How to Write An Award-Winning Ad for a Roommate

Looking for a roommate? Good roommates can be hard to find. And great roommates? They’re like four-leaf clovers. Luckily for you, we can help you find one! Here are our top tips for writing the best roommate ad, so you not only fill your extra room fast, but you fill it with someone that’s a perfect match for your lifestyle.

Give your advertisement a great headline.

There are a lot of roommate ads online. If you want to get people to click on yours and read it fully, you need to grab their attention right off the bat. It’s crucial to have a headline (or first sentence) that will draw them in. Make them want to learn more!

• Say this: HUGE bedroom available in GORGEOUS downtown apartment!
• Not that: One bedroom available downtown

Highlight the best parts of your apartment.

If you want to get an awesome roommate, your best bet is enticing multiple potential roommates – the more options, the better! In order to attract candidates, you need to make your apartment sound as desirable as possible. List all of the selling points, and don’t be afraid to flaunt what you’ve got!

• Say this: The massive walk-in closet will show off all of your purses, shoes, and accessories! And the views from the balcony? You’ll feel like you’re on vacation. Plus, you can live within walking distance of CITY’s hottest bar/nightclub/coffee shop!
• Not that: The apartment has space for everything, and you’ll really like how close it is to stuff around town.

Offer relevant information about yourself.

Applicants will want to know about the person they’ll (potentially) be sharing a space with. Tell readers a little bit about yourself! Good things to list are ages, professions, and general habits/schedules of everyone living in the house.

For example, three 21-year-old guys who throw parties regularly would probably attract a different roommate than a quiet, 30-year-old woman who prefers a calm, tidy household.

Do you travel for work every weekend or work nights? Do you prefer early bedtimes and quiet hours on work nights, but anything goes on the weekend? You don’t need to write a novel, but including a general description of yourself and the atmosphere of the apartment can go a long way when looking for a roommate who’s the perfect match.

• Say this: 30ish-year-old night nurse who will definitely need absolute silence between 7AM and 4PM.
  Not that: 30ish-year-old professional who prefers a quiet apartment

List your expectations from a roommate.

Don’t waste anyone’s time. If there are certain things you can’t stand or very specific things you absolutely expect from a roommate, include them in your ad. If you hate the smell of smoke, include a “non-smoker” bullet point. If you are allergic to certain pets, throw that in there. If you’re a neat freak and would really prefer to live with someone clean, don’t be afraid to say that! It’s much better to lay out your expectations immediately than have someone move in, only to discover they have habits that drive you nuts.

• Say this: Highly allergic to peanut butter and cats. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pet hair are a hard no for me!
• Not that: Not a fan of some pets and foods.

Make your ad easy to read with good formatting.

No one wants to read a huge block of text. Don’t make readers work to find the important bits of information. Instead, make your ad easy to read (and clean-looking) but using bullet points and line breaks. List out the best parts of the home, facts about yourself, and expectations in a roommate instead of writing out one gigantic paragraph. Trust us, apartment-shoppers will thank you for making your add skimmable!

At ApartmentSearch, we can do more than help you find the right roommate. We can help you find the right apartment to match! Use ApartmentSearch.com to find all of the latest apartments in your area and refine your results by amenities, price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and more!