What are the Pros and Cons of Renting to Roommates?

What are the Pros and Cons of Renting to Roommates?

Sharing your apartment with a roommate is a wonderful way of making a friend and minimizes expenses in the apartment every month. But, is living in the apartment with a roommate a really good idea or a headache?

You may find a roommate that might not have the same lifestyle as you have. But what's important is that you can find someone that you will be comfortable living in one apartment.

Before making a decision whether you are sharing your place with someone else, you may want to consider the benefits and disadvantage of getting a roommate. Here, we've made a list of pros and cons to help you decide whether living alone or living with a roommate is a good idea or not.

Pros

• Spending less money on rent. The main concern why some people decide to get a roommate is to save some money. And so getting a roommate is a good idea because rent will be divided on the number of people living in the house. Make sure to check with the landlord the rules on getting a roommate.

• Spending less money on utility bills. When you have roommates, utilities and other expenses can be equally shared. And make sure to come to an agreement about the shared cost before you start the journey together.

• Helping each other with household duties. Another advantage is having a roommate that can help with the household chores. This is a great advantage if both will follow the agreed plan and do their share regularly.

• Finding a friend. Having a roommate is one way you can find a friend. Since you live and share with everything in one place, this ends up of becoming close with each other, and of course, finding a friend.

Cons

• Lack of privacy. If you have a roommate, you have to consider your roommate's privacy. Things that you should consider are some of the following:
• Always have to keep your door closed
• You cannot make a loud noise because you will worry about your roommate
• You cannot just bring so many visitors at any time you want, as respect you may want to advise your roommate first and see its okay.
• Your bedroom is the only place you can go alone.

• You may find a roommate that is lazy. To avoid this, you should talk to your roommate and talk about how both of you will share with the household chores.

• Finding a bad roommate. If you find a roommate who refuses to work with you equally in a lot of ways then coming home is no longer relaxing and comfortable. That is something you have to deal with until you find another arrangement.

• The problem of getting a roommate when regards to sharing of rent and utilities are when they miss the payment. You are still responsible to make payment in full for the rent and utilities, whether or not your roommate can afford to give their share. 

So if you are a quiet and alone type of person, then having a roommate might not be a good idea. At the end of the day, it is still up to you whether you want to have a roommate. Just make sure that you do a research first and if ever you chose a roommate, make sure that your roommate is someone who will be fair on everything that you both have to share with, and chose someone whom you can live comfortably.