Do you consider yourself a wonderful roommate? Are you scared that the universe will pair you up with a certifiably insane roommate? What should you do? You may not have much control over who “the universe” pairs us with, but one thing you do have control over is how much effort you can put into finding a cool roommate!

  • BE A GOOD ROOMMATE YOURSELF:

Okay, look in the mirror to make sure you’re good roommate material. You may have lapses here and there that needs to be fixed to make you more hospitable but, be everything you would want in a roommate and more, and be consistent with it. By doing so, you’ll develop great influential abilities that can transform a bad roommate into the best one.

  • DO AN IN-DEPTH RESEARCH ABOUT YOUR PROSPECTIVE ROOMMATE:

You know how you have to do a research when you’re house hunting to make sure the environment is good for you? In that same way, you have to carry out an in-depth research on all the potential candidates to make sure he or she is the right fit for you. You may be an amazing roommate, but if you don’t put in the effort towards finding a decent roommate, you may end up with a bad one.

How do you carry out an extensive research about a total stranger?

  • Use social media platforms to verify as much information as possible about the person.
  • You can make use of sites like snoop station to find out about his or her marital status, court record, and general information.
  • The NCSC website can allow you to access local criminal history, if any, as well as state-specific records.
  • Employ paid background check services.

It is important that you put in the required resources to ensure a person’s personality before allowing them into your personal space and life.

  • COMMUNICATE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE:

Before you finally choose who to let into your apartment as a roommate, you need to organize a meet up with the candidates. If you can help it, skip the whole online thing and meet with each other face to face. Trust me, you will be glad you did. You should have a checklist of questions to ask them when you meet.

It is also important that you don’t distance yourself during the meeting. They’re going to be answering a lot of questions, and it is only fair that you encourage them to ask you questions as well. Let them know what to expect living with you. A simple way to do this will be to answer the questions you have on your checklist yourself.

  • SIGN AN AGREEMENT:

One thing you can’t avoid so long as you’re living is conflict. You’re either at conflict with yourself or the people around you every now and then. Having a unique point of view, which may be disagreeable to your roommate, is not the point. The point is how to resolve it when it arises.

Establishing a standard and cosigned house rule is a good way to keep conflicts at bay. Review the house rule agreement with your prospective roommate before the move-in date to avoid any surprises.

  • PUT YOUR NEW ROOMMATE TO THE TEST OF TIME:

So, after all of the research and meetings, it’s time to let it all play out. With time, you’ll get to see more of your roommate for who he or she is. You may even end up becoming best friends! If you like what you see, then you can go ahead and let them stay. But if you don’t, well you know what to do.

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Moving out for the first time and a little unsure? No worries, WalletGyde is here for any and all questions and concerns of yours. Drop them all below!