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Old 03-05-2008, 11:03 AM
 
1,680 posts, read 3,933,952 times
Reputation: 2334

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I have posted about a previous apartment, both the good and bad. the managment and maintenance people were excellent, the problem at most apartments, the management is not there 24/7. Many people in apartments treat the buildings, and their neighbors with little concern. there is only so much the management staff can do. BUT if the staff keeps hearing the same complaints about the same residents, they can and will do something.

As I contemplate my next move, I read through the ratings, CHECK the dates and as I did when I moved to my current place I will check with residents at the complex. As I drove through, looking over the place, I stopped 3 different people, a mid-50's gentleman, a youngish girl and a family. asked them
(1) would you move here again
(2) would you recommend this apartment to your sister
(3) have you had issues that weren't taken care of
(4) do you feel safe...of course this should be first!

I got very similar answers from each and agree with the answers I got.

I discount the outrageous and b*%$&y or pissed off tenants, and agree some of the sugar coated are either friends of the staff or the staff themselves. but if I see a commonality in the threads, I take it off my list.
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Old 03-06-2008, 02:46 PM
 
6 posts, read 26,091 times
Reputation: 13
Default apartment ratings.com

apartment ratings.com is useful. However it is only useful as a comparison tool between communiites. No community has a 90% rating due to the fact that most people who post on it are the people who have had negative experiences in their apartment community. No one ever goes on to it to post the great things, such as resident parties, newsletter information that is relevant to their lives, maint. promptness, cleanliness of community, or the courtesy of the staff. No one ever mentions the extraordinarey things that mangement staff often do such as driving a renter to the pharmacy to pick up a needed prescription. No ever brags about the great neighborhood a community is located in, or the value priced rental rates, or the renewal incentives, or the early bird contest for paying rent on time, or the free pest control services. some communities even are being renovated with new appliances, carpet, etc. but no one ever complements communities on that stuff. Take the overall rating of a community with a grain of salt, but if it is significantly higher than it competitors then it probably is run and managed better. It is human nature to complain and most people will not take time out of their lives to send complements. For example, I lived in a community that guaranteed to fix maint. issues within 24 hours, but I never have seen that posted on a web site such as this one.
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Old 03-10-2008, 11:23 AM
 
8,411 posts, read 39,183,863 times
Reputation: 6366
Well I am using it as a reference to pick my new place. I like it when I see picky tenants complaining about clangy radiators taking a week to fix a drippy faucet or a mean super.
A weeks fine with me and I dont need someone to powder my bumbum with thankyous and k.a. comments when I tell them something is broken. The few places I have found on there I also have known tenants that rented from them personally and experienced the noise transfer level being a guest. I am lucky enough to found balanced reviews on the places I have my eye on.
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Old 04-15-2008, 02:24 AM
 
Location: Baltimore area
47 posts, read 78,179 times
Reputation: 26
Default Apartment ratings; opinions

I agree with much of what has been said but there are a few other things renters should think about. First, some disclosure... I’m not a landlord and I’m not involved in renting apartments. I started a web site many years ago for the main purpose of publishing apartment ratings.

The people who submit apartment ratings are the same people who post on this and many other forums. So if you are going to criticize certain review sites (and deservedly so) then you must realize any forum will have the same challenges. The posting from Littlelou is right on target. Talking with current residents is one of the best things you can do.

It is definitely true that tenants are more likely to report negative experiences. You could say the same thing about the evening news. Of course the news is not anonymous. So maybe the best way to improve quality is to have selected representatives, unbiased and validated, do the ratings. Any takers?

I never cared if a review was overly negative or positive... I just didn’t want bogus information on my site. And after you’ve read enough reviews it really isn’t that difficult to spot the bogus ones. Still, I would go great lengths to validate the reviewers and would actually call them on the phone just to make sure they are not the apartment manager. Most other review sites don’t seem to care but I don’t know of any other way to ensure good data.

It seems like some renters have a hard time understanding this - but if money is involved in your apartment search then there’s going to be a conflict of interest. And that includes the "free" apartment finder services who probably will not show you apartments where they don’t get a commission. It also includes any apartment ratings site that accepts money from landlords for advertising.

Gcox
theLemonClub.com
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Old 04-21-2008, 05:47 PM
 
4,921 posts, read 7,661,713 times
Reputation: 5477
The people who discount apartment ratings.com are usually landlords who don't want you to know the truth. Sure ther are some that are some extreme posts, but them you don't know what that landlord is putting them through. Think about it, how angry would you be if you couldn't get hot water for four monts even when you pay for it. If you want to fight it legally you have to hire a lawyer, take time off from work, and deal with a judge who will probably side with the landlord. An easy outlet is Apartment Ratings.com, it allows one to vent but it also warns other of the perils of a lousy landland. And if people read and heed then that landlord will loss prespective tenants.
IMO a good landlord and business person would view Apartment Ratings. com as a tool and use it to improve their buisness instead of trying to discount it.
Don
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Old 04-22-2008, 08:24 AM
 
30 posts, read 96,934 times
Reputation: 26
Please visit Compare Prices, Store Reviews and Ratings by Real People. Dell got 1.78/10 while a lot of shaddy stores from NY got 9+/10. Where do you want to buy your $1000 electonics? Dell (1.78/10) or Deep Discounters (10/10)?
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Old 04-24-2008, 08:40 AM
 
208 posts, read 603,412 times
Reputation: 142
When I first found the site, I was looking for apartments I used to live in.

The ratings and comments were very accurate. I won't get into the details, but the tenants had the same issues I did. Most of the comments were negative, but the place was really bad.

Then I read about another apartment I lived in. It was a nicer, cleaner place and the ratings and comments reflected that.

I am in the process of moving to another apartment in the local area and read some of the comments about places I am considering. Amazingly the descriptions of some properties being run down and questionable looking people walking around have been accurate.

I'm sure some bad tenants write unreasonable things, and some landlords my pose as tenants and write all positive things, but you have to sift through the comments. I think most are accurate, but only when there are atleast 10 comments.
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Old 04-24-2008, 05:42 PM
 
Location: Earth
1,479 posts, read 5,069,028 times
Reputation: 1440
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikieo415 View Post
Don't even waste your time with that web site. It seems like every post is from someone ticked off at the apartment for some reason or another. I looked up my apartment and you would think I was living in the projects. What does it take to motivate someone to rate a place that they are leaving? If it was nice or even ok people are not going to go out of their way to find a web site to rate it. They are more excited about their new home. On the other hand, if they broke the screen door and got charged for it, they will do everything under the sun to tell the world. If they spilled kool aid on the carpet and lost their deposit, they are going to bad mouth the apartment until the cows come home.
Absolutely right. People who usually bother to go to the website and post do it because they think they got screwed. Happy tenants don't go around rating where they live, they just go on living happily.
And the worst stories you hear on apt ratings.com are people who didn't finish their lease, and when they talked to the landlord about breaking the lease, they didn't really listen or bother to read the lease. People hear what they want to hear, so they think they can just move out before the lease is up because the don't feel safe with teenagers around, or because they saw a spider, etc. and they think the landlord can't bill them liquidated damages.
A lease is a contract, there are reprecussions if you break it. Few people get that.
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Old 04-25-2008, 05:47 AM
 
Location: Maryland's 6th District.
8,358 posts, read 25,166,145 times
Reputation: 6540
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eastern Roamer View Post
Absolutely right. People who usually bother to go to the website and post do it because they think they got screwed. Happy tenants don't go around rating where they live, they just go on living happily.
That is pretty much true, but that does not mean the reviews are bogus. Some reviews may just be a few tenants venting, but from experience, a lot of the concerns expressed seem to be valid.

My current landlord is reviewed on that site and every negative thing posted is spot on accurate. There is also another rental management company around town that consistently receives negative reviews that from what I know seem to be valid complaints.


There is this notion that just because you rent you are somehow a sub-human person who is not allowed decent housing. Yes, that is a broad generalization, but I have lived in rentals my entire life and I feel that my statement is not far from the truth. I know that it is impossible to please every single renter, but landlords/management companies need to stop treating us like a consumer and maybe we will stop bad-mouthing your product.
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Old 04-25-2008, 11:31 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
37,751 posts, read 40,823,676 times
Reputation: 62026
I think it's a good tool to see exactly what it is that makes a person nuts. You know, if 3 people complain about noise in the parking lot all hours of the night, then I'd think there is something to it. A lot of people who rent in an apartment complex for the first time, think an apartment is just a house without a yard. It's not. Also, some renters think a landlord is their parent and if they are late with the rent, they should get a pass. I'm dubious of all complaints that have to do with rent payments.
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