Advice for Moving in With Roommates

The first step in living together is finding someone you get along with and feel comfortable with. Setting yourself and your roommate up for successful cohabitation is half the battle, with the cost of living, and the process of locating a real place to reside aside. It’s a good idea to plan out some aspects of your living arrangement before scheduling the transfer so that the change to sharing space will go smoothly and without incident.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Roommate Living

Whether or whether you and your roommate(s) are listed on the official lease, you should still talk about how you’ll split the total monthly fee. Will you distribute it equally to each roommate? Is there a good reason to think about allocating the rent payable in different ways, such as based on the size of each bedroom? The first step to a pleasant roommate relationship is being clear about this.

Charges, Charges, Charges

After rent, there are several additional expenses related to cohabitating. Cohabitation expenditures are split equally for utilities like power, gas, internet, cable, and recycling services. At your address, who will be in charge of setting these accounts up? How will you and your roommates divide the price of these services? It is wise to have these discussions before you move in together so that you all have a strategy in place for how to pay the bills in full and on time when they arrive.

Adorning Your Apartment

There will be lots of shared places with your roommate even though you may have obtained (or will secure) an apartment with as many bedrooms as people are moving in. How are you going to outfit them? Who will bring the living room furniture? Items for the kitchen and bathroom(s)? a dining area? Will you instead opt to pool your resources to purchase some furnishings for your shared spaces? Making this determination in advance will make move day and the days that follow much simpler.

Getting Your Renting Space Insured

It’s a good idea to think about getting renters insurance no matter where you live. Ask your insurance provider if they also provide renter’s insurance if you already have coverage for other items, such as a car. Asking if you would require a distinct policy from your housemates is another smart move.

In the Event of a Crisis

Before you experience a shift in circumstances, it’s a good idea to discuss how you might respond to it. How would you and your roommate react if one of you lost your job and found yourselves in financial difficulty? What if one of you has to vacate the premises before the term of the rental lease has expired? Can you rent the apartment to someone else? Is it acceptable for the other roommate(s) to live with a subtenant who moves in with a sublease? It will be easier for you to establish at least rough plans for unforeseen scenarios with a clear head if you talk about these possibilities while you’re not under time constraints to make judgments.

You Should Create a Contract

There is no one right way to do it, but being on the same page regarding these things is an excellent starting point for effective cohabitation. But it’s crucial to agree on the conditions of sharing a living place. Therefore, once you’ve done that, you can construct a roommate agreement so that there is a written record of the terms that have been agreed upon. It doesn’t have the same legal force as your rental lease, but it offers some direction for how you’ve all decided to live together.

You can include information on any additional circumstances you want to establish some common ground on in addition to the aforementioned points. This might comprise, but isn’t restricted to:

• When and how visitors are allowed in your dorm room depends on you and your roommate(s).

• A schedule for “quiet hours”

• How do you plan to handle household chores

• If you’ll split the cost of the groceries

How to Handle an Early Departure if Necessary

Whatever you and your roommate(s) decide to include in this paper is entirely up to you two, but writing it down will start you both on the proper course.

What else could make your living situation with your roommate(s) successful? A stress-free move is possible with iMove NYC. Any services you and your roommates may require for your upcoming move can be met by our moving specialists.

Need packing materials? You may rent eco-friendly plastic moving containers from us, and we’ll even bring cardboard boxes, tape, packing paper, and moving bins to your door. We also provide secure storage options if moving in with a roommate results in less space for your belongings. With all the work that goes into locating the ideal home and companion(s), let us handle the details of your ideal relocation.