Using the Internet to Find a Roommate from Schmeg.com

   

Looking for a roommate? Online roommate locating services are an easy and safe way to find someone who shares the same interests and goals as you do. You no longer need to put pricey ads in the paper because the right roommate locating service is usually a lot more efficient and effective. Locating services are guaranteed to be fast, easy, and convenient. The good services are also safe!

Use a service that will help you increase your security; avoid using any services which ask you to display your phone number or your current address in your profile. While it might seem more convenient to provide potential roommates with every possible way to contact you, putting your phone number or current address on the Internet is just an open invitation for unwanted phone calls, or worse. If you have access to the Internet, you have access to some sort of e-mail account, and this is the only real contact information you need to provide for potential roommates. Really good locating services will provide you with internal e-mail capability so that you do not even have to give out your e-mail account… talk about safety.

Popular roommate locator services have many potential roommates for you to choose from. The really good ones use a sophisticated matching engine to find you a roommate based on your profile. Do you smoke? Do you have an occasional overnight guest? Do you mind having a dog in the house? By providing the locator services the right information not only will your search be quicker, but it will also be more productive.

So, back to the safety issue…These services do not perform background checks on their members and even have disclaimers rejecting any representation of their subscribers' character, credit worthiness, rental history or ability to pay rent. Many of them provide links to helpful services like credit checks and background checks.

You will want to do a credit check on the candidate; it will show you how responsible potential roommates are when it comes to finances. Since your name will be on the lease with them, it is important that they have a good history. You will also want to perform a background check on their criminal history. The entire process costs about forty dollars, which may seem like a lot of money, but not when that's all you have to pay to protect yourself from danger.

Although roommate locator services are convenient and easy, you need to be careful when deciding which one to join. Avoid giving out too much information, and once you find a good candidate for your new roommate, make sure they have a good history. You should take all precautions to insure your safety.

Also see.....Steps to Being a Good Roommate