You have found that beautiful three-bedroom apartment you were looking for, but realize that it is slightly out of your budget. Now you may have lined up a number of potential roommates with whom you can share your rent and for that matter, everything else. But how can you make sure, your next-door roomie will be someone you can live with after that lease or agreement has been signed?

Finding a roommate to split the rent with for a small flat is challenging enough, try finding a couple to occupy those extra two rooms.

There are times when you take up an apartment in your name and don’t cosign, which will be a potential problem in case your roommate decided to ditch you in the middle of the lease. Cosigning will ensure his commitment and give you a sense of security.

Although you will interview a number of people before you narrow down your choices, make sure you browse through their social media accounts as well just to find out whether this person is really who he claims to be or is just making a false impression to get his hands on that single room. It is quite possibly the best place to find out more about the person and more importantly, the kind of people he tends to hand out with. Better yet, try to find people who come from mutual references like a friend of a friend or someone from college or work.

As mentioned earlier, you will be splitting up rent and allied expenses. But you might also want to divide the chores among the three of you equally. Make a timetable and schedule tasks like cleaning, doing the dishes, laundry and more so that you don’t end up doing all the work. If everyone agrees to it, hire cleaning services.

Make ground rules for people who can visit and stay with you or your roommates for that matter. See to it that your roommates make sure their buddies don’t overstay their welcome for that matter including your girlfriend, best friend, college buddies, office colleagues or others.