a man and woman looking at papers worriedly

Rent A Room

    Save On Rent By Having A Roommate

    According to Pew Research, more than one-third of adults in the United States live with at least one roommate. The reason is affordability. According to a March 2021 survey by the National Association of Realtors, housing and rental prices have reached record highs.

    Most adults have roommates for economic reasons. But having a roommate can come with stress, emotional costs, and a loss of privacy. This is why there are online services that can help you find a suitable roommate.

    Finding A Roommate

    The most popular roommate finders offer a systematic process for finding the right roommate by matching people based on essential criteria. These can range from honesty and respect to whether someone is both clean and neat.

    Online roommate finders have become very popular over the last ten years. Roomster is an international roommate finder with listings in more than 150 countries worldwide.

    Upon creating an account, most roommate finder services ask users to fill out a questionnaire about themselves, which is critically important to find a suitable match. Each profile has photos, a tagline, and a short narrative to help users find a suitable roommate or a room.

    Security and Safety

    Security and safety are significant concerns in these services, so roommate finders such as Roomates.com offer secure messaging that validates account identities through numerous sources. With Roommates.com, users can create a profile for free. A beneficial feature is that a paid account will allow you to message potential matches with paid accounts. If you are willing to pay for an account, you probably have the money to pay the rent.

    While roommate finders save you money and help your chances of finding a suitable roommate, there is no guarantee that you will. That will depend on how you define the right roommate.

    Defining the “right” roommate

    What character traits do most people say they want in a roommate? The five primary concerns are that people want their roommates to be respectful, responsible, honest, clean, and pay their rent on time.

    Being clear about what you want in a roommate and what you don’t want in a roommate must be equally clear to you and the roommate before moving in. Be prepared to have house rules discussed and agreed to when you meet the prospective roommate for the first time.

    Some issues to consider and discuss before the roommate moves in

    Since you will be sharing common areas and the kitchen, it’s a good idea to work out borrowing and privacy arrangements. The goal is to ensure both of you are comfortable with the agreement.

    A common mistake is leasing a room to someone with an addiction, such as smoking, drinking, or drug use. The goal here is not to be your brother’s keeper but rather for both of you to respect each other’s space.

    Being clean and neat for some people is extremely important. If this behavior describes you, be sure to talk about what kind of things stress you out. You may even want to be specific, such as one’s dirty dishes needing to be washed and put away before going to sleep.

    Most people don’t care how a renter keeps their room, such as making their bed every morning, but you certainly don’t want your roommate to leave food on their bed for days.

    For More Information, Connect With Roommates.com

    Related Articles And Services…

    Sponsors

    Affiliate disclosure

    GotTrouble.org is a one-stop free and open consumer information and expert resource.

    Our information helps guide people through the complexity of life-changing legal, financial, and emotional challenges.

    One way of doing this is by providing our visitors with a wide range of third-party resources. Some of which are affiliates.

    Should you visit an affiliate, we will disclose this fact, and we may earn a commission. We ask that you use your independent judgment in deciding whether an offered service or product fits your needs and purposes.

    If you have questions, please get in touch with us at inquiries@GotTrouble.org.