Alice, Can I Bribe My Potential New Roommates? (And Is It Bribery?) -- Ask Alice: Advice for Life at Home

I recently looked at a room in a really beautiful, rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco, with two roommates who both seem great. The room is absurdly cheap and the whole situation seems perfect, except that I was one of at least 40 people who looked at the same room (things are crazy in the Mission!), and there's no real reason for the roommates to pick me over dozens of other people.