You just signed the lease for your beautiful luxury apartment at Adam’s Crossing. Always mindful of your expenses, you decided to share the rent with a roommate. Regardless of whether your roommate is your best friend of fifteen years or someone you found on Craigslist, there are several important roommate conversations you must have before moving in. Failure to address these topics inevitably leads to bad blood between you and your roomie.
Cleaning
Maintaining the cleanliness of your apartment requires all roommates’ participation. Consider making a chore chart that includes a rotation of tasks for the apartment’s common areas. Find a system that works for everyone. If you get stuck scrubbing the bathtub and toilet every week and your roommate just empties the dishwasher and vacuums, you might develop animosity towards them. Divide the tasks evenly, and make sure the “dirty” chores don’t always fall on the same roommate.
Schedules
Specifically in our 2 bedroom/1 bath and 3 bedroom/2 bath apartments, discuss each other’s morning schedules. Designate who gets the bathroom for which period of time so that everyone can leave for work or school on time. If you get into the bathroom fifteen minutes late, looks like you have fifteen minutes less of bathroom time. Be respectful of each other’s schedules.
Guest Policy
Introverts and extraverts can happily share an apartment, but you must openly communicate expectations. If your roommate enjoys quiet time in the privacy of their own apartment in the evenings, be cognizant of their needs. Ask if they mind before you invite people over.
Space
Before everyone grocery shops for the first time, map out which shelves in the cabinets and space in the refrigerator/freezer belongs to which roommate. Few things rival the frustration of buying a pint of ice cream and not having room for it in the freezer because your roommate overstocked on frozen dinners.
Pets
At Adam’s Crossing, we welcome pets — but does your roommate? This conversation should actually occur before signing the lease. If you have a pet and your prospective roommate isn’t ok with living with an animal, you shouldn’t be roommates. Also, if during the course of your lease you or your roommate decide to adopt a pet, all roommates must be consulted. If they didn’t agree to living with an animal at the signing of the lease, they have no obligation to allow a pet in their home.
Engage in these roommate conversations before moving in to ensure a happy and harmonious living experience!
Located in Waldorf, MD, Adam’s Crossing offers affordable luxury apartments ranging from two to three bedrooms — perfect for you and your roommates! Haven’t taken a tour of Adam’s Crossing yet? Schedule a tour with one of our property managers and check out the second phase of our development, Adam’s II.
