So you found an apartment and a roommate, and you are eager to move in to your new home. But then, you realize that one precarious issue still needs to be addressed — the monthly rent. You get the normal sized bedroom with a small, private bathroom, while your roommate gets the master bedroom, with another small, private bathroom. Your bedroom has a window overlooking the lake and your roommate’s bedroom has no windows at all. How do you decide how much each of you should pay for the monthly rent? Should the roommate pay more because he or she gets the larger bedroom? Or should you pay more because of the waterfront view? Should you just split the rent equally between the two of you?
Instead of risking conflict with your roommate, go to www.splittherent.org to divide your monthly rent by using the Rent Calculator. Created by Jonathan Bittner, an astrophysics graduate student at Harvard University, this Web site features a rent calculator that divides monthly rent between the residing parties based on the real estate “price per square foot” method. The calculator adjusts the rent based on bedroom, bathroom, and living space sizes, as well as accounting for other apartment inequalities such as room sound isolation, windows, closet space, and even room design. The rent for up to eight bedrooms can be equally divided by the site.
Have trouble splitting the monthly bills too? Splittherent.org hopes to launch a bill splitting app on April 1.
This site provides a fair, eco-nomical approach to shared living. If you want to avoid discussing finances with your roommates, just visit splittherent.org and have the sticky job done for you.
