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Why You Should Look for a Roommate? There are a few good reasons why you should look for a roommate. Aside from relieving your worries about being out on your own, living with will allow you to enjoy a more affordable and convenient way of living. A roommate can share in the paying of groceries, utilities, rent and other expenses as well as doing household chores. Having a roommate to come home to is also much better idea than coming home to an empty house. It gives a chance to talk to someone or to share meals and other activities with. Living with roommates also enables you to maintain a similar structure that you had at home with your family: being courteous to someone and letting them know when and where you are going. This is not exactly the same set-up as what you had at home but still, it reduces homesickness. Wanted: Perfect Roommate! Does the perfect roommate exist? Maybe but most likely, the perfect roommate exists only in your mind. When looking for a roommate, always remember to be practical. Do not have high expectations except in terms of organization, neatness, courtesy, safe living habits and timely payment of his/her share of expenses.
Start your search early because it might take time to find your idea of a "perfect roommate". It takes a lot of patience to screen strangers and to narrow down your choices until you find the "right person" to share rooms with.
So how do you look for a roommate? The answer is quite simple. Start from your circle of friends. Some of your friends may be interested in sharing rooms with you. Be ready though, because sharing common living spaces with a friend may give you tons of problems. It is highly-possible that you and your friend may start to see each other's different sides. New characteristics and aspects of one's personality which can tarnish a wonderful friendship may start to come out.
Just a piece of advice, it is best to live with someone who does not know your personal background that much.
The safest technique when finding a roommate is either to ask your friends if they know someone who is interested or to check out the bulletin boards in reputable spots like schools, church, coffee houses and such like. This technique is advisable because there are higher chances of finding a roommate that is goal-oriented, moralistic and shares the same interests as yours.
You may also use popular roommate services but these professional sources do not guarantee that you will find someone compatible with your interests and habits. If you're opting for an ad placement, make sure that you set specific hours for which candidates might call. Do not print or include your name and gender in the ad.
If the roommate is moving into your place, then you might want to check if he/she is financially-capable and responsible. You can find this out by requesting for a consumer credit report or from references from his/her previous work or place of residence. In some cases, even the employment status and the criminal records are also checked to ensure your safety.
When looking for a roommate, interview the candidates in person, do not settle for a phone or IM conversation. A person may project a different personality in person than on the phone or IM. Make sure that a friend or family member accompanies you during interviews. This is not just to ensure your safety but also to give you second or more objective opinions about the candidates. For Approval. Before you start hunting for a roommate , make sure that you talk to the landlord first. Let the landlord know of your plan to get a roommate. Take this opportunity to clarify issues related to lease and to his policies regarding occupancy. If you're the one who is moving in, the same points apply. Be sure to verify pertinent information such as the person's name and address before you hand over the security deposit and the rent. Don't Miss! When showing your place to interested candidates, be honest! Make sure that you give a rundown of the required utility expenses even if they are not asking. There are cases when candidates would back out of the deal when they discover how much their share of utilities will be.
Also, mention any quirks or downsides that the building or area might have such as noisy neighbors, difficult landlord or extreme ambient temperature during summer season. It is better to be upfront than to be sorry later on. You can always counter these quirks with positive points like accessibility or short distance to school, grocery or bus stop. Some Considerations When Living with Roommates. There are certain considerations when you're living with roommates. First and foremost, what one tenant does can affect the others. Whether you are on a rental agreement or on lease, the landlord can legally hold all tenants responsible for the action of just one tenant. If the negative action is too serious, the landlord may even terminate everyone's tenancy with appropriate notice.
Co-tenants (or roommates) may decide on whether or not they will split the rent equally. This does not have anything to do with the landlord. A landlord reminds the co-tenants of their obligation by inserting the term "jointly and severally" in the rental agreement or lease. This means that all co-tenants are liable and responsible for paying the rent and for following the terms given in the agreement. If one tenant is unable to pay his share of the rent, the other tenant/s should still pay the rent in full. Also, most landlords prefer receiving only one check for the entire rent.
When living with roommates, disagreements are inevitable but these can be lessened by having a chitchat before a roommate moves in: - Rent ? How much will be each one's share?; When is the due date?
- Space ? Who will occupy which bedroom?
- Household chores ? Which tenant will do which chore?
- Consumptions ? food sharing (who will cook and what will be the costs?) and utility consumptions like electricity and water
- Lifestyle habits ? insomniac or morning person, noisy or not, smoking or not, etc.
- Overnight guests ? Is it ok to invite overnight guests? How many people can one tenant invite?
- Moving Out ? set the period of notice and who will look for an acceptable new roommate
Although these are just minor agreement, it is best to put this into writing. Oral agreements can be forgotten easily and may be misinterpreted. Be as specific as possible when talking about house rules. These agreements are not legally binding though but they are indications that co-tenants are taking their responsibilities seriously.
Keep in mind to treat each other with respect and courtesy to minimize disagreements. Disagreement can be resolved easily, just take time to talk about it. Adding a Roommate to the Rental Agreement or Lease. Again, get the landlord's approval first before you let a new co-tenant move in or better yet, let the landlord know in advance that you intend to get a roommate. This will give him enough time to think about your proposal. In most cases, a landlord would insist that roommates become co-tenants.
To make sure that you will get the landlord's approval, you may get a roommate provided that you will not exceed the occupancy limit. Your choice of roommate should meet the landlord's good tenant criteria. In some cases, having the new roommate's credit report ready for the landlord's evaluation is an advantage. As the number of co-tenants increases, the rent is also most likely to increase. This is because landlords think that more residents mean more wear and tear. With a new co-tenant, you may be asked to sign a new rental agreement. This means that you are starting a new tenancy so the landlord can increase the rent immediately instead of waiting for your previous lease to expire or to observe a 30-day notice. A landlord can ask for as much rent as the market would allow it (unless if the property is under rent control policies) Since you are starting on a new tenancy with the entrance of a new co-tenant, the landlord also has the legal right to change other conditions in the agreement. One inclusion that is most likely to change is security deposit. In most states, the amount of security deposit is limited to a multiple of the monthly rent. As such, it is understandable and expected that when the rent increases, the security deposit also increases. How to Handle a Difficult Roommate. Yes, you have chosen wisely but there are incidences in which people "unleash" other facets of their personality, making it difficult for you to interact with them.
If a roommate's lifestyle habits do not match yours, a serious talk may be enough to address your concerns.
What if the roommate is not paying his/her share of the expenses? In this case, your situation will depend on the terms given in the lease. If you are the only one who signed in the lease, then you can act as "master tenant" to your roommate and evict him/her. However, the problem becomes complicated when all of you signed on the lease as legal co-tenants. In this case, you are all equally responsible for each one's actions so you have to find ways to pay the full rent.
Do not resolve to constructive eviction wherein you lock your roommate out of the house. This is a violation not only of the lease but also of the law, so talk to your landlord and leave the disciplinary action to his discretion.
You may talk to your roommate and convince him move out and when he/she does, inform your landlord immediately about the vacancy so he can help you look for a new roommate.
Keep in mind to honor the lease and to stay on the landlord's good side. A minor breach in the agreement may encourage your landlord to report your failure to pay the rent to credit agencies. This may hamper future applications for loans and credit cards. Departing Roommate. A co-tenant who wants to move out in the middle of tenancy should give a written notice to the landlord and pay the rent until the end of the month. If the co-tenant is also co-signatory in the lease, he/she should seek permission from the landlord to leave early. He/She may also take the initiative to find a new tenant acceptable to the landlord.
The unauthorized departure of a co-tenant will give the landlord an option to evict the remaining co-tenant/s, even if you are able to pay the rent. This is because one co-tenant's breaking of the lease term is considered as a violation of another major lease term for which all co-tenants are liable. In practice, a landlord will not evict you because he would rather have monthly rents flowing in as well as keeping the place occupied by responsible tenants.
To avoid further problems, the moment a new tenant moves in, make it clear to him/her that departing tenants should pay a stated amount of rent and utilities. Under a written rental agreement, this is usually the amount of rent and utilities for 30 days from the date the departing tenant gave a written notice or left without notice. This only becomes null and void when a new tenant comes in and covers the costs. Under a lease, the departing tenant remains liable for the balance rent for the balance of the lease unless an acceptable replacement comes in.
Additionally, departing tenants will have to pay for any damage he/she caused to the rental unit. He/she will also have to shoulder all rent and damage charges no later than a stated date.
Moving Out? Supposing that a co-tenant moves out and you realized that it's not worth to stay in the property anymore, what will you do?
If you are a month-to-month tenant, give a written notice to the landlord immediately. Written notices are usually effective after 30 days. But if you are on a lease, write to the landlord to let him know that you intend to move out because you can no longer afford the full rent.
Remember to be accommodating when prospective tenants would want to check the unit.
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