Apartments - renting out 2 bedroom - advice please!

[Starblossom]

So I got the idea into my head that I should rent a two bedroom apartment by myself and then find someone to come live with me. See, I need a new place to live but I don't have anyone to room with. I have a couple friends who have said "maybe" but there is nothing definate. I do not want to live alone. I don't want to find someone who is renting out a room and live there...that is what I did for this year, but it was really difficult to find a good place in a good location with people I knew I would get along with. (for anyone wondering, my current roommates are graduating and moving out now, which is why I'm not staying). I don't want to go through the trouble of searching for rooms again.

So I figure, hell, I will just get my own two bedroom place so it is where I want it, for the price I want, and I control to some extent the people coming into my home and the rules that will be followed (nothing strict...just to show respect and take turns cleaning etc). I just worry about the price. I worry about actually finding a roommate! I felt pretty confident at first, cuz the place I have found is really nice, good location, etc. But when I brought up the idea to my current roommate she sounded really skeptical, and now I"m doubting myself....umm guess I am just looking for advice or reassurance or just any feedback! I don't want to lock myself into this and then realize I messed up...that would be quite an expensive mistake!

[Kiz]

Why don't you want to live alone? It's fabulous! You couldn't pay me to live with flatmates again.

[thebelovedtree]

I think it depends on your income, if paying for a two bedroom by yourself for a few months (or forever) will break you, then don't do it, if it will just cramp your style, then it could be a good option for you.

[Kiz]

I was thinking of a bedsit or 1 bed as opposed to a 2 bedder. I'd rather be cramped into a tiny shoebox than share again, and I shared for about 10 years.

But absolutely, the best way to share is to have your name on the lease, with you as a kind of landlord to your flatmates. Way, way, way better than moving into someone elses house.

[Starblossom]

oh ok so I'm not being totally crazy...lol. It's just a big risk that makes me a little nervous, but I think I can pull it off. Thanks for your opinions...I do agree it is better for me to have my name on the lease. I HATE the idea of agreeing to someone else's rules, unless they coincide with my own of course, but how likely is that to happen right!

I just don't want to be alone because I've never been alone before...growing up, there was ALWAYS someone home, whether it was my brother or my parents or at least my dogs. I am a very independent person, but I just absolutely hate coming home to an empty house...last year I was supposed to have a roommate on residence but that never happened, so I had my own room. Which I loved for the privacy, but I felt lonely a lot. I don't expect to be best buddies with whoever I live with, just as long as we get along.

Anyway I'm going in again today to decide between two different apartments and then submit my application. I found two (in the same building) that I really like. *deep breath* wish me luck!

[bstutzma]

If you are gonna live alone, you might as well get a studio or a one bedroom.... save some cash.

[Hummusisyummus]

Keep in mind in might take you a few months to find a good roomie.

If the person moving in with you is a complete stranger or something you can't 100% trust ask for a deposit in case they ditch without notice or cause some sort of damage that would cause you to lose your deposit. You might also want to check their cash flow (i.e. do they have a decent job). You can also check their credit record to see if they've ever left an apartment trashed and never paid for it.

Make sure you're compatable. Ask about how clean they are, if they smoke, if they're going to have friends over all the time, if they work the night shift and need a quite house during the day, etc.

[Starblossom]

Yeah..so I looked at them today and decided on one. My first choice was taken so I went with the second one. The application hasn't been approved yet of course, so I can still back out, but I don't think I will back out. It is pretty decent (better than what I have now) and approximately the same price. I asked a lot of questions, and it turns out that I can add other people onto the lease if I want. Which I will probably end up doing, so I don't get screwed over. My parents have agreed to help me out with the rent until I find someone...so I should be fine. I plan to live here for the next two years, maybe longer, so I figure it'll be worth it in the long run.

Oh yeah, bonus: I get a whole bunch of living room/dining room furniture for free...my dad used to work for a moving company, and his old boss is always being offered furniture that people don't really want anymore. Yay for me!

Thanks for the advice...this is still rather new to me so any more tips would be great :)

[Kiz]

I would not add someone to the lease if it were me. I'd just ask for a good sized bond. If you are on the lease you can turf them if there is a problem, so much harder to do if they are on the lease. And be harsh... if they are not paying rent/bills etc, chuck them out before you have the chance to be screwed over and keep the bond.

[Starblossom]

Hummus: how do you check someone's credit record?

Kiz: Oh I didn't think about like that. So I guess first and last months rent is what I should ask for upfront right? Well I was going to do that in either case, but Actually my concern is that they might want to sign the lease, as reassurance that I'm not going to suddenly give the room over to someone else before they move in. When I moved into this apartment, they just gave me the empty room and had me sign a lease about a month before I moved in...actually I'm the one who wanted to sign it, just to confirm that I did indeed have an apartment set up for September. My one roommate basically acts like the landlord to the two of us though....I don't completely undersatnd how that works. I tried finding some websites to explain it but I couldn't find anything helpful :(

[Hummusisyummus]

You can check someone else's credit report the same way they would check their own, get their social security number, full name, date of birth, current address, etc. then go to one of the credit reporting companies' websites and plug it in. It will cost you a little money ($30 or something) so you may want to charge them. At least, someone did this to me when I was looking at his apartment. To check their job ask for the number and call it to confirm they have an employee by that name working there full time. I'm not sure if you can actually ask how much they make.

This site says it checks all three companies:
http://www.truecredit.com/entry/ppcTrueCreditEntry.jsp?cb=ppc&bn=24&kw=1012

I doubt the person will worry that you might give the room to someone else. If it were me and someone jerked me around like that I'd be more than happy not to live with them. Just write out an agreement on paper that you've accepted the money for first month's rent and deposit, that they can move in on whatever date, and that if the thing falls through you'll give them their money back, then sign it. You should also mention that if they move out without notice or leave significant damage they will lose their deposit. That way they'll feel they have a leg to stand on if they have to take you to small claims court.

[catgirl67]

I had one horrible roommate experience. It was the year sent straight from the devil himself. She was CRAZY! You never know a person until they live with you.

I would suggest advertising on a roommate website instead of asking a friend to move in. You could end up ruining a great friendship.

[Starblossom]

Hey all, just updating this for anyone who cares

I have the 2bdrm apartment now, and am in the process of finding roommates! I put up ads a few days ago, and I've had 4 people contact me already. Unfortunately, 2 of them were trying to scam me. The one was quite obvious, and the other I almost got sucked into. I never even realized this sort of thing existed! Here's the link I found that helped me realize what this person was trying to do to me...just in case anyone else here is roommate searching:
http://truthhurts.org/articles/75/nigerian-roommate-scam/
crazy stuff! Thankfully I clued in pretty early. I will only deal with local people now! (the scammer chick was from Australia!!)

Now what I'd like advice with is how to make a room look more appealing. The only problem that I really have is that the 2nd bedroom seems a bit smaller than I realized...it is definately not tiny, I mean you can fit the necessities in there, but you know how girls tend to be picky about room size. I don't want to live with a guy though, I might consider it a possibility if I have a lot of trouble finding a girl. Also, the vegetarian thing...how to let a potential roomie know about that so I don't end up with some disrespectful jerk? I'm thinking I could leave some veg magazines casually laying around when I show the place, and then watch people's reactions to them. I also may lower the price of rent to make up for the fact that the bedroom is kinda smaller. Hmm...suggestsions? :D

[elibrown]

I suggest foregoing the strategic magazine placement idea...you're trying to conduct a business deal, not get along with your carnivorous in-laws. Or something. You need to tell your potential roommate straight up. "I'm a vegetarian, here are my needs for the kitchen area, is that going to be a problem?". This is NOT something offensive or delicate that needs to be handled with the utmost tact and etiquette...I mean you need to always be polite, but this situation is one that needs to be handled with completely open communication, or very bad problems could arise on down the line. What if they don't notice the magazine? What if they see it and don't put two and two together? Again I say, just tell them.

In fact, try to find a vegetarian roommate.

As far as the room size goes, just measure the dimensions and tell people what they are. People tend to know what different sizes of rooms feel like and what it is they want. You can make the room look "bigger" all you want, but it still won't change the fact that it's 12 by 12 feet or whatever.

[jeff_veg]

Hey Starblossom... I don't ususally read this forum, but the title caught my eye from the main page because I just did the exact same thing as you.

I found the *perfect* two bedroom place and then went and found a roommate who I didn't know previously.

And the problem that I have now is something that I never anticipated at all. It was quite difficult to find what I wanted, and it took a lot of time and energy to find the place, sort out the lease, get furniture, clean the place up when I got there, and all those other little things you have to do when you move. I went through some rough times to get this place, and all of this developed an 'attachment' between myself and the apartment. I unconsciously thought of it as 'my' apartment. Add on to this the couple months I spent alone without roommates, and it all added up to a VERY difficult adjustment.

I had these feelings like who is this person living in *my* apartment and what is he doing with *my* stuff, etc. And I would have gotten past that fairly quickly except that we aren't getting along all that well because he doesn't have a job (long story... he was supposed to get a job but it fell through... ya I'm an idiot).

At the start I tried to be all easy going about it, because I hate anal-rentive landlords and leases, and left it undefined as to how long he would stay there. Which would have been fine if everything worked out, but when I went to try and define it after the fact he took it to mean that I didn't like him and wanted him out. This isn't entirelly untrue, but I still need to live with the guy until September now.

So my #1 advice is: pick a fixed term right off the bat. 4 months or 6 months and just say that you don't know what your situation will be like in 6 months, but if things are going well you can renew it or something like that. That way everyone knows where things stand. If you like the place and want to stay, make it clear that THEY are ones that will be leaving not you.

#2: just be smart about who you pick. I let myself be convinced by the other person instead of being 100% selfish and doing only what was best for me. Sometimes you need to be selfish.

#3: although it goes against my own principles, I see now that for the sake of my own protection, I should have put all this in writing. Doesn't have to be a lease with 100 clauses. Just define the rent, deposit, and length, and get them to sign it.

Hope you have better luck than me... :worried:

[Hummusisyummus]

http://truthhurts.org/articles/75/nigerian-roommate-scam/

Hey, that reminds me of a scam Zoebird was telling me about. Some guy from England wanted to get private yoga lessons for his kid, only thing was the kid was like 2 hours away. Then the guy sends her like 5 grand in money orders for 1 grand worth of lessons and asked her to wire the remainder back. At least in Zoe's case the police actually sounded interested.

[bstutzma]

thats insane... its sick the scams out there. How crazy. I hope you find a good roommate star blossom!

[Starblossom]

This is NOT something offensive or delicate that needs to be handled with the utmost tact and etiquette...I mean you need to always be polite, but this situation is one that needs to be handled with completely open communication, or very bad problems could arise on down the line.
Very sound advice...I guess I tend to be more polite/nice than I should be sometimes. I am trying to find a vegetarian roommate, but what are the chances of that happening! I don't even know that many in real life as it is, haha. But I will still hold on to hope....


Hope you have better luck than me...
Aww sorry it didn't work out for you...I actually do have a basic lease set to go on my computer, it is essentially the same one that my last "landlord" (roommate) had me sign. (LawDepot.com)

And I can see what you mean about seeing it as "my" apartment. I actually sorta regret doing this because although it bothered me at first to be alone, I enjoy it now. I can do anything I please! hehehe. Guess I'll enjoy it while I can...better luck with your next roommate!


Hey, that reminds me of a scam Zoebird was telling me about. Some guy from England wanted to get private yoga lessons for his kid, only thing was the kid was like 2 hours away. Then the guy sends her like 5 grand in money orders for 1 grand worth of lessons and asked her to wire the remainder back. At least in Zoe's case the police actually sounded interested.
Yep that's what this chick/guy tried to do to me. Seemed perfectly normal at first and then suddenly "yeah i'm gonna send you $3500 for the first month of rent, and then just give the rest of it to my shippers." Wtf?! Who the hell trusts a complete stranger with thousands of dollars!! Not to mention that when I mentioned the lease, he/she/it suggested I send it as an attachment with my next email! Umm, do I look like a complete idiot?! Okay maybe I do, but my looks are decieving! ;) Thankfully I caught on by that point and he/she/it does not have any of my personal information. I sent a funny email back asking if they mind that I have pet monkeys, and oh no I can't find my lease because the monkey got mad and burned it after losing our poker game...


thats insane... its sick the scams out there. How crazy. I hope you find a good roommate star blossom!
Thanks! :)

[meatless]

SB- are you on our local veg mailing list? If not, you should get on it and then post a message to the group. Or, give me the details and I can do it for you.

[Starblossom]

We have a local veg mailing list?? Where have I been?? Lol. How do I get on it?

[soilman]

Where in Canada are you starblossom?

While sometimes I may be abrasive when writing for public consumption, you might be surprised to see how quiet, shy, and retiring I am when in "the real world."

I am a very considerate 58 year old male. I am looking to share, preferably with a vegetarian, in a place with no smoke and I prefer no pets. I would prefer to be alone, but I see that I may need to share, in order to afford a place. I want to be with people who are considerate of other people, and I am very considerate of other people. Respect is very important. This is the 2 primary things necessary in order for people to live together. Now, I sometimes talk too much or for too long, and sometimes people tell me that I didn't understand some unwritten rules of behavior that they expected me to understand without needing to be told. But if you take the time to explain it to me, I understand, and modify my behavior in order to be considerate.

I can go over the financial considerations with you privately if you want; I am very good and responsible with money, with records, bookkeeping. I have a low income but it is steady and reliable.

If you are a young adult female I will be neither act like an overprotective father figure nor like a jealous suitor figure. I am not going to be nosy about your social life. I will get as mixed up with you or as far away as you like. It is up to you. The one thing that isn't variable is mutual consideration, and respect.

I have been looking at shares locally. I have found one, that I think is possible, so far, that I am extremely excited about but since this involves sharing a kitchen, I would prefer to be with a roomate who is more vegetarian or more tolerant of vegetarians.