Finding the ideal roommate isn’t always easy. Give these tips a shot.
Living with a roommate can offer plenty of benefits, including cutting down on your overall bills and perhaps finding a friend along the way, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Sometimes, living with another person and sharing your space together can bring along all kinds of challenges. Still, many of us opt to live with roommates for a variety of reasons. Let’s take a look at three tips to make living with a roommate in an apartment much smoother.
1. Research the Right Roommate
First and foremost, you want to do what you can to find the right roommate. There are a few things you want to check just to be safe. For example, most court records are publicly available, so go ahead and plug their name in to see if anything comes up. You will also want to take a look at whatever social media profiles you can dig up, especially Facebook which is the most accessible of the social media platforms and you can truly get an idea of who someone is by looking at their profile. Taking the time to find out who they are before you move in with them is a great way to protect yourself.
2. Split Up Accounts
It’s important to ensure that both names are on as many accounts as possible, including the lease, utility bill, and more. It’s possible that you may get back what you’re owed if your roommate moves out without paying, but you do need to prove that they were responsible for some of those bills, too. Make an effort to split up other bills like cable or internet so no one is paying for everything entirely. Splitting payments, and ensuring that no one is paying more or less than their fair share, is a critical part of living with a roommate in an apartment.
3. Develop Rules
Once you’re all moved in with a new roommate, remember that no one is there to mediate arguments or settle things for you—in the real world, it’s up to two adults to come together and figure out a solution. That’s why it’s important to come up with some ground rules right off the back. This means things like whether or not it’s okay to share food, drinks, or toiletries, as well as what kinds of protocols there are for when you will have guests over.
The Apartments of Wildewood have a friendly community that’s waiting to welcome you!
At The Apartments of Wildewood, located in beautiful in St. Mary’s Maryland, we offer homes with access to pools, an on-site gym, and maintenance whenever you need it – and have access to all the information you need to affordably rent an apartment in St. Mary’s. To set up an appointment to check out an apartment or townhouse rental from The Apartments at Wildewood, call us at 301.737.0737 or visit the website!
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