Doesn't exactly fit this subtopic but I think the readers here would have more experience, input and insight into the question.
I'm planning on renting this summer and there seem to be 2-3 main kind of arrangements I could take.
1. Rent an entire place for myself. This would obviously be more expensive but I would have more privacy. I would rent an apartment and not a house.
2. Rent a room with other roommates. The area I'm in has a lot of homes with rooms rented out to individuals. This is a good way to save money and meet new people similar in age to me. There are drawbacks such as conflict, this happened to me before where a roommate crashed and damaged my car and refused to take responsibility for it, also keyed it but again no hard evidence, just very very strong suspicion. This was in the past though and I'm way past it already. I would have no control of who the roommates are except by picking based off visit and description. But I get to use the kitchen and save money by making my own food.
3. Rent a room in the same house as landlord. Never did this before but likely similar cost savings as #2 from listings I've seen. However not always allowed to use kitchen.
My question is what are the pros and cons of each option, particularly between #2 and #3? Rent price and a reasonably quality place are important to me. Wondering what people have to say based off their own experiences.
Also what are things to look for when picking a house and evaluating the landlord? The last landlord I had started off well but not ended well. What are qualities a tenant should look for in a good landlord that's nice and willing to listen to you? And what are expectations I would need should fulfill as a tenant?