The Ten Essential Questions To Ask Potential Roommate
- Alexandra Iacob
- October 8, 2021
- Life Hacks, Living Rules, Tips & Tricks
Have you ever wondered what questions to ask potential roommate?
If you’re on the lookout for a new potential roommate, you might want some pointers as to the best way to vet the ideal candidate. Committing to living with someone is a big deal. Choosing the wrong person can make your life so much harder. From paying rent and your bills, to doing household chores to simply preparing dinner, things can become very uncomfortable if you’re sharing space with someone incompatible.
So to avoid these awkward moments and hopefully create the ideal environment for you, let’s explore some questions to ask potential roommates that will give you all the information you need to decide on your next flatmate.
The Basics
Before we jump into the questions that are going to make the selection process easier, we should make sure you’ve covered the basics.
Make sure that you’ve decided – potentially along with other co-habitants – what the non-negotiables are.
– Are you okay living with a smoker?
– Are pets okay?
– Are you looking for someone to share a weekly dinner with?
These are important aspects that should be stated in your House Rules.
Enzo provides an excellent system for setting and managing these types of expectations if you’re looking for a roommate solution. The app will give you a better idea as to what needs to be organized and established to increase your odds of having a harmonious relationship with your flatmates.
#1. What do you do for a living?
It’s important to understand how your future roommate plans to pay the bills. Whether they’re trading on Wall Street or waiting tables on Main Street, you need to have proof of a stable income.
Make sure that you’re satisfied with the answers they give you and watch out for some job stability as this can be a great indication as well. It’s one of the very first questions to ask potential roommate.
#2. Do you work from home?
It’s a good idea to get a handle on how much time you’ll be spending around your house mate. Although you never want to make anyone feel like they’re under a microscope, a general understanding of their working hours and whereabouts will help create some important expectations.
#3. How do you feel about house parties?
Compatibility on this front is another point that can make or break a roommate relationship. Does everyone in the household feel the same about parties? Is it a once a year type of occasion? Are you the kind of people that prefer a quiet environment? Or is it party central? Finding roommate who is compatible with whatever dynamic you have going is important.
#4. How tidy do you think you are?
Whether you’re trying to avoid a slob or a neat freak, assess the level of tidiness you’re looking for in a housemate and let any potential candidate know upfront what sort of expectations you have.
Additionally, you can let them know what the current chore routine is and see if they would be okay with sticking to that kind of schedule. The more agreement you can get up front, the better.
And if you’re wondering about the best way to organize and assign a good chore schedule, check out some of our ideas about how to create a roommate chore chart
#5. Do you share food or dinners?
This depends a lot on the kind of dynamic that already exists in the house. Do you and your existing roommates prefer to have a weekly dinner? Do you grocery shop together? Is there a communal aspect to your living situation or is everything separate. There is no right way to do it. Any approach works, provided everyone is on the same page.
#6. Do you have any allergies or special food requirements?
Understand up front if living with a new person will involve making changes to the kitchen. Some people are deadly allergic to nuts while others will have severe health consequences if they accidentally ingest gluten. Understand any specific dietary preferences your new house mate might have.
#7. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
This is often a sneaky way of finding out what kind of roommate relationship a specific person is looking for. Some people may actually be extroverts but answer the opposite in order not to create an expectation of too much roommate socialization. While others may be introverts but happy with the occasional chit chat.
#8. How do you feel about overnight visitors?
Whether your new roommate has a significant other they’d like to drop by or a few friends that crash once in a while, make sure to find out in advance what their policy on visitors is so that you can see if their views are compatible with your own.
#9. What’s your roommate pet peeve?
Chances are, if they’ve ever lived communally before, they have at least one pet peeve that drives them off the wall. Stave off future arguments by finding out if there’s a potential mismatch from the get go.
#10. What’s your worst habit?
This is a bit like the interview question “What’s your biggest flaw?” so don’t expect an honest answer. If they’re really interested in the property they’ll try to portray themselves as positively as possible.
But it might still give you some interesting insight into how they think. See where their mind goes. If nothing else, it might give you insight into what they think you’d object least too.
And there you have it! The ten most important questions to ask potential roommate. These are sure to make the interview process better and provide some essential clarity into what you should know from the get go to avoid future conflict.
And don’t forget, if you’re looking for a roommate app that can help with house rules, chore assignment, bill payment and more, check out Enzo. It can make living together a blissful experience.
