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The First Email
Once you have posted your roommate listing, you will begin to get a variety of replies. You will not want to take the time to personally interview every person who replies to your roommate ad, so crafting a specific response to potential roommate inquiries will help you initially weed out people who will not be compatible. The goal of the first few emails is for you to find out more information about the person before making a decision to interview them.
When replying to a potential roommate, your tone should be polite and professional. Watch your grammar, as bad grammer and typos can negatively affect what type of roommate you'll end up with. You should come up with four to five routine questions that you ask everyone who you reply to. Craft you questions wisely, because your choice of questions will also have an impact on your final decision. Assuming that you have already specified your personality traits and roommate preferences in your free iHomeConnect.com roommate ad, the following are a few questions you may want to include in your replies:
- Have you lived with a roommate in the past?
- Are you currently employed, and what is your occupation?
- What types of music/movies do you enjoy?
- How would you describe yourself?
- What do you expect from a roommate?
- What are your pet peeves?
Determining Compatibility with an Interview
After reading the responses to your emails, you will probably have a good idea of who you actually want to interview. While you may be tempted to go with one of the first few people you interview, make sure that you interview a variety of people before you make your final decision. The interview is extremely important because this is the point when you get to see how your potential roommate behaves in person. When conduction an interview, it is usually best that you meet somewhere public, other than your home, for the very first time. A coffee shop, bistro, or small restaurant are great places for the first interview.
When you are interviewing prospective roommates, there are a variety of things that you want to learn about them from the interview. First of all, you want to get a good idea of who they are. Ask about their background, where and how they were raise, their education, and what type of employment they are involved in. Also, be sure to find out their likes and dislikes, such as whether they like to drink, smoke, have (or desire to have) pets, and what music they enjoy listening to (and whether they enjoy it LOUD). There is nothing worse than a roommate who loves to blast the stereo at night when you're trying to concentrate on something or sleep. Be sure to find out if they have a boyfriend or girlfriend, friends and family, and whether they are considering having them stay over.
Finding out about the boyfriend of girlfriend is definitely an important matter, as I discovered in my own experience. There is nothing worse than waking up in your own place and walking out to kitchen to make the coffee, only to be greeted by a strange man in boxers eating up the rest of the contents of your box of Lucky Charms. Talk about a rude awakening. So, always, always, ask about a significant other.
An important thing to find out when interviewing your prospective roommate is their sleeping habits . Find out if they are a morning person or a night owl before you make your decision. Other things to ask about in the interview include privacy, neatness, meals, utilities, cleaning, hobbies, and entertaining friends. Remember this, though, that while asking questions and getting to know the person is important, you want it to be a comfortable and relaxed interview so you can truly get to know their personality. If the initial interview goes well, then you may want to show them the room that you are renting out, which may give you more hints as to whether or not this person will make a great roommate.
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