Has anyone ever roommated w/ someone you didn't know? (Phoenix: home, neighborhood)

[krock1dk]

You have every right to be apprehensive about rooming with a starnger. Out of desperation, I did it several years ago. One of the biggest mistakes of my life. Be extremely careful.

[KarmaPhx]

I would advise against it unless your poor college students and it's your only option to have a roof over your head.

I could never live with someone I didn't trust.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You could also look on Craigslist for students, interns, summer jobs, etc. types of people. That way you would not be committed to a long time and you could see how it goes. This past summer I had a college student here for a special 2-month course. Worked out fine. I made no written agreement, just verbal, so I could kick her out if necessary.

[Jucaam]

About 20 years ago when I was a very poor collage student...I rented an apartment with a co-worker I hardly knew, it was a female who smoked cigs and POT (I didn't even know this until AFTER moving in)!!! We didn't get along after a few weeks and it turned out to be a disaster too.

Next roommate was a guy who was renting a room at his townhouse in Central Phoenix. I replied to an from the newspaper (pre-internet days). Turned out to be a better situation. He wasn't home very often, would help fix my minor car repairs, kill bugs, paid bills on time, was responsible, and we got along great! Lucky, he wasn't a creep or weirdo! He turned out to be a good friend.

[sassieb75]

Trudawg, I'd suggest putting an ad up somewhere that you could get a nurse for a roommate. Maybe locat the folks that set up travel nurses. You may get someone that works nights. Your location may be attractive with the hospitals being fairly close. Good luck! It shouldn't be that hard to find a decent roommate, especially in this economy.

[flypnay704]

trudawg,

I did it when I moved out of the ASU dorms (I moved to Phx from SF, Ca) & knew no one in the immediate Tempe/Phx area when I moved to AZ. Although I used an ad/agency (online pairing system), I had nothing but great experiences. Sorry, I can't remember what the site was, but you actually had to pay (it was like $5.00 or something - they just want to make sure you're legit and really looking for a place to live or a renting out a place etc.) I'm female, and did not have any problems at all finding a roommate (I ended up with a male roommate, most women probably don't post for a roommate, I suppose) he was about 7 years older than me and was very polite. We had different schedules, so that was awesome. I checked out about 5-10 different places, and most of them were pretty decent (garage space with a pool etc), so it's not like the places were pretty sh*tty or something.

Good luck!

[fcorrales80]

Yes! Half the time is was horrible the other half was marvelous and I'm still good friends with the amazing roommates I had in the past. I think I've had over 15 roommates (college years, military, single years, etc.). For the most part it was all fun. Even the terrible roommates had their moments and still friends with some of the bad apples. They make excellent friends, but HORRIBLE roommates, LOL!

[lazlaz]

Yes, she is my bestfriend today. Although this may work for many you should always think safety. Protect you personal information until you get a know the person. Buy a heavy duty fire lock safe for your documents, bank checks, mail, etc. , a shredder, get a post office box, get a small storage shed for very valuable items. That is what I did just to keep my things safe simply because you can't take everything with or I couldn't. I only took the bare minimum and personal documents were safe or shredded. Also, you can't control who comes and goes when you live with others.

[lazlaz]

Originally Posted by trudawg

I'm looking for a roommate but am a little aprehensive to take on a stranger. I know this may be trivial but I don't want to end up w/ someone wierd lol. I'm not really afraid of somone stealing or anything like that (have nothing of value in my house), but just getting into a situation that would be difficult to get out of

Be afraid of them stealing your identity you don't want to have to deal with that years later. Try not to become locked into a lease with the person. That can be good or bad, if they leave you're not stuck paying alone but if you don't then you can easily be replaced. Replaced, no biggy I say tons of ppl and families are looking to rent a room for extra income.

[tripper76]

I've been a renter in other people's homes several times and never had any issues. But I tend to respect others' homes, spaces, and rules. If you want to weed out deadbeats, just be as specific as possible in your ad. You could also ask for references or do a simple background or credit check. You may not get a bite since there are so many people looking for roomies. But you'll definitely keep out the riff raff.