You are gone for one month, live with roomates

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: AmpedSilence

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: AmpedSilence
All "fixed" expenses should be paid for even if you are not there.... i.e. cable, telephone, rent

All expenses based on use should not be paid for you are not living there... i.e. electricity, water.

At least thats how i have always done it and it seems the most fair to me.

Electricity? The vast majority of the cost is AC, and that will be on regardless of if you are there. Water I can see skipping since you can't use that and wouldn't contribute to the overall bill, but electricity you are still responsible for.

My point exactly. The computer, refridge, tv, etc. are negligible costs compared to A/C. If I am not there, then 1) I am not setting the temp for the A/C (or at least having input on how high to set it.) and 2) not getting anything back for my expense (though not a real good excuse since i am paying for other fixed expenses and getting anything back).

I don't want to be gone for a month and come back to find out that the A/C (or heat for that matter) was cranked up to the max for the entire month and i now owe half of a $300 or $400 electricity bill because my roommates can't set the temp properly. They wanted the house that cold (or hot), they can freakin pay for it! If I was living in the house and we all agreed to set the temp that low (or i was out voted) then i have no choice but to pay; I was there, i was able to voice my opinion; but if you are going to give me no input on it, then expect me to pay, then i would tell you to fvck off.

Thankfully, most of this stuff is decided upon BEFORE i have left for extended periods.

You sound like a complete tool. I'm glad I never got stuck with a roommate like you.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

as long as your stuff is there (or as long your lease is active you pay up).

my apartment wouldn't let me not pay a month's rent if i say i am not there. same principle applies here.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim

Originally posted by: BD2003
If I'm gone for the ENTIRE month, I'd at least expect a partial break on the electric and total break on the water bill during the summer months. Especially if I unplugged everything and didnt have any food in the fridge.

I remember during the summer months I was the only person with an AC, so I agreed to pay a bit more on the electric bill. I didnt go around telling them that because of thermodynamics, I was effectively cooling their rooms as well. Thats BS, and vice versa.

Well you shouldn't expect anything. you should discuss the situation beforehand so everyone is on the same page.

Obviously, but anyone who thinks that someone who is gone the *entire month* should pay an equal share of the electric bill during the hot summer months where the majority of the bill is AC is the cheapass IMO.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: yowolabi

Originally posted by: broon
Should be paid the same way as if you were there.

Agreed. The cable bill stays the same whether you're watching it or not. Should you be given discounts if you decide not to watch for a week?

When you sign that lease, you are living there for the whole time, regardless of your physical presence. The person who only comes home to sleep doesn't get to pay less. The person who watches less cable, uses less internet bandwidth, or uses less electronic devices doesn't get to pay less. Everyone who lives there agrees to split these bills equally. Cable is still going to his room, regardless of whether he decides to use it.

Electricity is a little dicier. A certain amount needs to be paid just to keep the electricity on. Devices in his room are still pulling electricity. As someone mentioned, the AC is still cooling his room with no way to prevent that. He certainly is responsible for some of the electric bill. With no way to determine how much that is, he should just have to pay an equal share.

With it being entirely obvious that with the door shut, and all devices off (turn off plugged in devices use comparatively little electricity), you would think that reasonable people wouldnt expect the other person to pay the full amount, use their common sense and knock off a reasonable amount of money (at least half their usual share), without having to resort to thermodynamic equations or assuming that they used just as much power when they werent there, and again, reasonable people wouldnt argue over a few petty dollars as long as theres a reasonable compromise.

But having lived with roomates before, I'm well aware that reason can go by the wayside when dealing with something as simple as ketchup, dishes or taking out the garbage.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
as long as your stuff is there (or as long your lease is active you pay up).

my apartment wouldn't let me not pay a month's rent if i say i am not there. same principle applies here.

The same principle only applies to fixed costs such as cable, rent and internet etc. It doesnt apply at all to those variable costs based on usage. In my area, electricity bills can jack up the bill during the AC months to nearly double/triple its usual amount. I'm not going to be happy if I come back from vacation and I get slapped with a $100 share of an electric bill based almost entirely upon AC.

 

[Tiamat]

My roommate insists to pay even though he lives with his girlfriend most of the time. This puzzled me greatly and I insisted I pay for all utilities and costs because he was not using them except for 4 days out of the month. He disagreed and stated that since we did not make an agreement in the beginning to pay by usage, it was his responsibility to pay exactly half of all shared bills whether or not he actually chooses to use the services. I couldn't argue against that, he is a great roommate.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: broon
Should be paid the same way as if you were there.

I agree with this statement. Good roommates do not screw each other over financially. The bill is still there whether everyone leaves for month or everyone stays put. Better to keep the roommate relationship simple and clean by everyone paying their fair share for as long as the place is their permanent residence.

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: yowolabi

Agreed. The cable bill stays the same whether you're watching it or not. Should you be given discounts if you decide not to watch for a week?

When you sign that lease, you are living there for the whole time, regardless of your physical presence. The person who only comes home to sleep doesn't get to pay less. The person who watches less cable, uses less internet bandwidth, or uses less electronic devices doesn't get to pay less. Everyone who lives there agrees to split these bills equally. Cable is still going to his room, regardless of whether he decides to use it.

Electricity is a little dicier. A certain amount needs to be paid just to keep the electricity on. Devices in his room are still pulling electricity. As someone mentioned, the AC is still cooling his room with no way to prevent that. He certainly is responsible for some of the electric bill. With no way to determine how much that is, he should just have to pay an equal share.

With it being entirely obvious that with the door shut, and all devices off (turn off plugged in devices use comparatively little electricity), you would think that reasonable people wouldnt expect the other person to pay the full amount, use their common sense and knock off a reasonable amount of money (at least half their usual share), without having to resort to thermodynamic equations or assuming that they used just as much power when they werent there, and again, reasonable people wouldnt argue over a few petty dollars as long as theres a reasonable compromise.

But having lived with roomates before, I'm well aware that reason can go by the wayside when dealing with something as simple as ketchup, dishes or taking out the garbage.

If I was the roommate who was still there, i'd certainly agree to reduce the amount that the person who was gone had to pay on electricity. Half sounds reasonable. It certainly shouldn't be knocked down to zero.

'm just saying that unless it was discussed beforehand, the roommate who was gone shouldn't assume anything. If he's asked to pay his full share he should do it. People usually have roommates because they're strapped for cash. One person opting out of the bill for a month can make a difference to some. To maintain a peaceful household, the vacationer has to be prepared to pay his full share without argument.

 

[j00fek]

Originally posted by: broon
Should be paid the same way as if you were there.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim

Originally posted by: BD2003
If I'm gone for the ENTIRE month, I'd at least expect a partial break on the electric and total break on the water bill during the summer months. Especially if I unplugged everything and didnt have any food in the fridge.

I remember during the summer months I was the only person with an AC, so I agreed to pay a bit more on the electric bill. I didnt go around telling them that because of thermodynamics, I was effectively cooling their rooms as well. Thats BS, and vice versa.

Well you shouldn't expect anything. you should discuss the situation beforehand so everyone is on the same page.

Obviously, but anyone who thinks that someone who is gone the *entire month* should pay an equal share of the electric bill during the hot summer months where the majority of the bill is AC is the cheapass IMO.

I wouldn't let them off scott-free but talking it out a reduction or discount could be agreed to.

 

[mb]

I had a roommate like that once. She was gone for two weeks and expected to pay less. Fucking bitch.

The way I see it, unless the bill drops in proportion to how much you wouldn't be paying (which it won't), then you still gotta pay.

Ie, 4 people sharing a place. Lets say monthly utilities are $200/mo for sake of argument. If one person leaves for a month and expects to not have to pay, the bill better damn well drop to $150 for that month. The one and only thing I can see being fair is if perhaps the bill did drop to say, $190 ($10 less than normal) that month because of less electricity and water being used, then the person who was gone would then only contribute $40 ($10 less than normal) instead.

Other than that, it's not fair to the others still there.

 

[TheNinja]

If you agreed to split the bills evenly for each month, you split it evenly for each month. What next, "Hey, I was gone for the weekend, so I'm only paying 95% this month". It's dumb b/c it's not like they were going to call up the cable/electric company and turn it off for that month. Tell them to quite being so stingy.

 

[DrPizza]

"Hello, Cable company (electric company, phone company...), yeah, I have a problem with my bill. You see, in February, my family went on vacation for 7 days to Florida. We weren't home. So, it seems to me that you should reduce my bill by 25%. "



Uhhh, yeah, even when you're not there, you're still responsible for the bill.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
My roommate insists to pay even though he lives with his girlfriend most of the time. This puzzled me greatly and I insisted I pay for all utilities and costs because he was not using them except for 4 days out of the month. He disagreed and stated that since we did not make an agreement in the beginning to pay by usage, it was his responsibility to pay exactly half of all shared bills whether or not he actually chooses to use the services. I couldn't argue against that, he is a great roommate.

It's rare to find a person like this.

 

[Pabster]

Sounds like someone is trying to avoid responsibility.

When I leave my house for a couple weeks on the road, I don't get to cut my electric and such in half because I wasn't physically there.

Summary: Pay up.

 

[elektrolokomotive]

lol at the idea of dragging thermodynamics into such a pedestrian argument.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: mb
I had a roommate like that once. She was gone for two weeks and expected to pay less. Fucking bitch.

The way I see it, unless the bill drops in proportion to how much you wouldn't be paying (which it won't), then you still gotta pay.

Ie, 4 people sharing a place. Lets say monthly utilities are $200/mo for sake of argument. If one person leaves for a month and expects to not have to pay, the bill better damn well drop to $150 for that month. The one and only thing I can see being fair is if perhaps the bill did drop to say, $190 ($10 less than normal) that month because of less electricity and water being used, then the person who was gone would then only contribute $40 ($10 less than normal) instead.

Other than that, it's not fair to the others still there.

Solution to bitch: say "I was gone for two weeks too"

 

[Vinfinite]

You pay even if you're not there.

 

[palswim]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
Well you shouldn't expect anything. you should discuss the situation beforehand so everyone is on the same page.

The golden rule!

Feel free to approach the subject, but don't make any decisions unless you all agree.

(In general,) You'll find that everyone has a "valid" reason to pay less rent/electricity/water, etc. and that's why you just stick to the price to which you agreed.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Yes, you should pay. Utility payments dont go down that much when someone is absent. House still has to be heated/cooled, lights still have to be on, etc.

 

[clamum]

I'd pay a little electricity if I had food in the fridge and since there is A/C, it would need to cool my room. Cable, internet, water, garbage, I wouldn't pay a dime because I wasn't there to use it. If I was gone less than a month I'd pay regularly though.

We had roommates that would be on an internship for a semester and the only thing they paid was rent. None of us had any problem with that and sort of assumed that's how it would work anyway since they didn't really have any food or items in the house.

 

[AmpedSilence]

Originally posted by: clamum
I'd pay a little electricity if I had food in the fridge and since there is A/C, it would need to cool my room. Cable, internet, water, garbage, I wouldn't pay a dime because I wasn't there to use it. If I was gone less than a month I'd pay regularly though.

We had roommates that would be on an internship for a semester and the only thing they paid was rent. None of us had any problem with that and sort of assumed that's how it would work anyway since they didn't really have any food or items in the house.

Dude, that seriously backwards. Cable, internet, water, etc. are fixed expenses and if you were living by yourself and went on vacation for a month, they are not going to go down. As opposed, your electricity cost would be minimal.

 

[clamum]

Originally posted by: AmpedSilence

Originally posted by: clamum
I'd pay a little electricity if I had food in the fridge and since there is A/C, it would need to cool my room. Cable, internet, water, garbage, I wouldn't pay a dime because I wasn't there to use it. If I was gone less than a month I'd pay regularly though.

We had roommates that would be on an internship for a semester and the only thing they paid was rent. None of us had any problem with that and sort of assumed that's how it would work anyway since they didn't really have any food or items in the house.

Dude, that seriously backwards. Cable, internet, water, etc. are fixed expenses and if you were living by yourself and went on vacation for a month, they are not going to go down. As opposed, your electricity cost would be minimal.

It just seems weird paying for something you don't get any use out of. If you lived by yourself you don't have much choice but to pay for the utilities whether you're there or not. My brother was on internship for a semester... so he has to pay for oil to heat the house when he wasn't there? I wouldn't expect him to. Or pay for cable/internet when he's not there to use it? I dunno, just doesn't make sense to me.

Regardless, all of us agreed on that's how to do it so it worked for us; it may not for others. I'm referring to being gone for months, if I was gone for just a month it wouldn't be an issue for me.

 

[JulesMaximus]

If I go on vacation I still have to pay my mortgage, electric and cable.

 

[RaiderJ]

My roommate is a flight attendant, and I give him a discount if he's gone for extended times during the month. Seems fair to me.