Before posting a list of needed roommates on a totally free roommate service, establish your ideal list of things you want and don’t want in a roommate. It’s easy enough to find people nearby with a free people finder, but there’s more to sharing a home than signing free roommate deals and splitting living expenses. To make sure the arrangement is as comfortable as possible for everyone, it’s best to realistically assess your options before you even consider interviewing potential roommates, let alone having someone move in with you.

Make a list

To clarify what qualities you want before posting a list of roommate needs, take the time to write a list. Putting pen to paper forces you to think deeply and determine your priorities.

When putting together the list, consider the following:

Gender: Decide if this is an issue for you or not. Realistically consider whether you are comfortable with a roommate of the opposite sex or prefer to share a room with someone of the same gender. Whatever your feelings on this topic, it really is the most basic quality of a roommate that you need to be clear about before proceeding.

Personal Habits: This may seem like a pretty small matter, but not a few living arrangements have self-destructed over things as mundane as cleaning habits, sleep schedules, or vague housemate rules.

Be honest about your own clothing. Are you a clean freak or is your definition of clean hard to pin down? Are you an early riser or does your day start when the sun goes down? Are you comfortable sharing possessions and food, or are your things yours alone? At this point, think about not only what you want in a roommate, but also what kind of person would be so comfortable with your personal habits that they could agree on a list of housemate rules.

Personality: While a free people finder might contain multiple profiles of people with “a great sense of humor,” there’s more to consider. You don’t have to be best friends with a roommate, but think about the type of temperament you’re most comfortable with.

double check

While it’s important to make a list, go through it one last time before making a list of roommate needs or interviewing potential roommates. You want to make sure your list describes the roommate you want, but isn’t so rigid as to exclude someone who might be a good fit.

You don’t need to include every item in a complete list in your roommate’s required post. Instead, use it as a guide for your ad, and use it again when you’re ready to start interviewing potential roommates.