By Sherri Rifkin

As a veteran (or shall I say, survivor) of many Hamptons Summer Shares of all shapes and sizes over the years, I’ve picked up some tips for selecting the right house and sussing out the wrong ones. Since there are no refunds or mid-summer cancellations, it’s crucial to assess the situation fully before you write the check—unless you’re desperate to nail down a plan, any plan, which I was one fateful summer…c’est la vie. Finding a great share can lead to new friendships that last way beyond Labor Day; a dynamic, fun-filled summer; or even love. But if you dislike or worse, don’t get along with your housemates or can’t stand the house itself, then your summer—and your money—will be blown faster than the corn can grow knee-high by the Fourth of July.

Network: Ask friends and colleagues (whom you like) if they know people who are running a share house or have joined one that have spots open. You can also query your Facebook friends and ask them to pass along the request for a slightly broader reach. It’s far better to have a personal connection to the house, even if it is several degrees removed, than going in with complete strangers.

Buddy Up: If you must cast the net beyond your social circle, pair up with a friend or two. That way you not only will have someone you know with whom you can share a room, but also you’ll have a guaranteed wingman or wingwoman for the summer in case everyone else turns out to be lame or annoying.

Craig’s List: Like with everything on Craig’s List, you want to research carefully before committing. If a share house has taken to post available spots on Craig’s List or another public site, chances are it’s for a house that’s being organized by the owner or share house manager to make money, in which case you should prepare yourself for a party house with a large, random mix of people (and possibly unsanitary conditions by Sunday morning). You can also check out www.summersharehouse.com

Important Questions: Whether you’re meeting up with the house manager one-on-one or going to a social get-together to check out potential housemates, be sure to find out the answers to the following questions:

1. Money: Not only what’s the cost but when are payments due (often half to secure your spot and the balance about a month before Memorial Day Weekend) and what that gets you:*

Full Share: every weekend of the summer between Memorial Day to Labor Day Weekend, 15 weekends total*

Half Share: half the summer weekends, usually every other weekend for easy/fair scheduling*

Quarter Share: one quarter of the available weekendsAlso ask if house expenses (utilities, services such as weekly house cleaning, lawn care, pool maintenance, garbage collection, etc.) are included in the cost of your fee or are tallied up at the end of the summer, requiring an additional payment. Sometimes house managers include your portion of the security deposit in your initial fee and deduct your slice of the expenses from the deposit before your returning your balance after the summer.

2. Room Allocation: Do you/can you have your own room (if that’s what you want) or at least the same room every time you come out (good for leaving some stuff out there)? Will you be paired with the same person each time? Are bigger rooms, e.g. with en suite private bathrooms, more expensive than rooms that have twin beds or have to share bathrooms?

3. Pictures: Ask to see photos of the house. These days, there’s no excuse for house managers not to have photos readily available for viewing online, via email or at the very least, on their digital camera or phone.

4. Schedule: Especially for half and quarter shares, is the schedule flexible or strictly every other weekend? Is swapping weekends with other house members acceptable? How are holiday weekends divided (since there are three and July 4th is often a four-day weekend)?

5. Guest Policy: Are weekend guests allowed and if so, how are they handled? You may not care about bringing guests of your own, but you’ll care about the policy when your housemates bring guests, especially if the amount of guests per weekend is unlimited and they’re allowed to crash in common spaces or someone brings the same non-paying friend multiple times.

6. House Demo: Knowing the age, occupations and origins (where they live) of your housemates is the best way to figure out if you’ll be spending the summer in the company of like-minded people.

7. Vibe: If some of the people have shared houses together in the past, ask them what the atmosphere has been like: die-hard partiers? Health-nuts who love to get up early and bike to Montauk and train for a triathlon? Couples? Singles? People who are working out there on weekends who keep irregular schedules (you’d be surprised…)? Average age is often a bit of an indication, as is house location, but are not guaranteed gauges, so go as deep as you can to get a better picture.

Run Your Own Share: If you have enough of your own friends who want to spend the summer at the beach, then think about renting your own house. Smaller houses with two or three bedrooms are available but get snapped up quickly. Summer rental price tags aren’t exactly cheap, but if you have friends who can and are willing to pay to have a room to themselves for the summer, it won’t take as many people to fill it.

Dealing with Realtors: Many realtors, especially at the bigger real estate agency chains that now dominate the Hamptons market, are not allowed by most homeowners to rent to “groups.” Some towns even have ordinances that won’t allow more than four unrelated people to rent a house. So if you want to rent with a small group of trustworthy friends and won’t be drawing attention to yourselves by disrupting the neighborhood with parties and late-night shenanigans, then the workaround is for one or two couples—real or faux for this purpose—to handle the house search and sign the lease. Be specific about your criteria—whether it’s a town, price range, pool, proximity to the beach or town, a clean, non-tzotchke-filled house (there are more of those than you might think). Ask for HREO (hamptonsrealestateonline.com) ID numbers so you can scope out the houses your agent recommends online before you make the trek east. While house hunting with your agent, resist exclaiming things such as, “We could fit eight people per weekend if we use the pullout couch and bring an air mattress!”

Best time to search: the earlier the better. The best houses—south of the highway, the ones with pools, those within walking distance to the villages, or the ones that are semi-reasonably priced—go fast. January is optimal; February is doable; March works, especially if there’s a recession happening. Avoid the winter holiday weekends because your competition will be stronger and the agents busier. Some people swear by waiting until May or even June to score a bargain on properties that have yet to be rented, but just like in Manhattan, deals are few and far between.

Happy hunting!