Hello,

This is Roommates.com Customer Support.

I'm glad you are giving us a try! We have helped countless members find roommates. Most sites end up having members on the site for the wrong reason, but we do our best to keep them off.

It was our intentions when we started this site for it to be an effective tool for people regardless of whether or not an upgrade was purchased. To achieve this goal, we have designed our site so you are able to utilize the website without purchasing a membership and many of our users have successfully found roommates this way. The most common ways for people do to so is to send contact information within emails to other users and/or post contact information within profile descriptions for other users to see. So while it is true that without having a paid membership you do not have the benefit of being able to read emails that you receive through out site, you do still have the opportunity to achieve your goals while utilizing the free portions of the site.

As with most websites, there are added benefits to purchasing an upgrade. Those benefits include having full access to your roommates.com emails as well as being able to view larger photos, maps, and the comment sections of other member's profiles. Purchasing an upgraded membership can be done at any time. Many individuals who utilize Roommates.com wait to purchase an upgrade until they have several emails waiting for them. This way, they fully maximize their upgrade.

If you have additional questions about how the site works or want some helpful profile tips just email us at support@roommates.com and we will be happy to assist you.

Roommates.com Customer Support
support@roommates.com

The roommates.com site has several significant flaws. They claim that you don't need a paid membership to contact potential roommates; that you can "post contact information within profile descriptions for other users to see". That's not true if you've chosen a looking for a room profile. The profile is a drop down menu and the only place to add alternate contact info is in the comments section. And you need a paid membership to see those. Another big problem is that you only have 2 choices: has a room, needs a room. There should be another category for people who want to find a roommate and go in together on a place to live.The matching service tries to address that but also has a huge flaw in that you're only able to list the maximum rent you want to pay; not a range. So I'm constantly getting matches from people who who want to pay basically nothing for rent. I have a "needs a room" profile. So I'm thinking of switching my profile to "has a room", listing what I'm looking for in the description portion (kinda just making up the details), and adding an alternate email. Maybe it's the area where I live but what I've found is mainly people who need help paying their mortgage and that's why they want to rent out a room. They aren't interested in a true room or housemate because the rooms are furnished and you can't bring anything of your own. And they charge A LOT of rent for that privilege.

I wish you luck, but I've lost all faith with roommates.com and other related sites. It seems that there are more scammers than there are legitimate people. Your best bet is to either find someone you know and trust and move in together into your own apartment or work with a realtor/fee based service like new york habitat (nyhabitat.com). You will have to pay more, but at least you'll be secure in the fact that you won't get scammed. If you do decide to go ahead with roommates.com, just purchase the one month option and see what happens. That way you know exactly how much money you're throwing away if it doesn't work out. Also be wary of those apartments that sound too good to be true. And NEVER send or wire any money to anyone EVER! There is no legitimate scenario ever where someone would rent an apartment without ever physically meeting that person. Do not pay any money to someone without physically seeing the apartment, signing a lease and getting the keys to the actual apartment in hand. It's sad that there are so many traps for honest people just looking for a home, but that's the how the world is. Be careful and good luck!