Living with family members is one thing, friends another. But strangers? Now that's a horse of a different color. The only perfect roommate is one who pays for their share of everything, spends all their time elsewhere, restocks the fridge and cabinets with all your favorite foods and doesn’t mind if you borrow their favorite shirt without asking. Unfortunately, this description probably doesn't apply to your roommate. Your roommate is always around, a slob, a smoker, listens to the TV and stereo too loudly, is always on the phone, and never pays the bills on time, if at all.

How do you avoid roommates from hell? The first thing you need to go over some basic rules for a peaceful cohabitation. Lets call it a roommate pre-nup. You may find it helpful to put it writing and have everyone sign it, but if this is too much, you should at least discuss the essential potential hot topics such as rent and other shared bills, living space, who gets the good room, cleaning, food, guests, noise, moving out and the best way to handle disagreements.