Renting in Tampa - AHH (Clearwater, Brandon: apartment complex, renters, condo)

[jake85]

I posted a thread a while back and a lot of the responses helped... thanks! I just accepted a job in downtown Tampa and will be moving down in June from NC. I plan on visiting in December sometime to get a feel for the area and hopefully check out a few apartments.

I am looking for somewhere safe, clean, within 30 minutes drive time to downtown Tampa, and somewhat geared towards young professionals (rather not be kept up all night by people comparing engines in the parking lot). Something close to shopping or [SIZE=3]restaurants .. u[/SIZE]nder $1000 for a one or two bedroom would be great too..

I have looked in Brandon, Westchase, and South Tampa a bit but it seems every time I find something decent on rent.com, apartments.com or whatever it gets terrible reviews on another site (according to apartmentratings.com...although I realize you have to take sites like that with a grain of salt).

Does anyone have a suggestion of a community and/or apartments that might fit this bill?

Thanks a TON!

[Trabbz]

I would check out the Hyde Park area. It is close to downtown and a haven for young professionals. Decent places start in your price range and up. I wouldn't worry too much about apartmentratings.com. That sight gave me an excellent recomendation for a really ghetto apartment complex in Largo and a not so good recomendation for an apartment complex in Clearwater that was much better in my opinion. The best way to find out is to scope out the scene yourself. Check out the neighborhood during the day and at night.

[jake85]

Thanks. I'll check out Hyde Park.

It's good to hear that apartmentratings is off... was getting kinda worried.

[Kwanger]

Yep, what you have to remember is that the people who bother posting on apartmentratings are usually the ones with an axe to grind - happy people rarely post anything. Thats not to say there is not some valid info on there, but it is often a case of counting and weighing the least negatives as opposed to all gleaming reviews - Ive never seen anywhere with 100% positive on there yet!!

[jessiegirl_98]

You can also try an apartment search service to help you find places. I used the Apartment Hunters when I moved. They were free and gave me the names/floor plans for several apartments in my price range.
I would stick to South Tampa/Hyde Park, or maybe Davis Island if I were you.

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by jessiegirl_98

You can also try an apartment search service to help you find places. I used the Apartment Hunters when I moved. They were free and gave me the names/floor plans for several apartments in my price range.
I would stick to South Tampa/Hyde Park, or maybe Davis Island if I were you.

Ditto..for young professionals and an easy commute to downtown, with nearby nightlife, entertainment , restaurants, i'd stick to South Tampa neighborhoods like Hyde Park, Davis Islands, Palma Ceia, SOHO, Bayshore..but most areas of South Tampa would be fine. Have you considered downtown living(Channelside, Harbour Island, Downtown)? There are rentals available....Also check craigslist.com, tbo.com and Aprtment Hunters like what was said above. Find a place, and then you can always get an opinion from the Forum here as well.

[mquintana]

I am an assistant manager for a luxury apartment community here in Brandon. Let me tell you a little something about apartment reviews. The only people who ever go on there are people who want to complain, there are rare few who are happy and say anything good about the communities. your best bet is looking at the newer apartments in the area, like us-we are 2 1/2 yrs. old and beautful, well maintained, quick maintenance, ect...If you need help, let me know-I can tell you a little something about almost every apartment community here in Brandon.

[stpeteguy]

Originally Posted by mquintana

I am an assistant manager for a luxury apartment community here in Brandon. Let me tell you a little something about apartment reviews. The only people who ever go on there are people who want to complain, there are rare few who are happy and say anything good about the communities. your best bet is looking at the newer apartments in the area, like us-we are 2 1/2 yrs. old and beautful, well maintained, quick maintenance, ect...If you need help, let me know-I can tell you a little something about almost every apartment community here in Brandon.

So what's your point?? Of course people go there to complain. Your job as an assistant manager is to deal with complaints and make things right so that they don't have to go on there. If 10 different tenants say that the parking is bad, you can probably bet that the parking is bad. Same for noise, maintenance, managers, etc.
I'm a big believer in customer ratings for those places. Often times when a person moves in and signs a lease, they are at the mercy of the managers whims when it comes to complaints. The one outlet they have is to inform other potential renters of their misfortune.

[jake85]

Thanks for all the great replies. Hopefully I'll be narowing it down in the next few weeks and can seek further advice.

As far as apartment ratings and just rating sites in general.... I understand that people will likely go to such sites to complain before they would praise a community. However, I do feel that if there is a severe recurring theme such as cockroaches in 10 of the latest 20 posts for the past 6 months... there is likely a problem. Regardless, it's all taken with a grain of salt (or shaker for sometimes).

mquintana - I may be asking you about particular places in Brandon if you don't mind

[Occifer]

Lots of the apartment complex in the South Tampa area have gone condo. You should look at craigslist and the newspaper classifieds to look for some condo rentals instead of just focusing on current apartment complexes.