Memories of the times of my life when I had a roomate always bring a smile to my face. The first time, in college, sharing late-night pizzas and stories of the evening’s events forgotten in the daze created by 10 cent beers at the local pub. Later, when I bought my first house and the extra cash (and company) led to a beneficial, and long-lasting friendship and fond memories for life. Finally, after getting divorced and temporarily needing a cheap place to crash, roomates are a part of most of our lives at one point or another. But will all of us reminisce back at the experience as being a “good” one?

If you aren’t careful with your selection of roomates, the answer could well be “no”. We’ve blogged in the past about how thorough you should be in evaluating your selection of a mate as far as their financial habits, but a roomate is a different situation, you aren’t necessarily meshing your finances with this person and taking out loans together. But even so, you need to be careful with how you set up the common housing obligations and screen this person’s habits to ensure you won’t be getting yourself into a potentially troublesome situation. One unfortunate situation that is not as uncommon as you might think is your credit score  suffering as a result of something a roomate is responsible for.

There are many ways that this can happen, and many are not necessarily deliberate actions. A deliberate action would be where a roomate actually steals your identity or personal information, and uses it in a way that damages your credit score unbeknowst to you. Although not a large contributor to the ID theft statistics, if you leave your important documents in unlocked areas that a roomate potentially may have access to, you are making yourself more apt to be a victim. Undeliberate actions might consist of  the roomate simply forgetting to pay their half of the rent, or send a payment for the utilites (in your name)  in a given month.

So how do you screen a potential roomate, and set up a system that guarantees the safety of your credit? Here are some tips:

Select a rental property that you can afford on your own if necessary. At least for the short term, ensure you have enough in the budget to cover several months rent in the event you are left on your own. This is particularly critical if you are the sole individual on the lease.

Interview the potential roomate with relevant character and financial questions. Have you ever been late on a rent, credit card or installment payment? How is your credit score? (a bonus if they will show you a copy of the report). Question whether they have had previous roomates, and what the relationship is now with that person (a bonus if they’ll give a list of references to you). You want to see responsibility and stability in the person you will be sharing a residence and expenses with.

Ask them what kind of visitors (and the frequency) they plan to have at the home. Remember, their visitors will potentially have access to your personal information and goods, so consider the answers carefully before rendering a decision.

Never move out if any common bills or the lease is still in your name. Even if you go away on a temporary basis (for instance the summer break), try not to leave utility bills in your name, even if there is a transfer fee switch the responsibility out of your name. I once subletted an apartment for only 1 month over christmas break in college, and returned to a $300 phone bill that the gentleman had rung up calling home to Alaska. I had to take him to court to get him to pay, and it was hardly worth the $150 sublet fee he paid me for the month’s rent.

This should be a fun and exciting time in your life — the typical years  most people spend in a situation that warrants a roomate – possibly your first time out of your parent’s home on your own, feeling free and unencumbered and anxious to establish your own identity in the world. Although most landlords have property management companies that they hire to screen potential tenants, many individuals do not consider doing something similar to check out a person that they plan to allow to live with them in their own home! Follow the tips above at a minimum to ensure you have a good chance of creating lasting, wonderful memories of your experience.

For more great information about identity theft and ways to protect your credit and identity, consult this article.

Readers, if you have any juicy bad roomate experiences to share with us as far as credit or identity theft, grace us with a comment!

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