ARE ROOMMATE LOCATING SERVICES SAFE?Written by dan the roommate man
Looking for a roommate?Roommate locating services make it easy to find someone who shares same interests and goals as you do. You no longer need to put expensive ads in paper because most roommate locating services are free. These services are guaranteed to be fast, easy, and convenient... but are they guaranteed to be safe? In order to increase your security, you should avoid using any locator service which asks you to display your phone number or your current address in your profile. It might seem more convenient to provide potential roommates with every possible way to contact you. However, putting your phone number or current address on internet is just an open invitation for unwanted phone calls, drive bys and danger. The number of people using internet is unfathomable, and, unfortunately, there's a chance some weirdo might use a locator service for evil purposes. If you have access to internet, you have access to some sort of email account, and this is only real contact information you need to provide for potential roommates. Due to mass of subscribers some of these sites have, free roommate locator services do not perform background checks on their members. Every Roommate Locator service I browsed through (about 15) had a section in their disclaimers rejecting any representation of their subscribers' character, credit worthiness, rental history or ability to pay rent. This, then, becomes your responsibility. You will want a credit report done on candidate. A credit report will show you how responsible potential roommates are when it comes to finances. Since your name will be on lease with them, it is important that they have a good history. Some good locator services such as Roommateexpress.com, provide a section for comments. In this section, you should request that people bring a credit history report to interview. This saves you trouble and cost of having to get one made for them. They can get a credit report from RPS on line in thirty seconds for just eight dollars.
| | YOU THINK YOUR ROOMMATES BAD-YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHINGWritten by dan the roommate man
My worst roommate (and I've had some bad ones) was on my semester at Tel-Aviv University. It started on group flight there, with this obnoxious surfer looking guy who was seated next to me (I was on an aisle, he was in middle). On ten hour flight, he had me put something in or take something out of overhead for him at least fifteen or twenty times. He just wouldn't leave me alone, and was constantly begging me to change seats with him, and grab a pen, and put this card in his bag... When we got to dorms and had our orientation meeting, it turned out that I was in same apartment as him, though thank god not same room (each apt was 2 double rooms with a common kitchen and bath).This guy was unreal. He was a bleach-blond surfer, rowed crew, was well over 6' and very muscular (I'm 5'7" and thin), and just a total jerk. He constantly ate food belonging to rest of us, claiming that he had no money, nevermind $100 packages full of crap he'd send back to his girlfriend in CA. After two weeks or so of his constantly disrespecting other three of us, things got a bit tense. The first turning point was when he used an entire pack of my roommate's razors to shave part of his head, and from then on he seemed to be in ever-lessening contact with reality. About a month into his stay, he decided to adopt a stray dog that he found near beach while surfing. This, of course, couldn't happen, because you can't have dogs in dorms, and rest of us weren't too keen on having a stray dog around. Jason, psycho, completely lost it when he was told he couldn't keep dog ("if he goes, I go, because he's only one who understands me"). He got right in my face and threatened to kill me if I turned him in (remember our size and strength disparities...), since I was only one who was home when he came charging in with this poor mutt. Later that day, after security guards and program people told him dog had to go, he took off, and wasn't heard from for a couple of days.
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