Tell me about male/female roomie dynamics

[Els]

Agreed with your advice. I should start calling places myself. Question, would my lack of renting credit hamper my ability to get a lease?

 

I don't know about the USA, but here your credit has nothing to do with whether you have rented or not. It is just related to whether or not you have debt to your name and how prompt (or not so prompt) you have been towards payments of any kind. Landlord references (which are a different thing) might be asked for, but not everyone has them, so you should try anyway. It is possible that you might need to settle for a 'not so in demand' place for your first rental, but once you have that it gets easier.

 

So my question now is... if a landlord says no openings for July or August, we'll call you if something opens up... does that mean if someone dies or has to leave last second due to say a family situation living far away or a last second job opportunity?

Don't count on it. Look elsewhere.

 

I'm unfamiliar with rent leases. If you're signed on for 1 year for example, and let's say you get a dream job offer on the other side of the country. Can you terminate a 12 month lease early? I'm guessing you would just have to pay some kind of compensation fee?

Differs depending on your contract. Yes, usually you can get off with compensation, but the compensation can be a LOT, so you try and avoid that. In your place I would sign a shorter lease if possible. Hopefully others in your locale can advise you.

 

Good luck!

Edited June 7, 2014 by Elswyth

[Teknoe]

Sort of a big (mental) update to share...

 

I'm a lot more open to rooming with my old best friend now than I am maybe even of my female friend. It's been a little frustrating/discouraging trying to find a good spot in-between us. It's because the town in-between our work places is a place of demand and value. So, unless something opens up on that one location, and it's highly unlikely that it will, it just doesn't look like it's in the cards.

 

But the other developing reason is her lack of gusto and reply time is bothering me. I guess in some ways it doesn't surprise me, as she tends to drift in and out during the course of our friendship. I always seem to be quicker to initiate and respond, while she is more reactive, but she does take her sweet time. So, quite frankly, her lack of urgency is starting to annoy me a bit.

 

So the other night I texted my old best friend (OBF). Asking him if area X would be too far for his work commute and that I am thinking of moving out come August. His reply:

 

Not far at all. I'm interested

 

And it got the wheels turning. Maybe it's time I branch out on my own and really look at this as moving out and learning to become a fully grown adult, versus moving out BUT probably half the thrill/excitement/reasoning stemming from the idea of rooming with an attractive female friend.

 

Now the idea of rooming with my OBF is becoming a lot more attractive. Maybe it will be really good for me to get some male bonding in my life. I also have to say I overexaggerated his drug usage. I know he smokes, but I did he only did other drugs in his college days. I think he's just a smoker now, but that would be one of my rules. No smoking in the apartment, although I assume that would be a built-in rule of the actual apt complex already. I'd prefer he not come back to the apartment reeking of smoke smell though, so I'd prefer him to not smoke at all. Plus for his own health.

 

Plus, the area that my OBF and I can stay at has lesser value than the one with my female friend. That makes finding a place in my price range much more available and realistic. So, the journey continues. We shall see how it all shakes out.

[clia]

Agreed with your advice. I should start calling places myself. Question, would my lack of renting credit hamper my ability to get a lease? The reason I had her call instead is because she's been renting for the last several years, giving her a better line of credit than me. I'm afraid I'll be rejected by landlords due to a lack of renting experience. Or are they far more open minded than I think?

 

It's been awhile since I rented, but I think they look at your employment history, income, and generally run a credit check. Do you have credit cards? I don't think it matters that you haven't rented before if everything else is in line; everyone has to start somewhere. And you have steady employment, so you should be fine.

 

So my question now is... if a landlord says no openings for July or August, we'll call you if something opens up... does that mean if someone dies or has to leave last second due to say a family situation living far away or a last second job opportunity? I'm unfamiliar with rent leases. If you're signed on for 1 year for example, and let's say you get a dream job offer on the other side of the country. Can you terminate a 12 month lease early? I'm guessing you would just have to pay some kind of compensation fee? Haha sorry for my lack of knowledge on this front. I appreciate the help in advance.

 

It depends on the terms of your lease. But yes, usually there is a fee for breaking a lease.

 

I think rooming with your old best friend sounds like a good bet, but before you go too far down this road you better address the smoking issue and make sure he is cool with smoking outside only if you move in together. Also, he will smell like smoke, his clothes will smell like smoke, his room will smell like smoke, he may transfer that smoke smell to the furniture if it is fabric, etc. So, just be prepared for that.

[somedude81]

Back when I first moved to SoCal for college I had a roommate who smoked inside the apartment.

 

It was absolutely horrible and the apartment stunk all the time.

 

If you do live with a smoker, you need to be adamant about him not smoking inside.

[Els]

Eesh, I would rather room with a stranger than a smoker. But that's just me. Agreeing with clia and SD, you gotta talk to him about the smoking before you make any further plans together.

[Teknoe]

Agreeing with clia and SD, you gotta talk to him about the smoking before you make any further plans together.

 

 

For sure. I would have to make that very very clear.

 

Well, small update. The apt my female friend and I were looking at, I decided to stop by physically yesterday just to check it out. It looks like it's in an OK part of town, not the safest but far from seedy, I think. I met the residential manager (Landlord) and we seemed to click. I wanted to show her I was interested and so that she could put a face to the name.

 

The good news is this is a month to month lease, so it's very possible someone in the complex could put in their 30 days' notice either end of June or end of July. Perhaps not likely, but possible... certainly more possible than a 12-month lease plan.

 

The landlord also put a star next to my name. She said it wasn't favoritism, but she wanted to note that I had dropped in and that I'm the one to call if something opens up (and not my female friend, as I wanted to be the leader of the two of us, so to speak)

 

so we'll see. still exploring other options in the meantime.