In an ideal world, you’ll have plenty of time to find a roommate. You’ll also have dozens of applicants, and you can pick and choose the one that you think will fit the best. You know, someone who keeps a schedule that doesn’t conflict with yours, who won’t eat your leftovers, who won’t leave his dirty underwear on the floor of the bathroom and who is responsible enough to have renters insurance.
Unfortunately, out here in the real world, you often don’t have a lot of time to find a roommate. In fact, you probably have less than a month before the next rent payment is due and you don’t think you can cover it. Lucky for you there are some ways you can handle the situation.
Get Online
There was a time that you could call up a roommate finding service and they would set up interviews for you with potential roommates. All of this came at a fee, of course. Well, today, those kinds of services have move to the Internet.
These sites offer you the opportunity to look through a larger database of people looking for apartments in your area. Some of them even often the same kinds of compatibility tests and such that you might find on a dating or matchmaking website.
Generally, you can create searches and post ads on these sites, and then look through to see what roommates might meet your needs. These online services are often free, or they may have a tiered membership scheme which has a free level and a paid level.
Don’t forget the Want Ads
Now, we’re talking about both the local want ads in your newspaper as well as online want ads on services like Craigslist. In fact, Craigslist has a specific section just for people looking for roommates and for people searching for apartments.
The local newspaper may be an option, although in many areas the paper is quickly becoming a thing of the past and you may not have a choice but to search online.
Don’t Rush In
Keep in mind that a roommate is, in many ways, a risky proposition. Your roommate has access to the intimate details of your life, not to mention your rockin’ 70-inch plasma TV. It’s better to take the hit and pay an extra month’s rent on your own than it is to agree to a roommate that you’re just not sure about.
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