Roommates can be a great part of apartment living! Between always having someone to watch bad reality TV with (pass the popcorn, please!) and someone to split the cost of rent and utilities with (your piggy bank thanks you), there are plenty of perks to having a roommate. But sadly, all good things come to an end. At some point, one or all of you will move out of your current apartment and on with your lives. Whether you are childhood friends, acquaintances from college, or you simply found each other on a roommate search page online, the process of moving out can be messy – especially when it comes to divvying up your stuff.
It's important to take precautions before you move in and throughout your lease as you and your roommates continue to buy various items to make your apartment feel like home. If you can, try to follow these tips to make parting ways as painless as possible!
Make a List of What Belongs to You
Before you even move into the apartment, make a list of what belongs to you, especially items you plan to put in common spaces such as the kitchen and living room. Keep adding to the list as you accumulate more items throughout your lease – but only the things that belong to you, specifically. When it comes time to move out, you may not care about the $5 kitchen towel you bought on a whim, but you’ll probably want that decorative mirror hanging in the entryway without having to fight your roommates over who actually bought it (it was you).
Make Furniture Purchases Separately
If you want to avoid any arguments or paying roommates your portion of an item that you plan to take with you (or let them take it and they pay you), then I suggest making big purchases separately. Big purchases include furniture, TVs, expensive electronics, and pricey kitchen appliances. It may seem like a good idea to go halfsies on buying that sectional for the living room when you first move in, but on move-out day when you’re figuring out who gets what, things will be different.
Rather than discussing who has to pay who for what and who gets to take what with them, just buy things separately! It’ll save you a lot of headaches in the future – trust me.
Spread Out Who Buys What
Say that you decide to buy everything that you still need for the kitchen – pots and pans, utensils, coffee maker, and kitchen towels. And your roommate buys everything for the living room – the TV, sectional, and decorative rug. Sounds fine, right? Well, when move-out day comes, you’ll find that each of you are left with an entire room to buy items for. Yikes!
To avoid this in the future, try to spread out who buys what. Instead of buying everything for one room or part of the apartment, try buying a little of everything. Instead of just buying items for the kitchen, buy the coffee table, a loveseat, and the barstools for the island. And your roommate can buy the washer and dryer (if the apartment doesn’t come equipped), decorative pillows for the living room, and an entryway table. Voila! You have a diversified buying system.
Set Up Ground Rules for Belongings
What happens when your roommate’s friend spills their glass of red wine on the cream area rug you have in the living room? If you bought it, things could get messy. To avoid any negative scenarios, you and your roommate(s) should set expectations about this kind of situation before it happens. If you bought it, is it still for everyone’s use? If so, what is expected if someone else damages or breaks it (you break it, you buy it)? Come up with some ground rules that you both feel comfortable with, and be sure to follow these agreed-upon guidelines when inevitable issues like the red wine incident arise!
Consider Selling Certain Items
When you move to your next apartment, you may not need everything you bought for your current place. If this is the case, ask your roommates if they want any of the items you don’t need. If so, come up with a fair asking price that everyone agrees upon. If your roommate(s) doesn’t want any of the items, ask other friends or sell them online for a quick buck.
If you did happen to buy something with your roommate(s), and you can’t agree on who gets what, like the Smart TV in your living room, then consider selling it and splitting the money. Seems fair, right? It may be the case that one of you wants something more than the other and you’re willing to split costs and find a reasonable payment method to make sure everyone comes out relatively equally. However, I’ve found that this can be more difficult than it sounds. So if you want to avoid the awkward conversation of who gets what, simply buy your items separately and you’ll be on your way to your next place in no time!
