You finally found the perfect roommate, congratulations! But how can you be sure things are going to run smoothly when you guys move in together? You may have had a thorough search and asked a lot of questions to this person, but if you've never actually lived with them, how do you know things will run smoothly? Everyone loves living in a safe and comfortable environment, and so today's video, we're gonna be going over how you can set up a roommate agreement and so how you and your roommate can live together in harmony. So if you're ready, we're going to be jumping into the first part about what is roommate agreement. So what is a roommate agreement? Well, it's not a legal document like a lease, a roommate agreement is a simple agreement between you and your roommate on living accommodations and responsibilities for both parties. If there's a dispute, you can always refer to the roommate agreement to help clarify for a solution. And the roommate agreement should help actually avoid issues in the first place as certain responsibilities such as chores will be written down and discussed prior, so there will be no need to actually have an issue in the first place if people follow the roommate agreement. And you can check out some sample roommate agreements in the description below, if you're curious to what they look like or you need a sample for yourself. You'll first want to discuss the idea of a roommate agreement with your fellow roommate before you propose a full document. Not every roommate is going to be willing right away to set up a roommate agreement and if you force it upon them, they may not abide by it anyways. So it's best to get some buy in that the roommate agreement is for the best of both of you. One great way to approach this is by asking your roommate to list out the things that they'd want to see in the roommate agreement. Then you can list the things out you'd like on your own time, and then you'll want to find a time you can meet for an hour or two so you can discuss the potential responsibilities and things you'll include in the roommate agreement. If there's things down the road that you'll find that aren't really applicable to the responsibilities and living arrangements of both you and your roommate, you can always change the agreement later. It's also a good idea to prepare the roommate agreement before the fellow roommate signs the lease with you. If there are disagreements for the responsibilities and arrangements in the roommate agreement, this could be a sign that this isn't a good fit for you. However, ideally the roommate would sign the roommate agreement and the lease at the same time. A roommate agreement can help you with several things. The first item is rent, and this could simply be an easy 50/50 split. However, if one roommate has a larger bedroom with possibly an en suite bathroom and the other roommate has a smaller bedroom, you may want to consider charging proportional prices based on the bedroom size. Similarly, maybe one roommate wants to do all the chores and housework to pay a lower rent fee. You'll want to lay this out in the roommate agreement so you're both in understanding of who's going to pay rent. You want to include the exact amount that each party is responsible for, when that rent should be paid and who it should be paid to. You should also list the security deposit. If you yourself have paid that in full, you'll want to list that in the roommate agreement so there's no misunderstandings down the road. If there has been a split. You'll want to list that and the details pertaining to that as well. There could be other expenses as well. Maybe you have cable TV or several online streaming accounts such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. It's not always fair to make the roommate pay for half of these if maybe they don't even like these services or use them altogether. You should list these out in the roommate agreement for what parties responsible. Maybe you guys can come together and discuss what services you'd like to split and what ones you'd like to keep explicitly on your own. Again, you'll want to list which person is responsible for paying what and on what date, so there's no confusion when the bill arrives in the mail. You'll need to make clear who is responsible for the house cleaning. Each roommate should be responsible for cleaning their own bedroom, but you may have other arrangements for the common areas. Maybe you alternate each cleaning the living room and kitchen one week, etc. However, to make it easy, you should itemize all the duties such as cleaning the dishes, dusting, vacuuming, washing the floors, cleaning the bathroom, toilets and sink, etc. This will leave no confusion when it's time to clean those things and who is responsible for doing it this time around. And what about the larger house cleaning tasks such as cleaning out the fridge or cleaning the oven? These can be itemized in the roommate agreement as well, and you could discuss when you'd like to be doing this with the roommate and how you alternate cleaning these things. You can also discuss, if you'd like a cleaning service to take a portion of the house cleaning activities. So what about groceries? Well, eating someone else's food can cause serious issues with other roommates. Will everything be communal? Maybe you'll divvy up the fridge so the bottom half will store your food and the top half will store your roommate's food. Will you be allowed to share? You should discuss these things with the roommate and put them in the roommate agreement so there's no confusion down the road. Are there going to be some areas in the home strictly for you or your roommates use? Maybe you have an en suite bathroom that's off limits to your roommate. Or maybe they have items like a wine fridge that's for their personal use only. You want to write these items down and clarify what areas of the home are available to both roommates or just one of them. That way there's no disagreement if a person is using your wine fridge and you've allowed for that. Unexpected guests can cause issues or both yourself and your roommate if there is not an agreement in place before. What happens if you or your roommate is curled up on the couch in their pajamas and you bring a guest over that plops down right beside them? They may begin to feel uncomfortable and not want that guest there. What about overnight guests? Are you going to allow your roommate or yourself to have overnight guests for a few nights or maybe even only one night? These are things you want to outline in the roommate agreement. For instance, maybe visitors are only allowed after a certain time and maybe there is a one night rule for overnight guests. You want to discuss this with the roommate and clarify it in the exact details in the agreement. Smoking, alcohol and drug use can be a huge annoyance or even a scare for you or your roommate if you haven't discussed this in advance. With regards to parties, you'll also want to double check if your landlord has specified a quiet time or if there are certain bylaws in your area that restrict you to be noisy beyond a certain hour. You'll also need to clarify with the roommate when you'll have parties and when you won't. For instance, if you work on the weekend and your roommate doesn't and likes to party all weekend, well this isn't going to be a worthwhile arrangement as you won't get the sleep you need for work. Similarly, they won't be able to have the fun they need, so you'll need to work out an agreement that's best for both of you. Parking can also be an issue with your roommate if you both have cars. In many detached homes, even apartment complexes and condos, there may only be one parking spot allotted for the two of you. In cases like this, you're going to want to discuss who is allowed to use the parking spot and when. If one of you is going to use it full time, maybe the other person will have a reduction in rent. So be sure to outline this and the roommate agreement. Sounds funny, but you should probably agree on the baseline temperature the house should be set at. During winter months where it may be colder, you may be able to agree to turn up the heat in order to keep the house warm. Some roommates will not want to pay the extra electricity or heating bill associated with increasing the heat as it may not be included in the rent. So you want to discuss this with your roommate and outline it in the roommate agreement. Maybe if you have the heat on all the time in your room, you may pay a little more for the electricity or heating expenses associated. What will you do if you or your roommate wants to move out? Will they be responsible for finding a new roommate to move in? Or will you be responsible for finding and interviewing that person? How will rent be paid? Will it be split between the two of you until they can find a new person to move in? You want to discuss these things with your roommate and outline the exact details in the roommate agreement. Thus, if one person wants to move out down the road, there's no issues or huge discussion that needs to be made. All the details are finally laid out in the agreement. So now that you successfully prepared a roommate agreement, it's time for you to get renters insurance so you can protect your personal belongings and your liability. So if you're looking for an online renters insurance, quote, you can go to Squareoneinsurance .com.