Don't Finance a Roommate

Don’t Finance a Roommate

By TheWild1 at 10 December, 2007, 8:23 am, Categories : General

After college or even during, many people tend to set out to live on their own, usually with a roommate(s). Most of the time a roommate is there to help take some of the financial burden. Whether it be rent, utilities, internet, or television, there should be a strict budget or plan that everybody should be sticking to. Lot of times problems arise between roommates because they didn’t plan out correctly. I have compiled some tips to help you avoid problems when moving in with a roommate or just embarking on a new adventure with somebody else.

Discuss Financial Habits and Goals

Before you even begin to search for a residence. all people involved should sit down and discuss what your financial and life goals are. How long do you plan to stay in the area? What kind of career path are you going to take? Do you or they currently bring in enough income? The last thing anybody wants to do at such an early stage of their life is to harm their credit, so if you are going to have other people chipping in on the bills you should know exactly what their plans are and if they can even afford to live with you.

Create a Budget and List

Figure out what price range you guys want to search in. What amenities will you want and can you afford it? You might like to work out and don’t mind paying a little extra for a complex with a gym, while your roommate might think otherwise. Try and make sure all these problems are figured out before hand to avoid problems in the future. So compile a list of everything all parties might want and then one by one go through each thing until you come up with something you like. If your roommate is 100% opposed to paying for a gym, then see if you can find a place that has a gym close by.

Create a Contract

So you found the place and ready to move in. Draft up a list of all expenses and even things you personally brought to the residence and have all roommates sign it. Make sure to also add the price of everything you bring and how things will be reimbursed if broken. You might volunteer to buy a 60 in flat screen, but then your roommate accidentally broke it somehow, since you marked it down in the contract there should hopefully be know problem to eventually replacing it. Also, don’t add any new expense until all roommates are aware of it.

The main key is to make sure you keep everything out in the open. The worst thing that could happen is when people assume things are implied. Over the years, I have seen many friendships destroyed because they didn’t plan accordingly before deciding to become roommates. The point of a roommate is not to make things harder but easier, so make sure you take the time to plan everything out before making a commitment.

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