What You Need to Know About Going in Blind with New Roommates

This article will tell you what to expect about living with someone that you have never met before. Especially useful for new college students or people moving to a new city.

By Anthony Benedict*, for Inpui.com
Living with a roommate can be trying under the best of circumstances. Even the very best of friends are going to have disagreements and spats, if living together as roommates. Going in blind with new roommates you have never met can be even more difficult.

Regardless of whether you have ended up with new roommates due to living in a college dorm environment, or whether you have new roommates because you answered an ad to share an apartment or housing, there are a few things you need to know.

1. You do not have to be friends with or even like your new roommates to room with them. Granted, it is best if you can find common ground and can relate to your new roommates in some manner. However, as long as you have your own bedroom and can "get away," the relationship does not have to be friendly, as long as it is respectful. You and your new roommates should be respectful of one another, which leads me to my next point.

2. You and your new roommates should sit down together and determine a list of house rules up front. Will each roommate be responsible for the purchase and cooking of their own meals or will you all contribute to the grocery budget and take turns cooking? Who will be responsible for certain chores in the home? Will you rotate chores daily or weekly? Are there any possessions that are scattered in common rooms that are off-limits to others? These are all important things to discuss on the very first day of co-habitation.

3. How soon after the bills arrive will they be paid? Will all bills be paid equally? Of course, the rent, water, and electric should be paid equally, but what about bills such as phone, cable, or Internet? If one roommate only uses a cell phone and never touches the home phone, perhaps that roommate should be exempt from that bill.

4. Who provides the furnishings and electronics in common areas? Will any of you chip in together for furniture or electronics? For example, after reading Haier HDTV reviews, you may decide to chip in for one. If one roommate leaves, do the remaining roommates re-divide the balance or does the one leaving have to make a one-time payment to cover the obligation?

5. What behaviors cannot be tolerated by the others? This includes behaviors such as smoking, drinking, having sexual partners over and allowing them to spend the night.

6. Are pets allowed? This may be determined by your lease for you, however, if you are in housing that allows pets, will you allow roommates to have pets?

7. Who is going to be on the lease? If possible, it is best for all parties to be on the lease. This way, each individual is responsible for the upkeep of the apartment. If you are the only person on the lease and your roommates damage property, you will be the one held responsible for repairs.

If each roommate is respectful of the others, going in blind should not be a problem. As long as you all agree on certain ground rules, prior to them becoming a problem, there is no reason you and your roommates cannot have a successful rooming partnership.
*About the article: This guest article was written by Anthony Benedict. Anthony is a freelance writer that enjoys writing articles about life experiences in all areas of life including economics, Politics, sports and finance.