Interviewing Potential Roommates

When you are sharing you house with somebody for whom you do not have any particular emotion, it becomes difficult to take nonsense from such people and compromise is absolutely impossible. So it is important to know how that person from beforehand than bickering and badgering about it later. My personal experience says that if you have a roommate who does not share your temperament and taste then it becomes depressing and irritating. If you are clean and that person has a habit of living untidily then that is point where you might lose your temper and it might lead to a tiff, which might not be preferable. My first roommate was very silent and weak, as a result of which she kept to herself and most of the time she slept, on the other hand I am an active person who wants to socialize and be friendly. So my weekly offs added to my depression and soon I started thinking about a different option. I could have saved myself from all this if I had interviewed my roommate and assessed her before deciding to shift. Here we would discuss about some of the questions that you should ask your potential roommate to get a clear idea of her personality.

Roommate Interview Questions

How often do you clean your Room?

Cleanliness is one thing that is common issue that leads to the split of roommates. Some people are super clean and some people are a little laid back about cleanliness. The other category of people fails to know the importance or the meaning of Cleanliness. So it is important to know your roommate’s take on Cleanliness and see of you are fine with it.

By when do you pay the Rent?

This question would give you an idea as to how sincere the individual is about money and when it comes to paying off bills, how promptly does he /she behave. The main reason to ask this question is to know the take of the individual regarding money so that it does not became a huge pain and you do not suffer because of it. I remember I had a roommate who had a good pay package but was somehow not very sincere when it came to paying the rent or the electricity bill, which brought in extra pressure for me. In fact the best and foolproof way to run a check on that person would be ask for his/her credit report so that you know how the person has been with his/her prior dealings.

What do you generally do on weekends?

This question is asked primarily to know if he/ she is a person who socializes and what are the things he/she does as a way of entertainment. This will make it easier for you to know of you belong to the same wavelength or not because the time that we spend with our roommates is mostly on the weekends so both of yours idea of entertainment should be similar, if not the same.

Do you bring friends over at home?

Now this question is a very important one and would give you an idea as to who are the people you will have to deal with since sharing the same apartment means putting your security, safety and privacy at stake. So make sure that you let your potential roommate know about the preferences you have regarding guests or friends at the place, especially overnight guests.

Do you have a pet or do you love/like animals?

In case you are an animal lover or your are not this question would make the situation clearer as to what preferences you both have regarding animals in the house.

Do you smoke/drink/dope?

I think this question should be given preference since this is a behavioral interview question. Addiction to substance is an issue and check if you will be able to deal with it.

These are the few questions that you might ask your potential roommate during the interview but then be careful since you might sound extremely finicky and I am sure that is not the impression you would like the other person to form about you. The other thing, which has to be remembered, is that there is nothing called a "perfect roomie", it is just about how tolerant, open-minded, responsible, respectful and compatible both of you are.