Bill, who requested that his last name not be printed, is just one person in the Carbondale area that has been unable to find someone to share the cost of living in a college town.

It isn’t paranoia, I’m just trying to find someone like myself, Bill said when discussing the screening process he has been using to find an acceptable roommate. I placed a poster out around campus, but that wasn’t bringing a lot of calls.

Judy, who also requested partial anonymity, has had trouble renting out her rooms to college students for the first time this year.

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It’s very unlikely that I will be able to rent to someone after the summer, Judy said. I think perhaps there is a lot of new housing cropping up in Carbondale.

Both Bill and Judy have set screening standards, yet Bill’s is decidely different from Judy’s.

I’m not looking for a sophomore who will have 75 friends tramping in and out in the early morning, he said. I can handle anyone from 20 to 40 years old, but not anyone between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

First, I look at a person’s appearance, Judy said. If they are wearing dirty old shoes and unironed clothes, I get the impression that they will treat the room in the same manner.

I’ve learned the hard way that every time I rent on credit, I never get a penny.

While the university does not provide a formal service for matching up roommates, Assistant Director of Housing-Resident Life Steve Kirk said head residents and resident assistants usually will help students find a roommate.

We don’t have a centralized listing for the students, Kirk said. But quite often the H.R.s and R.A.s will make suggestions about vacancies they have heard.

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Bonnie Owen Property Management offers the roommate service for people wanting to rent, letting them fill out a form for compatibility in order to find a good match.

We ask the renter if they are interested in finding a roommate, Stephanie Arnold, a Bonnie Owen secretary said. If we do find a match from the form, we always introduce the people beforehand, just to see if they are compatible.