Before going out and getting your own place, your head was probably filled with daydreams of meeting some random person who would go on to become your new roommate and your lifelong best friend.
It’s a pretty picture, isn’t it?
Too bad that that’s not usually how it works out. When you’re assessing the costs associated with renting an apartment, getting a roommate to help split the bill seems like a great idea. After having a few conversations with the prospective roomie you decide it’s time to take the plunge and sign a lease together. You both run through the costs and have fun crunching the number on your proverbial [renters insurance calculator](https://coverhound.com/renters-insurance). The one thing you didn’t see costing you much? Their bad attitude and gnarly grooming practices.
Here are three roommate horror stories (edited for content and space) taken from roommates who survived deadly roomie couplings. These stories may just make you rethink moving in with your boyfriend’s best friend’s old babysitter.
**The Dirty Roomie**
In a blog posted by [Café Mom](http://thestir.cafemom.com/home_garden/192647/17_roommate_horror_stories_from/146852/the_slob/13), a young woman named Jessie shared an apartment with a woman who apparently didn’t know how to rinse dishes under a running faucet. With “clothes everywhere, dishes going moldy in her room [and] always lighting candles because things smelled funny,” Jessie had endure living with a couple extra dozen roommates: cockroaches. To add insult to injury, they lost the security deposit upon move out due to the filth and roach infestation.
**The Tattoo Artist**
Kitchens are for preparing food and eating meals, but that’s not what Spencer Althouse’s aspiring tattoo artist roommate used the kitchen for. In a blurb shared by [Buzzfeed](https://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/roommate-horror-stories-that-will-make-you-want-to-live-a?utm_term=.cn7XebQYQ#.ifWz9Mg1g), Althouse tells readers that during his sophomore year in college, one of his roommates practiced his tattoo skills on pig ears. Pig ears, if you’re not already aware, have an eerily similar texture to human skin, and a lot of tattoo artists use pig ears to hone their skills. By the end of the school year, Althouse’s roommate had turned the kitchen into a full-functioning (and unsanitary) tattoo parlor complete with paying customers. How much are you willing to bet that Althouse took his meals in his room for the remaining eight months of his lease?
**The Beastly Stains**
[Nina](http://www.cosmopolitan.com/college/a58508/roommate-horror-stories/) had a couple of roommates who each adopted a dog. Unfortunately for Nina, neither roommate knew much about doggie parenting, and it almost resulted in a bloody death. Despite being warned that one of the adopted pups was dog aggressive and would do best in a single-dog-only household, the other roommate adopted a puppy anyway. Neither were trained, and the puppy left urine trails all over the roommates’ room. It wasn’t long before “both of those dogs ended up getting into a fight where the aggressive one tore up the other’s neck one night [….] Luckily, [the puppy] survived.” Aggressive dogs, blood stains and a massive vet bill later, it’s safe to say those girls probably didn’t get their security deposit back.
Ask yourself this: is it worth getting an apartment you can’t afford on your own if you have to live with a nightmare for a roommate? No. You come first, and CoverHound can help you trim down your renters insurance bills when you [click here](https://coverhound.com/renters-insurance), go on, do it!
