Anyone ever answered a "Room-mate wanted" ad?

[HEyHEY]

My prospective room-mates keep bugging out on me or procrastinating.
I saw some roomies wanted ads on Craig's list and alot of them are kick-ass apartments. Anyone ever answered one of these? What was your experience like?

[hunter]

1. Yes.

I keep expecting people to recognize me here and tell stories. I was a terrible roommate, but then again, I had roommates who were even worse.

Looking back, the most irritating thing about me as a roommate was that I'd disappear for random stretches of time, and I was unstable enough that decent people would start to worry about me and call my parents, or my girlfriend, thinking I was dead somewhere. Then my parents would be back on their roller coaster of worry about me all over again.

My least troublesome roommates were the ones who didn't give a damn so long as the rent was paid. As a young single guy the longest I ever stayed in one place was with a crazy veteran who really didn't notice my strange behavior. He talked to dead people, and they seemed to think I was a pretty nice guy. I left because he creeped out my girlfriend. I had this stupid notion then that my girlfriend wanted me to move in with her, but that proved not to be the case, and I ended up without a place to live for awhile. Sometimes my girlfriend let me sleep on the floor of her apartment, but I never made it so far as her bedroom. She'd close her bedroom door, and for all I knew, she'd lock it.

The best place I ever settled down in was in a big five bedroom house with a bunch of guys. One of the guys owned the house and he was very busy making his fortune in real estate, although he was upside down on the mortgage of this particular house at the time. He was another veteran, and I think he was very good at organizing things so that diverse people could live together without a lot of friction. His house rule of no noise after ten o'clock weeknights worked well for me because I was working construction and got up early. Otherwise I was writing code, and mostly I was quiet anyways. It didn't matter to anyone that I'd go jogging at two in the morning or disappear for a week.

I think what makes these things work is if both sides are honest with one another. If there is even a hint of dishonesty, even if it's something like smelling cigarette smoke in a situation advertised as "non-smoking" and you don't feel right about it, then leave.

I've never had my own apartment, even though that was something I thought everyone was "supposed to do" somehow. I met my wife, we were married, we rented a house for a short time, and then we bought a house.

[XNASA]

2. They're buggin out because you don't own a reliable iron.

New iron = new roomie.

[snacker]

3. Yes...

one of my daughter's friends moved to a new city and found a place to live (with a roommmate) on Craig's list. It worked out well for her. Also, my daughter used it to find tenants (with landlord's permission) for downstairs apartment--that worked well also. Landlord gave her a nice commission and she got to chose the downstair's tenants.

[SeattleGirl]

4. I did once, and it turned out to be one of the best living situations

I've ever been in.

[nosillies]

5. I did, although it was in another country

Did I love my roomates? Only one of the 5. Was it OK and fine? Sure was.

[jane_pippin]

6. Well, I haven't but a friend of mine did a while ago...

and when she went to go see the place one of the roommates there wound up being a former friend with whom she'd had a falling out a few years earlier. That was in no way awkward. :D

Another friend went the craigslist route with better success though. She said the key is taking a lot of time, answering lots of ads, and when you meet people spell out what you want from roommates and ask bluntly what potential roommates want from you. It took her a little while--maybe 3 weeks-a month, not too long really--but she wound up meeting some cool people to live with and she's happy in her place now.

Good luck! :toast:

[crim son]

7. I have. I became the third roommate in an apartment in Boston

after an extensive interview. Unfortunately the two originals ended up hating me because I partied too much. Within a few months they both left, leaving me to find two new, great roommates. It can work in your favor!