Moving In with a Roommate: 3 Tips to Splitting Up the Bills

If you're on the market hunting for a new St. Joe apartment to call your home, then you may also be on the market for a new roommate.

Having a roommate is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to have a bigger and better apartment for a fraction of the price. If you play your cards right, then you might be able to score an awesome apartment with even more awesome roommates.

However, here's the rub: having a roommate means figuring out how to split the bills. If you're a seasoned apartment-sharer or have roomed with a particular person or set of people before, you may have an easier time with it than most. But if you're new to the apartment or roommate game, you may be looking for the best way to split up the inevitable rent and utility bills that arise.

So how do you do that? Here are a few tips:

1. 1. Start with a roommate agreement: Before you do anything, make sure you have a roommate agreement. This may be the single most important piece of paper that you sign with your roommates other than your lease. This legally binding roommate agreement will outline your financial obligations toward the rent, utilities, etc., and can help cover you if something goes south for some reason.
2. 2. Decide how the rent will be split: There are a couple of different ways that you can decide how the rent will be split, but it's important to determine this before you get in too deep (and before you sign your roommate agreement. I'm telling you, it's very important.).

• If all of the rooms are of an equal size, you may decide to split the rent by the number of rooms and call it even. For example, if you were in a two bedroom apartment and your rent was $1000, then each roommate would pay $500. Easy!

However, if the rooms have a significant size difference, the roommate with the smaller room may vouch that they deserve to pay less rent. I mean, would you want to pay the same price as your roommate if you were living in a closet while they had a room big enough for a king-sized bed with an en suite bathroom? No way!

Dividing up the cost of rent can get a little sticky, so it's best to lay that out early, even if it takes a bit of negotiating. You don't want to be dissatisfied with the arrangement and change it in the middle of the lease - because that could cause even more problems.

3. If things get tense, take a minute to listen: Money is a very sensitive subject for almost everyone. If you and your roommate find yourselves at a crossroads about a money issue, take a moment to stop and hear them out because anger doesn't solve anything. Don't immediately tune them out or brush off what they have to say. You might find that you agree with them and are willing to modify your roommate agreement to make it a better fit for everyone.

After all, the best way to split up the bills accurately is to make sure that everyone is paying them - and if everyone is upset, then that won't happen!

American Electric Lofts is committed to transparency, simplicity, and honesty in renting loft apartments in St Joseph MO.