What legal alternatives can I use to find information about a potential roommate?

What legal alternatives can I use to find information about a potential roommate?

Sylvia Bergthold (Author, Roommate Expert) gives expert video advice on: What information do background checks provide?; When is it safe to give out personal information during a roommate or room search?; How and when should I bring up the issue of drugs and alcohol? and more...

This is an electronic age. Everything is on the Internet. Googling them, MySpace, YouTube, that should give you information - I personally have never used them, but I know they're out there. There are lots of ways to check on people; privacy is something that we're losing fast. The younger generation doesn't seem to care about privacy - they let it all hang out! On the Internet, there are a lot of ways to check out people.