current ‘flavor’ of the month or plays out unnecessary drama right in front of you, you may end up with more than what you bargained for.
6. Do you have strong personal beliefs?
One last important thing to ask a potential roommate is if they have any strong personal beliefs that may produce friction between you two. For example, if she’s a meat eater and you are a diehard vegetarian, it may be rather difficult to coexist in the same apartment. Also, if you discover that she has certain habits or sentiments that strongly oppose your own, is may be hard to peacefully share the same space.
Ask these six very important questions of a potential roommate before signing on the dotted line of a legally binding lease for best results.
Photo by Micah Drushal Creative Commons license