When people live in an apartment, it is usually among friends.

So there's no need to
worry about being too polite. As long as you have common courtesy, you will have no
problem. On the other hand, if you are looking for a roommate, then there are some
things you should learn how to say. The list of questions below are examples of
questions you should ask when looking to join existing people in an apartment.

Questions

"What is the rent here?"

"How many people live in the apartment?"
"How many bedrooms does the apartment have?"
"How much is utilities?"
"Does the rent cover the utility bills?"
"Do you have any rules for living here?"
"Does it get loud in here?"
"What time do people usually go to sleep?"
"Do you hold any parties here?"
"How many people share the bathroom?"
"Do you have cable?"
"Do you have high speed Internet?"

Common answers

"The rent is $1200, so you would only pay $400."

"This is a three bedroom unit, so you would be the third person."
"On average, utilities are about $125."
"The rent does not cover utilities. You would be responsible for 1/3 of the utilities."
"We are pretty quiet during the week days, but on the weekends, it can get a little
loud."
"We have both cable and DSL here."

Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire
conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only
Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences
of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native speed.
Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for you. After
practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

1
Listen All  |   Person A  |   Person B
A: "Hi. My name is Jack."
B: "Hey Jack. I'm Seth."
A: "It's nice to meet you."
B: "Looks like we're going to be roommates."
A: "Yeah."
B: "So where are you from?"
A: "I'm from Tacoma. How about you?"
B: "I'm from Ontario."
A: "In Canada?"
B: "No. It's in California. It's a smaller city in southern California."
A: "So what made you come here?"
B: "I wanted to go to a different state."
A: "I see. Hey, if you don't mind, I took this side of the room."
B: "No problem. They look the same to me."
A: "Are you a morning person or a night person."
B: "I'm a night person."
A: "That's great. So am I. I like to sleep in the morning."
B: "That should work out well then."

2
Listen All  |   Person A  |   Person B
A: "Hi. I'm Sara."
B: "My name is Jessica. It's nice to meet you."
A: "Yes. It's nice to meet you as well."
B: "Have you been here long?"
A: "I got here about an hour ago. Do you want me to show you around?"
B: "Yeah. That would be great. The most important is the bathroom right?"
A: "Definitely. But we have to share the bathroom with the whole floor. The break room is over
there. The bathroom is right across from the break room, and finally, the RA (resident advisor) is
in room 315."
B: "I'm glad there is a TV in the break room. I like to watch TV."
A: "Me too. So I brought one. I haven't unpacked it yet, but it's a little TV that works."
B: "Cool. I brought a refrigerator. I like to store some snacks in there. Feel free to use it."
A: "That would be perfect. I think we're going to have a great time."
B: "Do you sleep pretty late, or are you a morning person?"
A: "I have never been either. I'm very flexible with sleeping times. Anyways, I'm a deep sleeper
so a little noise never bothers me."
B: "That's good to know. I'm usually a night person, but I'm very quiet if my roommate is
sleeping."
A: "As long as you don't blast the music while I'm sleeping, I should be fine. Did you eat lunch
yet?"
B: "No. Is there a cafeteria in the building?"
A: "Yeah. I'll show you."