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Why in the world would someone hijack an e-mail address to write a review for an apartment? Not saying it didn't happen, but that's pretty weird.
I got an email from someone asking about an apartment "I" wrote a positive review about in Michigan. The most of Mi I have seen was changing planes in Detroit. Then I googled my email addy and found the spoofed reviews.
I can only guess they wanted more reviews on the site? I really don't know.
Well, I'm glad there's no reason to give the reviews too much thought. I'm looking to live in an excellent area where the rent isn't cheap, so I sure hope it's still not as ba at those reviews sound.
But, yes, I plan to drive in the area at various times of the day to really check it out & hopefully talk to people.
Hmm, I need to Google my email & see what it brings up. I've heard of Googling one's name, but I don't think I ever did the email. OK, I just did it & it brings up nothing!
I agree with cruising the complex at different hours to get a feel of the place. I'd suggest going around and knocking on random doors and asking them how they like living there.
Or if you see people who seem to fit your demographics (a family, 20 something single, retired couple, etc), really try to get their opinion.
I've written positive reviews for apartments I've lived at that have given both the good and the bad of the complexes. I always get accused of being one of the office staff writing the good review. Is it so hard to believe that maybe someone had a good experience at an apartment complex and wants to share the good and bad of their experience with others?
I sometimes think that the people who write all the bad reviews and then jump on anyone writing a good review are just as bad as office staff members who write glowing reviews.
In looking at online reviews, I'd see what's commented on frequently (good or bad). You'll never get the full story though because of people on extreme ends of the spectrum.
It's also why on Amazon I mostly look at reviews that give 2-4 stars. I'm more interested in what people who though the item deserved a 3 think, good and bad, than all the good of a 5 star review or all the bad of a 1 star.
The formatting is funny for some reason but you get the idea. Now, take a look at all of the other reviews for the complex...they have something like a 25% recommend rate. The complaints would make you think that the office staff is awful/money grabbers, parking is impossible or non existent and you get towed for no reason, kids skateboard and make general noise in the parking lot at all hours of the day and night, and the neighbors are all crazy loons that party 24/7.
When I moved in and moved out, the leasing staff was very helpful. When I wanted to transfer to another complex that the rental company owned, no problem. When I needed repairs, they were done within 48 hours. Parking rules are clearly outlined in the lease, and you only get towed if you park in the complex without a permit...this is what keeps parking easy for this complex. You never have problems finding a spot because they aren't all hogged by one family with 6 cars. I saw some kids on big wheels or razor scooters from time to time but it was never a noise issue. I had neighbors that smoked, and smoke came thru my vents sometimes or you could smell it if you were out on the patio, but that's kind of part of multi-unit living.
I personally had a great time living there and I only moved out because that particular complex didn't allow the size of dog I was getting, but their sister property did. After living 2 years at the sister property, I moved to rent a house because I wanted a yard for my dog. Now I'm buying my own house, but if I had to rent again I'd have no problem going back to these apartment complexes.
People just like to complain and want the spotlight for someone to listen to their gripes about apartments. People who are happy are out enjoying life, working and/or doing other things rather than worrying about kids on skateboards making noise at 3pm on a Thursday.
Personally I have found that the ratings sites are pretty accurate on how the property is treated. Here is a rule of thumb if a property has a high rating but fewer than 20 reviews question it as the positive reviews are most likely staged by the management staff. If a property has a low rate between 35-50% and over 20 reviews with both negative and positive reviews these will give you a good idea on how the property staff takes care of community and the residents. The older the review is the less of an impact it has on the score. Look at other sites like Yelp, Places, Twitter and Foursquare and see what people are saying about the community. It is human nature to complain about the negative stuff and give very little positive feedback. It also takes allot for someone to create an account and give a review so if there is a negative review then at some point the customer did not feel that their needs were met.
Enkiktd has a good point about looking at the in-between reviews rather than just focusing on the completely negative or the glowing reviews. I think one time I left a review on apartmentratings.com after a very bad almost move-in experience (I never actually lived at the apartment). I posted the review almost eight years ago and it's still on the site. The place could have completely changed and yet my negative review would still count. It's a shame; it's so hard when you're moving from a distance to a new place and just want some basic facts!
I appreciate the input in this thread and decided to bump it for perhaps more comments.
I am really trying to avoid a complex at all; I actually feel like it's less risky to deal with a private landlord for the most part, but the place I am looking to move to doesn't have many options so I might end up in a complex regardless.
I am always so torn when reading the reviews.. what to take seriously and what to disregard? The place I am considering has a 44% overall rating on apartmentratings.com with 86 reviews total, spanning eleven years, but if I just look at the past year they are still about 50/50.
What causes me to hesitate are the reviews mentioning the office staff "losing" deposits and rent checks, and the ones mentioning high electric bills or the AC units not being big enough to cool the apartments that are larger. This is Texas, and if the AC is inadequate, apartment complexes generally won't let you put in your own window AC so then what? Being hot and unable to fix it is my worst freakin' nightmare.
It's just so stressful because Texas law tends to favor landlords in general, from what I have seen. I don't know how to decide. I thought about just going for a six month lease but the idea of moving that quick seems like a huge pain in the butt.. it would be one thing if it was just me but we are a family of five, and even though we aren't clutter-bugs, five people still means lots of stuff to move!
I appreciate the input in this thread and decided to bump it for perhaps more comments.
I am really trying to avoid a complex at all; I actually feel like it's less risky to deal with a private landlord for the most part, but the place I am looking to move to doesn't have many options so I might end up in a complex regardless.
I am always so torn when reading the reviews.. what to take seriously and what to disregard? The place I am considering has a 44% overall rating on apartmentratings.com with 86 reviews total, spanning eleven years, but if I just look at the past year they are still about 50/50.
What causes me to hesitate are the reviews mentioning the office staff "losing" deposits and rent checks, and the ones mentioning high electric bills or the AC units not being big enough to cool the apartments that are larger. This is Texas, and if the AC is inadequate, apartment complexes generally won't let you put in your own window AC so then what? Being hot and unable to fix it is my worst freakin' nightmare.
It's just so stressful because Texas law tends to favor landlords in general, from what I have seen. I don't know how to decide. I thought about just going for a six month lease but the idea of moving that quick seems like a huge pain in the butt.. it would be one thing if it was just me but we are a family of five, and even though we aren't clutter-bugs, five people still means lots of stuff to move!
Is there any way you could buy? FHA just requires 3.5% down, and will wrap closing costs into the mortgage.
If you don't have the down payment yet, what my daughter did was change her federal withholding on her paycheck to "exempt." This bumped her take-home about 20%. Then you deal with paying the IRS back next year. They're easy to deal with, and she figured out it was a loan at about 4% interest, and it doesn't show as a loan on your credit report.
Just a thought. Even if you have to go for the complex for now, change your exemptions, start saving the excess take-home, and buy next year?
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