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I did not think I'd be in a predicament where I'd have to move within a month, but unfortunately because my landlords are leaving the country I have no choice.
I've been browsing CraigsList for different rentals, and the things put in the ads they post have me shaking my head.
1. One says it's four Metro stops from a specific airport, when in actuality it is 1) nowhere near a Metro stop and 2) the closest Metro stop is eight stops away from the stated airport.
2. Another says that it's along the Red Line, but it's actually the Green Line.
3. Another says it's walking distance from Metro, but looking at Google Maps shows that it's in the middle of nowhere and unless you want to walk a half-hour to get there, then it's not walking distance.
4. The "emerging" neighborhood ones, aka, you'll be shot and killed here. I'm not trying to gentrify, I'd like to live in an already decent neighborhood.
5. One I had seen when apartment searching last year claimed to be near all five Metro lines in DC, but the most Metro lines that intersect are four at L'Enfant Plaza. . .and said apartment was nowhere near there!
6. The ones that call themselves apartments when they're actually houseshares. I want an actual apartment and my own space, not to live in a dormitory!
It frustrates me the way these people put these untruths in their ads. And had I not already been acquainted with DC, I could've fallen for that mess. I hope no one new to the area falls for that crap.
Does anyone else have difficulties with false advertising when looking for an apartment?
I would think that landlords would be honest, as it is time consuming showing an apartment in such a competitive market. I've advertised "small kitchen" and people still investigate, saying "Gee, that really is a small kitchen!" About a third of the population in any town rent and move every three years. The turnover rate is high and it is much cheaper to get a good tenant/apartment match that will last.
In another search today, I saw one calling itself an apartment rental, when in actuality it was an infamous hostel for students/travelers that people are going "hmm. . ." about because of the way it advertises itself. Also lies and says it's near this Metro stop one minute or that one the next. I think these ads specifically say they're near certain areas/Metro stops because they know people put value on what location they're at. In DC, it's the "cooler" thing to do to say an apartment's in Columbia Heights as opposed to Petworth. Ridiculous. I don't care about the neighborhood's name, just as long as I'm safe in said neighborhood!
Other ads I've seen in past searches would say they'd have a full kitchen, but I'd get there and there'd only be a hot plate. I am too old to be using a hot plate. My college days have been over.
I agree that it'd make more sense to have more truthful ads. It would save a lot of time and hassle if they did so.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,752,651 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by breakingfree
I did not think I'd be in a predicament where I'd have to move within a month, but unfortunately because my landlords are leaving the country I have no choice.
I've been browsing CraigsList for different rentals, and the things put in the ads they post have me shaking my head.
1. One says it's four Metro stops from a specific airport, when in actuality it is 1) nowhere near a Metro stop and 2) the closest Metro stop is eight stops away from the stated airport.
2. Another says that it's along the Red Line, but it's actually the Green Line.
3. Another says it's walking distance from Metro, but looking at Google Maps shows that it's in the middle of nowhere and unless you want to walk a half-hour to get there, then it's not walking distance.
4. The "emerging" neighborhood ones, aka, you'll be shot and killed here. I'm not trying to gentrify, I'd like to live in an already decent neighborhood.
5. One I had seen when apartment searching last year claimed to be near all five Metro lines in DC, but the most Metro lines that intersect are four at L'Enfant Plaza. . .and said apartment was nowhere near there!
6. The ones that call themselves apartments when they're actually houseshares. I want an actual apartment and my own space, not to live in a dormitory!
It frustrates me the way these people put these untruths in their ads. And had I not already been acquainted with DC, I could've fallen for that mess. I hope no one new to the area falls for that crap.
Does anyone else have difficulties with false advertising when looking for an apartment?
You expect a LANDLORD to tell the TRUTH? You would have better luck getting the truth out of a snake used car salesmen!
You expect a LANDLORD to tell the TRUTH? You would have better luck getting the truth out of a snake used car salesmen!
Not true - I don't want to waste my time and the prospective resident, either.
My best advise is to drive by the building/neighborhood/area at different times of the day. Check the parking situation and local transportation and what your neighborhood has to offer, call the police and ask for the crime rate.
It's up to the resident's decision if he/she wants to move in.
You expect a LANDLORD to tell the TRUTH? You would have better luck getting the truth out of a snake used car salesmen!
Most of the ad's here in Toronto are bunk too. My current residence I got though an ad that said "on the bloor line at christie station". the reality is that it's a 15 minute walk to christie station, and that I'm actually slightly closer to ossington station.
I cant speak for the orignial poster, but I would not be so concerned about the metro if I had a car. As I said I currently live 15 mintues from the subway, and in mid-day trains come every 5 minutes. That's 20 minutes just for me to sit down and 20 minutes just for me to get home (and that's assuming all I want to do is sit down on the train) 10 minutes each way might get me within a 10 station radius and I'm already at an hour and I have not even left the subway system. I HAVE walked, up a hill, for 15 minutes, after an hour long subway ride (walk to and from not included) to check out a lie of an ad only to have the landlord - upon realizing my age - tell me that hes "feeling sick" and cannot show the apartment. He said "Your the guy I was talking to? you sounded older!"
The sad truth is that if a company were to do something like that (IE an ad that said "free stuff, only $20"), they'd get in trouble, but if a landlord does it, its a case of "meh, watchya gonna do"
A material misrepresentation of fact would come under your States Truth in Advertising Statutes.
Often terms used to "Puff" such as "Best Apartment Available" and such would not be enough to qualify as false advertising.
To be material, it must generally be substantial. Such as advertising a unit for $1000 per month only later to find out it actually is $1200 or advertising a unit when one is not available.
I believe most management companies make an effort to be factual if only for the purpose of not to waste staff time.
I find that most of the problems are with location. In toronto specifically, location is done by intersection and/or nearest subway station. The problem comes when this gets fuzzy. For example, most of the city is former suburbs. The entire city is built on a grid. Two of them, Scarborough and Etobicoke, have major east-west streets every 2KM, and major north-south streets every 1KM. North York meanwhile has them every 2KM and 2KM, while the old Toronto is closer to 1KM and 1KM, but the grid breaks here too. My current room is one small residential street south of Dupont, which is considered by the city as a "Arterial" and hence, shown as a major street. Say "Dupont" to most people from Toronto and they wont know what you are talking about as it is a short street. Dupont is 1KM from Bloor - the subway line. Should the ad say "Dupont and Christie" or "Bloor and Christie"? Also, the nearest "big" street the other way to me is Shaw. Shaw is a longer street that cuts though a downtownish portion of the city, but up this far it is a small one-way street. If I call for a cab they know where Shaw is, but some people would not. Should it therefore be Dupont and Shaw, or Dupont and Christie? I also happen to live right between Christie and Ossington, both of which have subway stations at Bloor. I think I'm 5-10 feet closer to Ossington, yet the ad said Christie, as the walk to Christie station is far more pleasent due to a park in the area. I walk 12-15 minutes to the subway, is this "Walking Distance" or not?
This other apartment I looked at was located smack dab between two major east-west streets in North York. to list one or the other would not be 100% correct as it's a 15 or so minute walk from either one. To list a smaller local street might mean people dont know where it is. I also find neighbourhood names get fudged, for example in nearby Vaughan. The neighbourhood of Thornhill is seen in a good light, so areas that are part of Maple are listed as being in "Upper Thornhill" even though that's bunk.
If you were to beleive all the ad's, then most apartments are right on top of subway stations, at least the cheaper ones. These landlords know that the people who will be renting from them will be using transit, and yet they lie. I dont want to take two hours out of my day to go to some place that is not where they said it would be, and heave the landlord take two seconds to get off his but, come to the door, and decide that because I'm 23 I'm not "worth the risk".
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