<p>Are there any things that you wish you had covered, that you never thought to include?</p>
<p>I'm filling out my housing app as I write this, and I can't help but get a little antsy LOL</p>
<p>--
Thanks!</p>
<p>This was right next to your thread and I thought it could help inspire some more ideas on your contract.</p>
<p>good luck :)</p>
<p>Ah, thanks :)</p>
<p>I suppose I aught to go through some of the old roommate horror threads and try to look for some common things or situations/characteristics I identify with.</p>
<p>Bump.. good thread! Last year I didn't take my roommate contract seriously at all and really wished I had.</p>
<p>some questions you might want to address, IMO:
-sexiling - is it okay? for how long? how much notice?
-parties- same questions
-borrowing stuff,sharing stuff - think about food, too
-can you have friends stay over on the weekend? friends of the opposite sex? what about during the week?
-can you have friends over/talk in the room whenever or do you want to be able to do room quietly in your room sometimes?
-when one of you is sleeping, can the other one put lights on?</p>
<p>We put a "no sexiling" clause in our contract. I wish we hadn't. ):</p>
<ol>
<li>Don't mess with my stuff without asking (no one does this but I just wanted to make this clear)</li>
<li>Well we have a "top shelf" where we could put stuff and anyone could eat/use it. I wish we cleared up: "to use stuff on it you should put some of your own stuffup on it".</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for giving this thread some life! :)</p>
<p>Enforce the terms of the contract, add as deems necassary. My roommate has some screws loose and seems to not understand that such agreements exist so that both parties abide by those terms. Needless to say she's moving.
Just have a general, umbrella agreement about room usage and guest policies. I think sexiling is most common with guys...can't say many girls sexile their roommates at my school. I think the most important thing to do is to bring up issues as soon as they arise, because things that aren't covered in a roommate agreement are going to happen. Remember that if they are not aiding by the contract, and not respecting the fact that you also live there, don't hesitate in getting a new roommate.</p>
<p>what is sexiling?</p>
<p>sex + exile</p>
<p>sexile means that the room mate is having sex and the other roommate cannot therefore avail themselves of their room. From a parent point of view, where both room mates are paying the same room and board rate, it seems like the one being sexiled is getting shortchanged, unless that person also at the same frequency sexiles the other room mate.</p>
<p>do you really need a “roommate contract”? i would think that makes the beginning a bit awkward. isn’t it better to just go through trust and verbal agreement? or am I being a little too optimistic?</p>
<p>You’d think that two young adults could co-exist peacefully without a contract by just recognizing “rules” of general decency and respect, but apparently that’s not possible for some people.</p>
<p>Something like, try not to be such a petty, immature b*tch when conflicts arise. But I’m just bitter. :]</p>
<p>Also, I don’t know about some of you guys, but in my res hall we had to have a roommate contract. I thought it was just a standard thing.</p>
<p>haha ours seriously just said, “no judgment.”</p>
<p>(and we got along fine)</p>
<p>I was supposed to make a roommate contract with my roommate but never did. We haven’t had a problem and we talk about things if we have minor problems. I guess I would have added please warn me if I may potentially walk in on anything that could be awkward.</p>
<p>Roommate contracts could be a lot simpler, here are the rules:</p>
<ol>
<li> Don’t borrow/use things without asking.</li>
<li> No sexual fluids on others things, others space, others bed, the common sitting area. (I don’t care if you own the couch, don’t have sex on it.) Aka. nothing past second base on the couch.</li>
<li> If you need to study, and it doesn’t have to be in your room, leave if the other person wants to watch TV/listen to music. Go to the common study area.</li>
<li> Ultimate veto power for sexiling on weeknights for both parties, no questions asked.</li>
<li> Sexile veto power for weekends inversely proportional to how often said person gets laid. If they are about to lose their virginity or otherwise rarely get laid, you have to leave. If it continues to happen you can say no, and you can most certainly say no to a sleepover afterwards. They can walk their bf/gf/friend/stranger home afterwards if they want.</li>
<li> If something the other does bothers you, say something about it. Holding it in helps no one.</li>
<li> Most importantly, don’t be a tool.</li>
</ol>
<p>The most important thing in living with a roommate is choosing your battles. Do you really need to have a two-hour-long fight because she left a wet towel on the floor once? No.</p>
<p>If it happens every day and it starts to stink up your room, then it’s a problem and should be discussed. </p>
<p>Just remember to watch what you say and do very carefully, because at a lot of schools room changes are tricky and you may be stuck with your roommate for a while.</p>