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I must respecfully disagree with groove1 - SW Charlotte is not a bad area. Steele Creek is a great place to live.
ctribucher - Do you have a budget or ideal commute time in mind?
I guess it depemds on what part of SW Charlotte and if you are talking houses or apartments. Steele Creek is ok, but we all know apartments tend to be magnets for crime. I lived at the Pointe apartments on Tyvola near S. Tryon and there were numerous issues at that apartment complex, as well as the Springs, and the ones near the police station too. We had 3 armed robberis and a breakin within 3 weeks back in February because the gate never worked (not that it really helped anyway).
If you use it thoughtfully, apartmentratings.com will be a great tool. It helped us find our current apt, Northridge Crossings (Raleigh), which lived up to the ratings.
First, sort ratings by the rating value, highest first, to get the best on top.
Next, skip those with only 1 rating, not a good sample.
Now, look through the detailed ratings for common threads, good and bad. If something is reported over and over, it's probably true. That screens out posts from those who have ulterior motives.
If you want a lot of square feet and great maintenance, might look where I live in Northridge Crossings. Just look at the top rated communities to get a starting point.
Then, visit the leasing office to see a unit.
If you still like the place, come back after office hours. Look for noise, litter, or unruly youth. Ask a few residents what they think of the place.
Good hunting!
Last edited by saturnfan; 09-17-2007 at 01:13 PM..
In your opinion, would you say that sites like apartmentratings.com are a valuable resource that should be trusted to a certain degree, or just a place for disgruntled tenants to rant and vent? What looks promising on apartments.com seems to get trashed on apartmentratings.com.
I've always figured that aparment managers get onto these sites and trash their competition. Then they write glowing reviews about their own property. I didn't use these sites at all.
I agree with both previous posters on this one. I scoured apartmentratings.com when looking for a place. You have to read between the lines. Look at writing styles if there appears to be a lot of really really negative or overly flowery positive reviews. You can usually pick out ones that seem to be planted.
I posted a review for the apartment I used to live in. I wrote specific details about what I liked and what I had problems with. I touched on both the positive and the negative. So I would weight the more balanced reviews much heavier than ones that just go one way and don't offer much in the way of details as to why they feel the way they do.
Consider nothing else other than Ballantyne area in South Charlotte. All other issues are trivial. If you think prices are high in Ballantyne area, check out Piper Station apts off of Rea Road. You will regret any other place, thats for sure.
I used apartment ratings YEARS ago to voice my experience at my last apartment complex. I got HARASSED by the district manager so much, I had to almost file a complaint against him. He ended up losing his job.
After my post, several posts suddenly started flooding in, raving about the complex. Two days later, the property manager and her assistant were fired for doing the posts. Apparently, they were tracked.
I actually recommend it. I would definately read all the complaints. Some are pretty petty, such as "wild kids running the streets". I would pay more attention to trash, violence and possible complaints against the property managers. Our complaints ranged from mice eating our appliances, a drunk maintance man for 8 pm emergency calls to an employee at the office who was not authorized to deal with rent checks who send letters out to EVERYONE on the property about their rent.
Things like that, I wouldnt want to move there. Just read each review and figure out what is worthwhile to you or not. Remember, they did live there...
If you want a lot of square feet and great maintenance, might look where I live in Northridge Crossings. Just look at the top rated communities to get a starting point.
Saturnfan, you've put Northridge Crossings on my radar screen of places to check out during my next visit. Apartment Ratings. com mentioned some issues with rude or loud people in the parking lots, etc. Have these been resolved? Also, how is traffic around there?
I would definately read all the complaints. Some are pretty petty, such as "wild kids running the streets".
ACK! That doesn't sound too petty to me.
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South Charlotte/Ballantyne.
