Roommates and home security

Roommates and home security

Having a roommate is not a unique situation. Nowadays, more and more people are now living with someone who lives in common house arrangements. In 2017, around 79 million people lived in shared living arrangements–which comprises around 32%of American adults. A shared household is definitely a thing now.

Whether it is for fun or necessity why you have a new roommate, you need to make sure that the house where you’re living is safe and secure. You might want to add protection to your room, put restrictions on certain cabinets and cupboards, or better yet, add a home security system.

Whatever your goals are for the security of your home, we have here some tips on how to keep your current living situation safe for you and your roommate.

First thing’s first, make sure you are safe with your chosen roommate.

Whether you are the one moving in or the one who’s looking for a roomie, you determine your safety the moment you sign the papers.

Do a Background Check First

If you can’t convince someone close to you or you have known for years to move in with you, chances are you’ll start accepting applications for a roommate. Include doing background checks in the process. However, add it in the application cost, so you don’t have to spend a penny on that part.

On the other hand, if you are the one moving to someone else’s house, make sure that the person advertising is not a secret killer. Ask him/her nicely if you can do a background check on her and the place you’re planning to move into. Although this time, you have to be the one who needs to pay for the background check. But it’s better than moving into a serial killer’s home, right?

Get a Character Reference

Ideally, the renter and the one who needs a roomie need to undergo background checks and character references. However, if you fail to do a background check, you can opt for the next best thing—get a character reference. If you’re the one who will move in, ask a character reference to his/her landlords or roommates in the past, or even their employer. Surely, you would want someone who respects you, mature enough, and someone who pays rent on time.

If you’re the one looking for a roommate, who’s best in giving a prospect roomie is the one he/she has shared a living space with in the past. If this is the first time that he/she will be sharing a living space with someone, better ask some of their family members to know their pet peeves before you sign the deal.

Getting references is best to let you know if the people, whom you will be sharing space with, can be trusted.

Tips on How to Keep the House Safe Especially When You Have a Roommate

Priorities in your security vary on who you live with and what you’re protecting. If your goal is to keep your personal things safe, then you might want to take things that would protect your room and belongings into consideration. However, if both of you want to protect the entire home, you might want to check some home security systems online that will not burn a hole in your wallet and are easy to install.

Create a Boundary in Some Things

Speak to your roomie and come up with a set of rules regarding personal space and property that both of you agree on. Make sure both of you are clear on what spaces are common and what is not. One of the most important things to talk about is what if a friend of your roomie comes and stays in his/her room without him/her. Think of the most unexpected things and make sure you agree on them.

Create a List of All Your Valuable Belongings

Logging all your things, especially the ones that are valuable, is a thing now. You can either take photos, jot down their serial numbers, or record the selling price. Keeping these things in your phone or a post-it helps whenever someone steals them.

Put a Sturdy Lock on the Door of Your Room

Since you are renting the property, you would surely want to install a sturdy lock that will not damage the door, since damaging it means that you have to get it fixed by someone. Another thing, if you prefer to put an electronic lock, you will no longer have to worry about where to put your key.

Add Sensors

This is probably one of the most important. Get alerts when someone steals something from your closet for a late night out, or when someone snags your ramen. The best places to put sensors on are the door to your room, on the cupboards that contain your food, your closet doors, and some of your drawers.

Author’s Bio:

Tyler Pack is a real estate consultant and journalist, with a passion for smart homes technology. He is keen on writing about home and property security, and cybersecurity.