The first step is to determine what you want from a roommate. Are you looking for somebody to be friends with? Perhaps you don’t want a friend, just somebody who can pay their side of the bills. You need to know what you want from a roommate before you start interviewing applicants.

All meetings with potential roommates should be in public. You won’t know much about your potential roommate the first time you meet. Parks, restaurants and bookstores are all safe and public options. Before you invite this person home, you should spend some time with them so you can gauge their character.

You will need to ascertain the individual’s preference about how the household expenses will be handled. Is the rent cost based on room size, or are the bills simply split down the middle? You and your potential roommate will need to decide whether to purchase groceries that you will both share, or whether you prefer to keep this area separate. Sharing the expense for food may not be practical if you seldom eat at home.

Potential roommates’ criminal and financial histories are important information. In the event of job loss, you need reassurance that your house mate will be able his or her portion of the monthly bills. You need to decide whether you can feel safe and comfortable sharing a home with a possible house mate who has a criminal record.

Learning about the individual’s habits and behaviors is also very helpful when choosing a roommate. Is entertaining guest something that this individual enjoys doing often? Are drugs or alcohol part of this potential roommate’s lifestyle? The information that you will gather from these interviews will be essential in making your decision, as you and your roommate will be in close quarters, with you being exposed to their friends in the areas of the home that you share, and your friends and family that visit you being exposed to them.

Also find out if your daily schedules are compatible. Do you stay up late at night, or are you more of a morning person? When you need to be up early in the morning, is it going to disturb your sleep schedule if they come home late at night? Or, when you are having company over or trying to cook dinner, will they be attempting to sleep?

It may be worth letting him out if you are comfortable that the others. Nyc Roommates New York City It may be worth letting him out if you are comfortable that the others. Call a meeting with all the roommates and explain the problem.