Most people treat their home like their castle: they control what goes on inside of it and it is the one place where they can feel completely relaxed and comfortable, but what if you happen to catch your roommate engaged in illegal activity? How should you handle it? Here are a few tips.

Depending on what the illegal activity is, there is a chance that you could be held responsible, too, which is why so many roommates head directly to the cops when they suspect something is up. It could be something as simple as your roommate smoking a joint to something far more serious. Depending on how severe the crime is, you can either choose to talk to them about it and threaten to either move out or have them move out or you can go directly to the cops yourself and ask them what your options are.

In most cases, a simple conversation with your roommate about an illegal activity is enough to dissuade them from doing it again. If you don’t approve of recreational drug use, than you can simply say that you don’t approve of them doing that in the apartment, or at all, and you want to move out. They can’t really complain since you sort of have evidence against them, so simply pack your things and go. If you feel like they are engaged in other, more serious crimes, you probably shouldn’t get involved and simply notify the authorities.

No matter how compatible you think you are with your roommate, there are going to be times when your aggravation level reaches critical mass and you have a fight. Before you even make the final decision when it comes to living with your roommate, you should have a conflict resolution system in place for exactly these types of situations. Let’s take a look at some things you can do to help resolve problems with your roommate.

Often times, a landlord or office manager will be more than happy to resolve any major issues with you and your roommate since it is easier to play mediator than it is to find new tenants every few weeks because people move out over fights. Of course, this arrangement can be abused if you aren’t careful; no landlord is going to want to referee fights every week, but if you have a serious problem and you need an unbiased third party, most landlords will be more than happy to help.

The same can be true if you have mutual friends, however, asking a mutual friend to help resolve a situation like this can lead to that friend no longer being friends with both of you. Make sure that all three parties understand that the ruling of the friend is binding and that there are inherent risks involved with this type of mediation.

Finally, if you feel like the dispute is unresolveable, consider ending the arrangement for good. No one needs to live in a stressful environment with someone they genuinely dislike.

If you live in a jurisdiction that allows for arbitrators to resolve conflicts between roommates or tenants and landlords, you likely don’t know what to expect from your hearing. Here is a quick guide to walk you though a typical arbitration hearing.

Most arbitration hearings aren’t as formal as a court proceeding, even though the ruling of the arbitrator is legally binding. You don’t have to wear a tie or a formal dress, but it is a good idea to do so. Once the hearing begins, both sides will have a chance to go over their situation with the arbitrator and interrupting the other person is considered rude and inappropriate. You won’t be allowed to cross examine each other, but you are allowed to bring witnesses to back up your story and if you have document evidence that backs up your claims, you are encouraged to bring as much as you have. In some cases, the arbitrator will take a short recess and then come back with a ruling, while other jurisdictions won’t render a ruling for days or even weeks. In almost all cases, there are no appeals and the ruling of the arbitrator is final.

So, should you look into using an arbitrator? If you have a financial dispute, it can be worth it. There is a cost to use an arbitrator in most jurisdictions, but it is usually $50 or less. It often costs significantly less than small claims court and can get a similar result.

It may come as a surprise to many people, but more and more folks are moving in with roommate of the opposite sex. What was once a rare practice is becoming common place, but here are a few tips to keep in mind if you plan on entering into this kind of partnership.

Privacy is an extremely important part of any roommate agreement, but it can be even more important when you involve a male and female living together. To ensure that there aren’t any problems, it would really only be advisable to do if you have two bathrooms so that you don’t have to share one. The mad capped problems that could happen on any regular busy morning are almost too many to count.

A second agreement needs to be made when it comes to using the shared areas of the house if one person is on a date. Asking for the use of the living room to entertain once in a while is part of living with a roommate, but the other person needs to be respectful of the other person’s wishes, as well. Walking in on a private moment can ruin an otherwise wonderful roommate relationship.

Finally, clear and concise communication is key to any positive roommate relationship and they can be even more important when it comes to an inter-gender roommate combination. Don’t let problems fester and get worse. The only way to have a positive place to live in is if problems are aired right away.

Probably the biggest source of roommate conflict is money. One month it will be one roommate not coming up with rent by the first of the month, and the next it will be the other roommate complaining that they shouldn’t have to pay half of the utilities since they don’t use half of the utilities. Here is a basic guide you can use to get through any problems such as these.

In the case of late rent, it is a situation where if something like that happens once, it is fine since everyone makes mistakes now and then, but if coming up with rent late starts to become a habit, than immediate termination of the roommate agreement is acceptable. By not having rent on time, you are putting your roommate in an extremely difficult position, especially if they don’t have any way to pay the remainder. If you can’t pay the rent, you shouldn’t have moved in.

As far as dividing up utilities goes, you would be smart to have an agreement in place long before the first cable, internet or power bill comes in the mail. Of course, those agreements can be adjusted throughout the stay, but they can also be made part of the overall agreement so that any changes could result in someone moving out. Essentially, if roommate A decides they don’t want to pay for half the cable bill anymore, instead of simply withholding that cash, it would be decided upon at the beginning that that would mean that that person moves out.

If you are moving into a new apartment with a new roommate, you should consider getting renter’s insurance. If you’ve never heard of renter’s insurance before, it is a handy tool that you can use to replace your belongings in the case of fire, theft or even if your roommate breaks something. There are, however, a few common misconceptions about renter’s insurance that we should take a look at first.

There are a few circumstances in which you may not need renter’s insurance that you should know about. In some cases, if your roommate already has renter’s insurance, you may not need to get your own policy, although it is absolutely vital that you check with the rental insurance company that holds the policy to make sure. You will need to document all of your belongings and add them to the policy as long as the two of you live together.

Another circumstance in which you may not need a policy is if your parents have a homeowners’ insurance policy that you are covered under. Again, it is dangerous to assume that you are automatically covered under this policy, so call ahead to verify.

If you do decide to get your own policy, make sure you accurately photograph and appraise all of your belongings that you will cover so that filing a claim can be done easily. Try to save receipts of your purchases so that you can prove the worth of the items you’ll claim, although in the case of a fire, that task is obviously very difficult.

When it comes to picking the right place to live, most of us have quite a few things we have to juggle. We want to live in the nicest apartment complex that offers the most perks and amenities, but we also want to live with a roommate that we won’t want to strangle. Deciding between the complex of your dreams and a good roommate can be tough, so let’s take a look at both sides of the issue.

First, the price of living with a good roommate can’t be overstated. A person’s home should be their sanctuary and it should be a place where they can truly relax and feel little to no stress. If you live with a roommate you can’t stand, that stress can lead to serious health problems that can send your quality of life into the ground. While it may be disappointing not to have a nicer apartment complex that has some great amenities, the plusses you gain from living with a quality roommate are far more important.

On the other hand, if you have an apartment complex that allows you to be more social, with amenities such as a pool, a workout room or even a sauna, there is a better chance that you will meet people who might end up replacing your bad roommate. That way, you really do get the best of both worlds, but you are taking a gamble that might not be worth it.

It is a scenario that many of us dread: moving in with a roommate only to have the situation turn ugly. Since most states heavily weigh tenant’s rights far above that of the landlords, evictions are tough to come by, especially in the case of roommates. Your landlord will likely find it easier to evict both of you, even if only one of you is the problem. Let’s take a look at a few things your landlord might be able to do to help you get rid of a bad roommate.

The first step with any bad roommate situation is seeing if you can talk out the problems. If you have already had a few heart to heart discussions with your roommate and nothing has come from it, enlist the help of your landlord to see what can be done. That way, if your roommate admits to not paying his or her half of the bills and your landlord sees the attitude that you are dealing with, it will be easier to move ahead with other options.

If your roommate still refuses to shape up, your landlord can tell that person they have to move out, and assuming they aren’t familiar with rental law, they may fall for it. In reality, your roommate would have to miss rent for several months before your landlord could legally throw him or her out, but depending on whose name is on the lease, you might have other options.

If you aren’t a pet person, it can be tough sometimes to understand people that are. The average pet lover spends an inordinate amount of time with their pet, walking their pet, playing with their pet and most importantly, cleaning up after their pet. We may love our cats and dogs very much, but even the neatest pet really isn’t very neat. Here are a few survival tips for those folks who aren’t pet lovers.

First, make sure your roommate cleans the cat box at least once per day. Not only does the cat deserve to have a scooped box on a daily basis, if you wait any longer than that, it often leads to a smelly box. You have the right to live in an apartment that doesn’t reek of cat urine, so don’t feel bad if you have to push this point with your roommate.

Your roommate should also be in charge of cleaning the cat hair from the places where kitty sleeps. Most cats have a favorite chair or a favorite spot to lie down on, and the hair can be absolutely overwhelming in those areas. Even if it is your turn to vacuum, they should be responsible for keeping the cat fur in the apartment under control.

Finally, while it isn’t a big deal for you to feed the cat once in a while, general care should be done by its owner. Things like trips to the vet and even discipline should be done by the owner and if they aren’t, you should speak to him or her about it.

While online apartment hunting websites have completely revolutionized the way that many of us search for places to live, the one thing they haven’t really done is help us find places that need roommates, but that doesn’t mean that the computer is completely worthless. There are plenty of other sites, like Craigslist that are full of free personal ads posted by individuals looking for roommates. If you live in a smaller town or in a place that doesn’t have a Craigslist page, there are alternatives for finding the roommate of your dreams.

One good place to look is at the apartment complex you want to move into. Many times, these complexes will have common areas that have posters and roommate requests on a board so you can write down a bunch of phone numbers and possibly find a roommate that way. You can even make a day of going from complex to complex searching for roommates, and before you know, you’ll likely have a great place to live. You can always post a note on those boards, too, that way, if someone who lives in a complex you like needs a roommate, you will likely get called quickly.

Of course, the oldest way to find a roommate is simply by asking around your circle of friends. Most people would prefer to live with someone they know so you will likely not have any problems finding someone to live with if your friends know that you’re looking.