[I plan to continually update this page, and eventually turn it into something else.]
Roommates
Select a roommate with regard to legal, financial and personal factors that may affect all members in the home. The following issues can cause conflict between roommates. Discuss each one thoroughly before finalizing housing arrangements.
- Standards of cleanliness, especially when pets are involved; responsibility for housekeeping chores, cooking, shopping, etc.
- Study habits, noise and music level, partying and entertainment.
- Late hours, general attitudes and values concerning liquor, drugs, overnight guests, guests at odd hours, and boyfriends/girlfriends.
- The personality, age and backgrounds of prospective roommates.
- Budgeting: Who will coordinate payment of rent, utilities, groceries and other expenses shared by all members of the household? (Payment by check can alleviate some misunderstanding on these matters.)
- Spending habits: How much can a person afford to pay for rent, utilities, phones, etc.? What standard of living is each person accustomed to?
- Borrowing clothing, food, personal effects, books, bicycles, cars, etc.
- Children in the household.
- Television habits, hours and programs.
- Heating and air conditioning: What temperatures are preferred?
- Working hours: Will shifts and times be compatible?
- Eating habits, special diets, and cooking habits.
- Length of lease and commitment to living unit.
Another aspect roommates should be familiar with is joint and several liability. Most individuals assume that when everyone signs a common lease or contract, each individual is responsible for a share of the rent. If each roommate signs a separate contract, this may be true. However, the majority of contracts or leases is handled in a way in which all parties on the contract are responsible for the performance of their roommates ( i.e., the entire rent).
If one roommate moves out without paying his or her share of the rent, or damages the landlord’s property, the remaining tenants are responsible. Roommates can take the offender to court, providing he or she has signed the contract. Failure to pay all the rent on time, however, may result in the eviction of all the roommates, not just those who have not paid.
Above from: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/CONSUMER/09906.html
My added $0.02 for doing a minimal background check on a possible roommate using the Internet.
Charge a non-refundable screening fee equal to actual out of pocket cost, not to exceed $30 per applicant. You will possibly use these funds to acquire more information depending on how you feel about your search results below.
Always run a Google/Yahoo! Search on the person’s FULL name, First, Middle, Last and partial names which possibly would be used as a pseudonym. You can usually figure these out yourself. Rob, Robert, Robby, Roberto, for example.
Then perform another Search on the persons names, and include search terms such as;
apartment, roommate, rental, renting, failure, pay, money, eviction, threat, assault, police, FBI, racist, bigot, felon, court, judge, sue, judgment, award, trial, sentencing, jerk, rude, evil, social.
Archive.org
Now, not all pages you found will still be there, this happens because articles, stories, posts, blogs, and other things on the Internet change or go away all the time. If your search returned you something which looks interesting, and the link is broken for you, you can use the WayBack Machine to help you see the original content as it was when it was first crawled by the archiver. Images and other dynamic components may not show up properly.
Background Searches
When you first perform the background check search you will need to know the FULL name of the person(s) and state to perform the check in. It REALLY helps to know the exact DOB (Date of Birth), and a previous address and or city they have lived in. Be prepared. If the name of the person you are searching for happens to be a common name, or the name of a celebrity be prepared to wade through hundreds possibly thousands of lines of information for your search.
Links
Intelius – Paid background searches
Craigslist.org Fair Housing Page
Chapter 3 – Housing – Unlawful Discrimination Handbook
Landlord/Tennant Legal assistance
The Fair Housing Council of Orange County
Landlord.com Law Overview California
About the Author
rob friedman Has Written 1009 Articles For Us!
This is about me. There are a lot of things i dislike, and like. I write about stuff that is on my mind. If you don't like it don't read it. If something doesn't make sense to you then look it up, or ask. If it sounds ridiculous, it is. If you wish to make a comment, please do. By the way, I still could use some gainful employment. Are you willing to hire a legal medical cannabis patient? I also have a twitter account. twitter.com/px
