Planning 10 Finance

The Roommate Agreement Project

Overview:
You and your friend have decided to become roommates. Both of you have some
similar and different personalities and ways to make the place cool. In order for both
of you to survive together, you need to establish a few things.
Directions:
Given the worksheets below, you will look for an affordable apartment and fill in the
required information in the different sections. You and your partner will hand in ONE
Roommate Agreement. Please ensure both of your names are on the FRONT of this
legally binding contract.
PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST FOLLOW EACH DIRECTION CAREFULLY!
Marks breakdown:
Part 1:
Part 2:

____ / 15
____ / 10

Total Marks: ____ / 25

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Part the First: The Contract
15 Marks
1)
Find a Job from the classifieds and estimate ach of your monthly incomes.
Assume you will be working 40 hours per week. If you currently have a job, you may
use it for the purpose of this activity.
Roommate 1:

Arjun

Occupation:

Shack Shine Services Lead Cleaner

Monthly Income:

$2960

Roommate 2:

Abdul

Occupation:

Warehouse and Production Worker

Monthly Income:

$2400

Total Income for 2 Roommates (Roommate 1 + Roommate 2):

Minus 30% for Taxes (Total Income X 0.30):

$1068

Net Income (Total Taxes):

$3752

$5360

2.
Find a Place to Rent using Craigslist Vancouver. Give the description and
attach one picture of the living room. Please label this assignment: The PadFill in
the blanks:
Monthly Rent:

$ 1000

What does this place feature? (Bathroom(s), Dining Room, Bedroom(s). etc.)

Includes a large 2 bedroom (above ground) basement suite located on Burke

Mountain, at the top of the Park Ridge Estates development in Coquitlam.
Open concept suite was finished in 2009 and has over 1150 sq/ft of living
space. There is an enclosed backyard that is shared with the top floor tenant.
The suite includes a fridge, stove, and a dish washer. The main entry is
located at the side of the house with a secondary entry located off the
backyard. There is plenty of street parking available on this quiet cul du sac.
It is a 9 minute (600 meter walk) to Norm Staff park and a bus stop. It is 3.5
kilometers from the new Lafarge Lake sky train station.

3.
Utilities cost money as well, so if it is not included with your rent, estimate
10% of the rent money to pay for utilities. If there are utilities included with your
rent, make sure that is mentioned. List the utilities below:

Utilities not included so we took 10% of our income which was $100
4.
You need at least one phone; it can be a land line or a cell phone. Look up
different plans from the various BC Telephone/Cellphone Providers. Fill in the blanks:
Land line Cost:
Cellphone Cost:

$ 0 because we dont have a landline

Roommate 1 $50
Roommate 2 $50

5.
Each of you has your own bedroom furniture, but you need to furnish the
kitchen and common room. Make a list of furniture you will buy or borrow from your
parents. Please attach a separate list with the total to the back of this assignment
labelled: Kitchen and Common Room List

Arjun: 3 Bar Stools, Couch, Carpet, Television with cable box, Video Games
and Play Station, chairs, dresser (Long table)
Abdul: Couch, Small Dining table, Video Games, chairs
6.
How are you going to travel from place to place? Discuss this with your
roommate. If one of you already owns a car, then factor in the monthly costs; if
neither of you own a car, find out how much a monthly bus pass is.
Transportation Costs:

$170 ($85 each for monthly bus pass)

Car Costs: (if applicable)

$ 0 because we take the bus

7.
Using the TD Monthly Budget Template, you will create a monthly budget. In
order for you to survive the Roommate Agreement, you must use the total income
from question one to determine your budget. You will also need to factor in other
costs from the previous questions. This must be printed off and attached to this
assignment labelled: TD Monthly Budget. However, you will also need to consider
the other following items:

Grocery Costs
Eating/Dining Out Costs
Clothes
Entertainment
Personal Supplies
Other costs

Please note, your budget must balance and you cannot go over your
budget. You will also need to be realistic.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Second Act: Clauses and Articles
10 Marks
Objective: Given the questions below, you will answer them in full sentences.

1)

Article A:
Which section did you and your roommate both have the most disagreement
about and why?

We had the most disagreement when we had to buy an apartment

because we both had different likes and wanted different things.
Whatever one person liked, the other found unappealing. Arjun wanted
a bigger living room while Abdul wanted a bigger bedroom. However,
at the end we were able to decide on an apartment that we both liked
and found affordable.
Article B:
Which section did you and your roommate have the least disagreement about
and why?

We both had the least disagreement when we had to bring furniture from
home to our
apartment to furnish because it was simple
and we both had a lot of things at home that would furnish the place
completely. We found it easy seeing what was needed and who would bring
what and it only took a couple of minutes.
2)

What cost amount shocked the both of you the most when completing this
activity? Write your answer below:

We were both probably shocked the most when we saw the monthly bus fare
as we didnt expect it to be so high. Both of us have bussed before but
neither of us has ever had a monthly pass that we used so we didnt know it
was $85 per person.
3)

The Fairness Clause:

To ensure that there is fairness in your Roommate Agreement, you need to
create 10 Rules and 1 Clause. A clause in contract law is a written contract
that declares that contract to be the complete and the final agreement
between the parties. If you are having trouble creating a cause, refer to
examples from the T.V. Show Big Bang Theory. Please attach these rules to
the back of this assignment labelled: The 10 Rules and 1 Clause

1) If you want to use something that belongs to the other person, ask
their permission first (applies to food as well)
2) Whoever owns something gets to make the rules for it and use it
whenever they feel
3) On weekends, one guy pays for takeout dinner and the next day the
other pays for takeout dinner
4) On weekdays, make or order dinner for yourself
5) If you break something, you fix it
6) Both do equal amounts of cleaning of apartment on weekends

7) If there is ever an argument when one person wants something and

the other wants something else, settle it with rock paper scissors
8) Apartment rent split between two roommates
9) Utilities and their costs are split based on who uses them more
10) If you guys decide to split, you each take whatever you brought
to furnish the place and leave
4)
How has your idea of moving out changes after completing this activity? Two
Statements are required and needs to be attached to this assignment labelled:
(Your Name) Statement

Arjun Samra (Statement): My idea of moving out has changed completely

after this project after seeing how difficult, serious, and complex it is when
you move in with somebody. I thought if you were friends and wanted to live
together you would just do it, I never knew about all the legal bindings and
rules that come along with it not to mention the difficulty of splitting the
expenses.

Abdul Ismail (Statement): My idea of moving out has changed because I

thought it was easier and I didnt know about all the legal things that you
have to do. I didnt know that it costed so much and needed a lot of thinking
and planning too.

Roommate Agreement Checklist:

The Roommate Agreement Project
The Pad
Kitchen and Common Room List
TD Monthly Budget
The 10 Rules and 1 Clause
(Your Name) Statement