I have lots of experience with roommates, both as a renter moving into a house, and now as a homeowner. All in all, I’ve had a total of 11 different roommates in the last 3.5 years, and all have been pretty good situations. I tend to look for:
1. Have they lived with roommates before? It’s a very different dynamic than living by yourself and many who are used to living on their own are not used to sharing their space.
2. Photo of their previous living space. I’ve never done this but I read about it somewhere and it seems like a good idea. Gives you an idea of cleanliness, decor, how “lived in” their space is, a bit of their personality.
3. Why are they moving? Watch out for baggage (breaking up with a boyfriend of 10 years, like one woman I interviewed).
4. How much time do they spend at home? Do they watch a lot of TV or movies? Do they cook often?
5. Typical sleep hours, do they like playing music around the house or would rather want quiet? Are having guests over OK?
6. Cleanliness.
7. Smoking, drugs, alcohol.
7. Credit history, and possible references from previous roommates
Generally though, I just look for someone I feel I will get along with but isn’t going to be too needy or clingy.
