Living with a roommate is a great way to reduce your living expenses, but it’s not always the easiest journey. With some pre-planning and communication, though, you can avoid some of the most common pitfalls of roommate relationships. 

1. Have Separate Space

The best way to ensure that you and your roommate aren’t in each other’s way and on each other’s nerves is to have separate spaces that are just your own, where no one else’s mess or habits can intrude. Fortunately, The Pointe offers several two-bedroom, two-bathroom floor plans that allow each roommate to have a private retreat space.

2. Talk Things Out Early On

An up-front, honest conversation (ideally, before moving in together) can help prevent some common interpersonal problems. Topics to cover can include: household chores and how they’ll be handled, agreed-upon quiet hours, guidelines for guests (how many, how often, and how long they can stay), and anything else likely to cause conflict down the road if left unaddressed. 

You don’t need to draw up a full-blown chore chart, but it might not be a bad idea to document your responsibilities for future reference. Decide by consensus how you’ll handle it when one of you doesn’t complete their tasks on schedule. Have a plan in place for when someone finishes the last of the milk, but it’s not their turn to grocery shop. And definitely discuss how to handle it when one or both of you leaves dirty dishes for an extended period of time, because that scenario has occurred in every roommate arrangement in history.

3. Figure Out Expenses

Start your cohabitation off right by coming up with a plan for how to handle expenses. Who’s responsible for which bills? Will you split the rent 50-50, or will the roommate with the larger bedroom pay a larger share? What within the household (food, dishes, cleaning supplies, items in common areas) is shared, expense-wise, and what belongs to just one of you? Come to an agreement about how you’ll jointly or independently manage all expenses.

Looking for Your Next Home?

The Pointe’s spacious two-bedroom floor plans are perfect for roommates. If you’re looking for a luxury apartment in Hilliard, call us – we offer in-person and virtual tours: (614) 845-6907.