Roommates: Avoiding Common Issues

 @galilewox How is it different from having roommates or let's say Couch Surfing?
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 ROOMMATES - Episode 1
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 I just heard a "Your mom goes to college" from the other room... The roommates are watching soccer. Soccer? C'mon...
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Being Discussed on FriendFeed

Open Question: Why is my brother a deadbeat debtor?
Sorry - this is a big long. I have an older brother who is in his 40s. He has a good job and makes good money. However, he is not financially responsible. Although he pays the bills that he has to (fixed expenditures like his mortgage, car insurance, etc.), he sees no obligation to pay other non-essential bills. Example: he'll join several book clubs (sometimes making up false names so he can get a second set of bks delivered to his address), but he won't pay the invoices. Same w/magazine subscriptions. Anything he can get with "bill me later", he'll sign up for. Then, again, when the bill arrives, he just throws it away. He's also borrowed money from former friends/co-workers, but never made an attempt to pay them back. When they threatened him with civil suits, he simply filed bankruptcy (twice) to have the debts discharged. Before getting his own home, he had several roommates with whom he stiffed for rent & utility bills. He owed $5,000, $2,000, $700 & $200 to different people, but never paid them back. At one time, he had over 40 credit cards - which he ran up huge debts on impulse vacations and buying. That's where his first bankruptcy came in. In the past couple years, he's aquired several of those "second chance" credit cards for people w/bad credit. He even maxed those out w/o a care in the world. When the bill comes in, he tosses it. No obligation whatsover to pay it. He is not a phone person so it's hard for creditors to reach him (purposely leaves his answering machine/voicemail off). If a creditor does get through, he'll tell them they have the wrong number. He's also run up numerous doctor, emergency room & ambulance bills (he has chronic asthma for which he had to be rushed to the ER a few times), but he makes no attempt to pay them. All the money he makes goes into his savings & retirement (except for mortgage, etc.). My parents and I do not know how to help him or why he does these things. My parents raised us to be responsible (Dad always paid the bills on time) and I do a good job of paying what I owe - even if I have to ask for an extension sometimes. We do not loan him any money - but my mother, especially, is so distraught over why he does this. I've asked him why he does this. He says he just got in over his head and wants to start fresh. But, he keeps doing it. He doesn't learn. Has anyone else been through this? Why do people who can - NOT pay their bills?   read more...

Open Question: My apartment smells bad, what can I do? ?
My friend and I moved into this apartment two months ago. It was originally a house but has been divided into upper and lower apartments. We live in the lower apartment with access to the basement. The basement is really, really old. It has a dirt floor and the foundation is composed of rocks in hard packed dirt/concrete with old, wet pillars of wood. I'm talking mould, dirt, and even an area that the previous tenants' cat was using as a litter pan. There wasn't any sort of issue until winter came and we had to shut our windows and turn on the furnace. Now the smell is everywhere and it seems that I can only ever smell that retched basement. It doesn't make much sense as the only access to the basement is a door at the far end of the kitchen and it stays closed. Our apartment is very clean, but it seems I can smell everything going on below us in the basement. Its driving me crazy. I can even smell it now when I'm not in my house. My head aches and I feel nauseated all the time. My roommate says he can sort of smell the musty basement, but not very much, and its not very bad. Is there a reason I might be more bothered by this smell or am I just going bonkers? Can I get sick from living in the apartment because of the mould in the basement and the smell? Is there any way of minimizing or getting rid of this smell besides moving to a new place?   read more...

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