How to Get Good At Interviewing Potential Roommates

Interviewing potential roommates is an extremely important process. In the roommate interview, you only have a short amount of time to get to know a person who may be living in the same rental apartment with you for years to come. If you don't run an effective interview, you could be getting a bad roommate and setting yourself up for a bumpy few years. Follow the steps in this article to make sure that you cover all of the necessary bases while interviewing potential roommates.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. First, let your potential roommate know that honesty is key in this processes. Explain that you are not there to be judging each other, but to honestly assess how compatible your lifestyles will be if you end up sharing a living space with each other.

2. Ask about your potential roommate's drinking/smoking/drug use and be honest with him about yours. Some people can tolerate different levels of these habits, while some people will decide that any level of drinking, smoking, or drug use will be a deal breaker.

3. Discuss the hours that each of you keeps. If one of you gets home from the bars at 2:00am, and expects to play music while entertaining friends, this could create a problem for the other roommate.

4. Ask your roommate about how neat they expect to keep the apartment and be honest about how neat you plan to keep it. One of you might not think it's a big deal to leave a few dishes in the sink overnight, while it might drive the other person crazy if there are ever any dirty dishes lying around.

5. Ask if your potential roommate plans to bring any pets into the apartment, and let them know if you have any pets. If one of you has a cat, and the other is allergic to cats, it probably won't be a good fit!

6. Ask if they play any instruments, if so, when do they practice, how loud does it get? You may even want to have them try playing the instruments in one of the rooms while you stand in the other to test out how acceptable the noise levels are.

7. Discuss the amount of rent that each tenant plans to pay. It's important to make sure that you both feel comfortable with the amount that you will be paying. If one of you feels like you are getting ripped off, it could lead to a growing resentment toward the other roommate.

8. Finally, make sure that your roommate is capable of paying the monthly rent. Does he have a job? Has he had trouble making rent payments in the past? Sounds obvious, I know, but I'm sure you can imagine what a headache it will become if your roommate sticks you with the whole rent one month!