Robert Finkelstein in New York Daily News, PICKING YOUR ROOMMATES:  CHECK UP ON THEIR FINANCES, June 26, 2006.
 
By: Lore Croghan
Daily News Business Writer

’TIS THE SEASON-to find roommates.
Now that summer has set in, hordes of college grads are starting new jobs--and hoping that with roommates to split the rent, they can afford apartments in the city.

Thousands of people already living here also need new roommates because their current roomies are leaving them--to get married, move out of town or buy homes.

This year, there's more pressure than ever to choose roommates wisely--due to soaring demand for rental apartments and a Manhattan vacancy rate of just 0.43%, according to brokerage Citi Habitats.
You must make sure your roommates have impeccable financial qualifications--because landlords are in a position to reject prospective tenants who don't.

“This year, there are more grads and fewer apartments,” said Adjina Dekidjiev, rental operations manager at brokerage Manhattan Apartments.  “And because sales have slowed down slightly, there are more former homeowners renting right now.”

The rental market is so tight that in order to land an apartment, all the roommates must be there to see it--and sign the lease on the spot,” she said. You can't have one roommate window-shop alone, then send other roommates to look at the good apartments later.  They'll be taken.

If you've banded together with college friends to hunt for an apartment and find it awkward to be matter-of-fact with them about money, get over it--fast.

"This is business," Dekidjiev said.

You need roomies with the financial credentials to win over a landlord and the ability to pay their share of the rent month after month.

Each person who signs an apartment lease is liable for the entire rent.  If roommates don’t pay, you will be held responsible.

“People think, ‘As long as I pay a third of the rent, I’m fine,’” said Douglas Wagner, president of brokerage Benjamin James Real Estate.

They’re wrong.
yourmoney@nydailynew.com

• Web sites can help you find prospective roommates--but vetting the candidates’ financial fitness is up to you.
  
  In addition to free posting on www.newyorkcraigslist.org, there are scores of sites--including www.roomiematch.com and www.roommates.com--that put potential roommates in contact with each other for small fees.

• When you’re picking a roommate, “think like a landlord,” said Douglas Wagner, president of Benjamin James Real Estate.
  
  Landlords look at tenant’s credit, income, assets and housing record.  So should you.
  Ask to see a credit report--and a recent pay stub.  Landlords expect their tenants’ annual income to be 40 to 50 times the monthly rent.
  Does your prospective roommate have enough money in the bank to cover his or her share of the first month’s and last month’s rent, and security deposit?
  Also, ask for names of former roommates to call.

• If the prospective roommate is a stranger, get a court-records search done.
  
  Landlord’s routinely check would-be tenants’ criminal records and eviction records, said David Bradley of American Databank (at www.americandatabank.net)--a research service that does New York record searches.
  You need to do so as well.

• Once you feel confident about your roommate’s financial fitness, be sure you agree on “basic house rules” before you make a final decision to be roommates, Wagner said.
  
  Address the issues that matter most to you.
  For instance, how tidy or messy will everyone be? How noisy or quiet? How late will guests come over during the work week?  Will there be sleepovers by boyfriends or girlfriends?

• “Go with your gut--if you get an uneasy feeling, take a pass,” said attorney Robert Finkelstein of Finkelstein Newman.
  
  “This is somebody you’re going to live with.”