By MyNewPlace Guest Blogger, Ron Leshnower – About.com’s Apartment Living Expert!

2012 is an election year and, as daily headlines remind us, the country is in the middle of a contentious primary season.

If you’re sharing an apartment with another person, this is a time when you may discover that your roommate favors a candidate you find abhorrent or takes a view on an issue that’s in sharp contrast with how you feel.

It’s nice if you agree with your roommate when it comes to politics, because it’s one more thing you have in common. But when roommates don’t see eye to eye on political issues, there’s no need to view disagreements as a threat to your good roommate relationship.

Compatibility is key when looking for the perfect roommate. When it comes to politics, what’s important is that roommates respect each other’s views and different backgrounds. It’s easy to let your roommate’s politics get to you, feeling as if your belief system or values are suddenly under attack in your own home. But remember that your roommate didn’t adopt any political view to spite you, and so while friendly debates might be fun, getting defensive and argumentative isn’t healthy, productive, or warranted.

The truth is that people of all political persuasions can make great, considerate, and responsible roommates, and there’s no reason that politics should interfere with a terrific roommate experience.

By MyNewPlace Guest Blogger, Ron Leshnower – About.com’s Apartment Living Expert!

Adorning your apartment with holiday decor can be a fun way to celebrate the holidays or get into the festive mood of the season. Normally, if someone you know doesn’t share your decorative tastes, it’s not a big deal. But when you live in an apartment, if others — such as your roommate or landlord — take issue with your decor decisions, it could lead to problems.

Roommates

When you share your apartment with another person, there’s the potential that you won’t see eye to eye when it comes to decorating your apartment for the holidays. Even if you both celebrate the same holidays, you and your roommate might have conflicting views on how much you want your apartment to reflect the holiday season. Or you might just feel uneasy living among decorations for a holiday you don’t believe in.

The way to resolve holiday decor disputes with your roommate is through compromise. Learn about the most common reasons why apartment dwellers argue with their roommates when it comes to holiday decorations, and how you can reach a compromise in each situation.

Landlords

Sometimes, landlords try to discourage or even bar tenants from displaying certain religious items in their apartment, especially during the holiday season. Or they may do the opposite, by making tenants who don’t want to display religious objects in their apartment feel pressured to do.

If your landlord tries to dictate your religious views and how you choose to display them — or not — in your apartment, you may have a strong fair housing claim. Find out more about how the law protects you in this situation.

Have something to add? Or a legal question for Ron? We’d love to hear from you – drop us a line in the comments section!

1. Document the state of your apartment when you arrive.

When you first move into a new apartment, the most important thing to do is take photos and video of the unit. Perform a walkthrough with the landlord and check off the form your complex gives you but take it a step further and, instead of just writing that there is a crack in the bathtub or that the paint is peeling inside the master bedroom closet, take a picture to go along with your written description. Make absolutely certain that you examine every element of the apartment thoroughly. This means you’ll need to open up cabinets, test out all the windows and perform much more than just a cursory glance of the apartment. The more thorough you are in the walk through, the more protected you’ll be when it comes time to get your deposit back.

2. Take good care of the apartment when you live there.

Whether you’ll be in an apartment for six months, a year or a decade, the best thing you can do is treat it as if it belonged to you. Clean up messes as soon as you find them, repair anything that becomes damaged and be gentle with the apartment. The best way to get your deposit back is to give your landlord no reason to spend it.

3. Clean up thoroughly when you move.

Unless you have some professional cleaning experience, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to clean the apartment to pristine condition but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Clean everything you can: the inside of the cabinets and drawers, the windows, the walls, the carpets, the appliances. Make sure everything, including all the garbage is out of the house as well. If you’ve laid the groundwork, a professional cleaning crew may only take an hour instead of a half a day, saving you a lot of money. If you’ve given it a decent try, it’s also possible for the landlord to decide to pick up the tab on the remainder of the cleaning bill.

4. Document the apartment on your way out.

Perform another walk through with your landlord after you’ve moved out and cleaned the apartment up. Again, you’ll want to document everything in writing and in video or photo. Agree on anything that needs to be fixed and get everything in writing so that there aren’t any surprises later.

5. Know your rights.

Some states require that the deposit be returned within a couple of weeks while others give landlords a couple of months to pay back tenants. Some states may also require that the landlord pay interest on the deposit. Know the laws in your state so that you’re able to get everything you’re entitled to.

Questions? Comments? We’d love to hear from you – here or on our Facebook page!

1. Make first contact.

Your first email to a person who is renting out a room should be pleasant, cordial and informative. You want to let your new potential roommate determine whether you would be a good fit for the apartment. At this point, there’s no need to divulge your current location if you don’t want to. Give your potential roommate a chance to get to know you a little bit before you tell him you’re moving in from out of town. Do, however, be sure to leave your phone number in that first email!

2. Talk with your potential roommates over a video chat service, such as Skype.

Skyping with a potential roommate will allow you to get to know them better before you have a chance to meet in person. Though it’s not the same as meeting in person, getting to see one another can help people build trust and can help you prove that you are who you say you are.

3. Give good references.

If you’ve had roommates before, offer their numbers to new roommates you hope to rent from. You may also want to give an employer, a friend or a relative as a reference. While references won’t definitively prove to a potential roommate that you’re a nice person who can pay the bills on time and who cleans up after themselves, they can go a long way in making a new roommate feel secure about living with you. You might also consider temporarily befriending your potential roommate on a popular social network such as Facebook or LinkedIn so they can check you out. Obviously, this is beneficial for you, too!

4. Consider a short-term rental or long-term motel room.

If you’re moving far away, it may be a good idea to plan on staying at an apartment or even a motel for a month or two before you get into your permanent apartment. Though it can be a little costly, staying at a place short term has its advantages. For one thing, you’ll be able to explore your new city so that you know which parts of town you’d like to live in and which parts you might like to avoid. It also makes it possible to interview with potential roommates in person.

5. Be the primary leaseholder.

If you can afford the extra rent and deposit for a month, it may also be a good idea to rent a place on your own and then look for a roommate once you arrive. Apartment rental communities may be more willing to work with someone from out of town than individuals renting out rooms in their apartments. Talk to leasing offices on the phone to find out what your options might be and how to secure an apartment before you arrive in your new city.

Want to chime in? We’d love to hear from you – here or on our Facebook page!

1. Make sure your housemate is aware of your concerns

Even if you live with the world’s craziest crazy, it’s hardly fair to act as though everything is fine until the day you say sayonara.   (Except, of course, if you are in danger—in that case, skip this whole post and go directly to the police, or someone more professional than a blogger.)   Your issues might be more easily rectified than you imagine when you’re hiding away in your bedroom, stewing and writing emotional journal entries.  Give the guy a chance.

2.  Check that the laws are on your side

There are a myriad of different legal situations possible here.   If you own the house, you may have to give your housemate an eviction notice.  If you both signed the lease on a rental, things are more complicated.  Do some research, ask experts, and bear in mind that you might need to move out.

3.  Secure your belongings

If you think there’s a chance that valuable items might be at risk during the fallout, lock everything up ahead of time, but be discreet about it.

4.  Have the conversation

Some sources suggest that you should invent a reason to ask your housemate to move out.  Others recommend slowly making him obsolete by excluding him from ever-increasing house parties.  When possible, though, honesty is also the best policy (“when possible” means, in this case, that there’s little chance of him getting so offended that he takes a machete to your furniture).   Explain that the living situation hasn’t improved enough regarding your ongoing concerns, and you think that both of you will be happier in the end if you make a break.

5.  Stay strong

Agree on a move-out date, and stick to it.  Even if everything has gone well—you’ve talked it out, you’re within your legal rights, no one owes anyone else thousands of dollars—take pains to ensure the process doesn’t stall.  This doesn’t mean kicking your housemate to the curb the next morning, but it does mean not giving in to hysterical crying sessions or excuses that he needs one more month to “figure things out.”

6.  For goodness’s sake, learn from your mistakes

Pick a better one next time, eh?

1.   The Height of Perfection

Her hair is never frizzy.  Her side of the room is impeccably clean.  She manages to study for eight hours a day and also keep herself perfectly tan and toned.  She appears to wear pearls even in her sleep—not that you’ve ever seen her sleep, or seen her tired, either, for that matter.  But has she ever cheered you up with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s after Steve from down the hall stopped wanting to “study” together?   In fact, has she even been paying attention to all the things you’ve said about Steve?  Moreover, will she finally snap after you left your laundry out for the twentieth time, standing over you with those super sharp pencils while you snore through another biology lab??

2.  The Invisible Woman

You think you remember what she looks like.  You’ve heard her come home at three in the morning, but she never turns on the light.  Sometimes, she’ll leave a friendly note wishing you luck on your midterm, which is disturbing in itself—how does she know you have a midterm?   The only reason you know her first name is because a surprising number of people have knocked on your door looking for someone named “Kelly.”  It’s creepy sometimes to live alone…if you can be certain you are alone…

3.   The Vampire

It’s unclear how this one got into college in the first place, considering how much time she must spend buying black clothing and applying multiple layers of eyeliner.  Given her nocturnal habits and apparent fear of sunlight, when does she go to class?  Or eat?  Sure, you’ve seen your fair share of Twilight, but this roommate does not sparkle under any circumstances, and is sadly much less appetizing than Edward Cullen.  You just hope she doesn’t run out of victims and come home hungry.

4.  The Intercourse Addict

We don’t want to get into specifics.  Suffice to say she gives new meaning to the term “sexiled.”  It’s a good thing you make friends easily, given that you never spend the night in your own bed, or even wear your own clothes.  Our suggestion:  air out your room whenever possible.

5.  The Ticking Time Bomb

You might not know yet that you’ve got one of these on your hands.  Watch out.  This one will wine and dine you all through the first month of school, only to become increasingly moody while responding to inquiries by snapping “I’m FINE.”  She might lapse into silences for days, only to greet you cheerfully after you return from a weekend at home.  Do not be fooled!  Eventually, this one is going to explode, so get ready for a laundry list of all your worst faults you checked to make sure didn’t bother her.

Got another worst roommate type?   Telllllll us about it….here or on our Facebook page!

1. How often do you like to go out?

a) If I had it my way, I’d go out every day!

b) I like to spend some of my evenings out with friends and some at home.

c) I prefer to have friends come over instead of going out.

2. How important is saving on rent to you?

a) It’s a huge issue. I need to live in an inexpensive place.

b) I have some room in my budget but I’d like to save on the rent.

c) I have enough to rent any place I’d like.

3. Do you like entertaining guests?

a) Not particularly. I prefer to go out to a restaurant or a friend’s house.

b) Yes, but I only like to have a couple people over at a time.

c) I love throwing huge parties. The more the merrier.

4. How much furniture do you have right now?

a) Not much. I’m traveling light.

b) Just the essentials: a bed, a couch and a dining set.

c) A whole house-full.

5. What’s the main purpose of having your own apartment?

a) It’s a place to sleep and keep my things.

b) I like having a comfortable place to call my own.

c) To show off my treasures to my friends.

6. How do you feel about roommates?

a) I don’t like them; I need to have my own space.

b) I don’t mind one or two quiet roommates.

c) I love having people around me all the time.

7. What’s your relationship status?

a) Single and I expect it to stay that way for a while.

b) I’m dating but nothing too serious yet.

c) I’ve met the love of my life and we do everything together.

8. How important is saving energy to you?

a) Extremely. It saves me money and it helps the planet.

b) I try to conserve energy when it’s convenient.

c) It’s not something I think about.

9. Do you have pets?

a) No, and I don’t really want any.

b) Just one cat or small dog.

c) A couple pets or a large dog.

10. How often do you cook?

a) Not too frequently. I like to make simple things or get take out.

b) I’ll sometimes prepare an extravagant meal but I prefer to keep it simple.

c) My kitchen should be featured on the Food Network.

How did you score?

Mostly A’s

A studio apartment sounds like a great fit for you right now. You like to spend time outside the apartment and you live your life simply. Enjoy the savings!

Mostly B’s

You should consider a studio but maybe one that’s a little bigger or that can easily be divided. Some parts of your lifestyle make make living in a studio difficult but it can definitely be done, at least for now.

Mostly C’s

You’re probably not going to be too happy in a studio apartment. If you need to save money on rent, try looking for a nice-sized room in a shared apartment.

How’d you do? We’d love to hear your thoughts – here or on our Facebook page!

When considering moving in with a partner, the most important thing to do is ask yourself if this person is really “the one.” Of course, people and situations change, so there’s no way to know for certain whether you’ll spend the rest of your life with a person, but before you move in you ought to be very sure that you feel that way now. Breaking up is hard enough to do without adding shared belongings and cosigned leases to the equation. If things get rocky, you’ll want to make sure that you care enough about the relationship that you’ll be willing to weather the difficult times before you sign on the dotted line. Many people liken moving in together to a ‘relationship test’ – i.e., if you can enjoy / survive living together, you are probably somewhat well-suited. Are you ready for a test like this, because if the two of you just started dating yesterday chances are…MOVING IN TOGETHER IS A BAD IDEA!

It’s also important to consider how long you’ve known a person when thinking about whether you should be living together. While love-at-first-sight certainly seems possible for some people, more often than not those sticky-sweet feelings will disappear when your significant other starts to display their flaws, insecurities and issues. Make sure that you know enough about your partner to know the bad side as well as the good side and make sure that you care enough about him or her to take the bad along with the good. Nobody’s perfect but that doesn’t mean that every person’s issues are going to be something you’re willing to put up with. Don’t rush into a situation before you know your partner well.

You’ll also want to consider how much time you and your partner like to spend together before you take the plunge and rent and apartment together. If you don’t spend every night together, try it out for a few weeks first. If you enjoy each other but you also enjoy your own space, it won’t be a good idea to rent a studio apartment together, though you and your partner could make a two bedroom place work. Partners who already spend a lot of time together usually have an easier transition when they’re moving in together, but that doesn’t mean that they should ignore their needs for alone time and privacy.

Before you move in with your boyfriend or girlfriend, make sure you’ve thought it through completely. Jumping into an irrational, emotional decision is a bad idea and one that could lead to a nasty break up rather than a joyous union. Logically considering the pros and cons of living together and discussing it openly with your partner is the best way to ensure a happy cohabitation for the both of you.

Have advice for folks considering making this move? Let us know about it – here or on our Facebook page!

1. Rent

The most important thing to agree on, and the one that’s the most likely to cause you serious issues if your roommate flakes out is the rent. Sit down and decide how to split the rent in a way that seems fair all the roommates before you sign the lease. A landlord will usually require that one roommate cover 100% of the rent if the others flake out but if there is a signed roommate agreement, it’ll be easier to get the money back from the deadbeat roomie down the road.

2. Chores

Roommates can easily slip into the habit of letting someone else clean up the mess. If that someone else has ever been you, you know how frustrating it can be to have to pick up the slack for a sloppy roommate. In a roommate agreement, you should decide how often to clean and who will clean what. In many cases, roommates use chore charts to make it clear what is—and isn’t—each roommate’s responsibility. A joint shopping trip to pick up cleaning supplies is a good idea, too because these things will be used by everyone in the apartment.

3. Guests

Determine with your roommates what is and isn’t appropriate in terms of overnight guests. While occasional guests are to be expected, a guest that lingers for a few weeks can make an already crowded space feel unlivable. Guests can add expenses too, in the form of water and electricity usage and additional food and picking up the slack for a long-term guest can be a burden. Set reasonable limits about guests with your roommates and a plan for what to do if a roommate decides a guest should become a permanent fixture.

4. Food

Food can be a big issue between roommates. Some households like to share while others prefer to keep everything separate. In your agreement, clearly outline what the rules are with regards to food. Remember that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, either. Some roommates who have decided not to share may buy some things, like condiments, together. They may even decide to prepare each other meals once in a while, just as a friendly gesture.

Have something to add? We’d love to hear from you – here or on our Facebook page!

1. Take your time.

Bad roommate decisions are often made when time is of the essence. An old roommate may have just left without giving notice and you might need a new roommate immediately or face a big rent hike that you simply can’t afford. While it’s important to fill the vacant space, it’s also important to choose a roommate that isn’t going to drive you bonkers for the rest of the lease. It’s never a good idea to immediately agree to live with the first person that comes your way. Take your time and get to know them a little. Give some other applicants a chance to respond to your ad. A couple hundred dollars now isn’t worth a year of dealing with a sloppy roommate’s garbage or an inconsiderate roommate’s late night parties.

2. Know what you want.

Like many things in life, you’ll have a better chance of finding a roommate you’ll get along with if you know what you’re looking for. Make a list of qualities you find desirable and qualities that would bother you. Of course, your new roommate doesn’t need to be an exact match, but it helps to have some guidelines to separate out the possibilities from the probably nots.

3. Know what you’re like.

If you know the kind of roommate you are, you’ll be in a better position to choose someone who would get along with you. Do you like to keep things perfectly tidy or is a little clutter acceptable? Are you a night owl or an early bird? Do you like to party or do you prefer a generally quite apartment. If you look for someone similar to you in these aspects, you’ll get along much better in the long run.

4. Talk to references.

Talk to people at your potential roommate’s job or previous apartments. This will help you learn how responsible your new roommate is. After all, you don’t want to end up living with someone who won’t (or can’t) pay their bills on time. Talking to a roommate’s friends will also give you a better idea of the kind of person he or she is.

5. Interview your potential roommate.

An interview doesn’t have to be a formal interrogation. Just as people on a first date will often meet for coffee to learn if they are compatible, people looking to room together can take some time to get to know each other before making a long-term commitment. If you don’t mesh, there’s nothing wrong with calling it off. Of course, it’s also possible to room comfortably with someone with very few shared interests. You may not become the best of friends but then, the best friends don’t often make great roommates.

Want to chime in? We’d love to hear from you – here or on our Facebook page!