Apartment reviews - yikes!

[tjaisv]

So me and my girlfriend have startedlooking for apts online together and so far we've found a few that we like. The only thing is when we go to apartmentratings.com those apts get very negative reviews (though, some are very positive). In fact every apartment i look at on that site is just full of negative people telling horror stories and complaining about what horrible pits they lived in (even apts that look nice from the pictures and had other reviewers liking it), complaining about moldy rooms, paper-thin walls, no parking, cars getting stolen, crazy neighbors, and on and on, and how they're in collections with the evil management and yadda yadda yadda lol! Sigh...makes me wonder do all these people really have legitimate gripes or are they just exaggerating because they're pissed off? And they all seem to give just 1 or 2-star ratings for everything lol...:roll:

I guess actually talking to as many people that live there as you can would be the best thing to do.

 

[toekramp]

well you have to assume people that are happy with their place don't go running online to boast about it, only those that are frustrated and want to vent.

 

[SirChadwick]

Originally posted by: toekramp
well you have to assume people that are happy with their place don't go running online to boast about it, only those that are frustrated and want to vent.

Exactly, anything 50% or higher is good at that website...

 

[Mermaidman]

Toe is right.

Go for the newest properties. And make sure you see the unit that you are actually going to rent.

Didn't you post recently about not 'qualifying' for an apt due to bad credit?

 

[Riverhound777]

Originally posted by: toekramp
well you have to assume people that are happy with their place don't go running online to boast about it, only those that are frustrated and want to vent.

Yup, sounds about right.

 

[MrMaster]

Not only that you also have to remember most of these people doing the complaining have never lived outside of mommy and daddy's suburban house. Things that they took for granted back home just don't happen that way in an apartment buildng. (noise, maintenance, crime)

I still used apartment ratings in my research for a new apartment. It will still give you some insight as to how things are.

 

[sohcrates]

i used to live in several aptmnts, and then found apartmentratings.com's review of them (usually after i had moved out).

it is definitely true that most of the reviews were not representative of the actual living condtions. most were people just complaining or who had individual problems. i wouldn't read too deep into them.

although, i *did* move into a brand new apt complex and it was actually NOT cool. they build them very cheap these days. i could hear my neighbors all over (if they're not concrete construction). also, being really early in a new apt it was impossibly to get internet / cable / phone etc. connected (mostly 'cuz it is anew address)

 

[Lola]

please realize those reviews are very subjective.
I was worried when we started looking for places too.

Best thing to do is actually go and visit the apartment complex.
Notice the folks that work there.
Also, take a look at the type of cars that are in the parking lot/garages too.
You can get a pretty good feel if you make sure to notice your surroundings.
Finally, ask the leasing person if they have any names of residents that you could contact to ask them any questions, or just look for residents that are outside when you visit and ask them what they think about the place!

 

[supertunger99]

Yup, most of the reviews on that site are negative. I love the place I live at right now compared to other apartments I've lived in and even this place gets bad reviews. Mostly people only go there to complain, so take the reviews with a grain of salt.

 

[tjaisv]

i see

 

[Vette73]

I paid for EVERYTHING from living to school when in college and I wrote several reviews at that site when I was in college. Only 1 was mostly pro.

The thing I look for is the review points out good and bad. If its all good it might be fake and all bad is probable going overboard.
Me and some others found some fakes since we knew someone that worked for the company. They put up quite a few good ones to push down the bad ones.

 

[interchange]

Nice looking apartment != well built house w/ good homeowner's association. Every apartment complex is going to have construction problems, problem tenants, etc. They are in it to make money and they advertise a better product than they deliver.

 

[dmw16]

what interchange said isnt always true. My apartment is very nice. Mostly young professionals for neighbors. Nice appliances, nice quality construction. Not everyone can buy a house right off.

Anyway, be careful those apt reviews. I think sometimes competing apartment complexes post fake reviews.

 

[Dunbar]

I noticed the same thing two years ago when I moved to Southern California. You seem to only get the people who had a bad experience posting reviews. You have to take it in context, if it's in a not so nice area and you have lots of reviews complaining about disprespectful neighbors than stay away. Probably the best thing to do is go look at the places, narrow a few down, and just stop a few residents and ask them how they like it. The place I'm currently at had a few negative reviews and in a year of living there I can't think of one thing to complain about.

 

[theeedude]

Look up the apartments you lived in before, and see if the criticisms are legit. That will give you an idea of how accurate they are.

 

[Amused]

I just looked through that site and I have a feeling MANY of those "reviews" are from people who's main gripe is being forced to pay rent and/or evicted.

I would not trust the reviews on that site.

 

[Christobevii3]

I believe my apartment is rated like 20% there and they've always fixed stuff on time and never had problems.

 

[elektrolokomotive]

Best thing to do before renting an apt. is to park a few random nights in the parking lot, especially on a summer weekend night, and see what kind of activity/noise occurs.

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: Amused
I just looked through that site and I have a feeling MANY of those "reviews" are from people who's main gripe is being forced to pay rent and/or evicted.

I would not trust the reviews on that site.

Agreed. My current apartment had like a 20% when I searched. I love the place, and have come across none of the specific complaints that people had. People who post seem to be really immature and all seem to have an axe to grind.

 

[thomsbrain]

i've found that most of the "good" reviews are obvious fakes done by the management themselves. i've also found that there is no such thing as a good apartment complex. that's why people buy houses as soon as they can. you will have crappy neighbors. you will have problems with the management. you will have mold. you will have maintenance issues. that's what you get when you can't afford a house yet. if you can find a place where you can stand the level of sh!t you have to put up with to live there, consider it a "good find." and if you have a complex that really is nice to live in, chances are it costs as much as a mortgage.

<-- saving for a house as fast as he can!

 

[LS20]

there are places with consistent good ratings

you just have to "normalize" the scores

my place is a 3.7 something with a 70% recommended rate... adn its AWESOME


i visited about 10 places before deciding on this one, and ive found the ratings to be very accurate

 

[czech09]

Ok I looked at my apartments rating and it's no where near as bad as people say. I'd give it a 4/5 and it's rated at about 2/5. It can be explained by the basic marketing rule of thumb - if a person is dissatisfied with a product they'll tell 10 people if they're happy they'll tell 3.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: czech09
Ok I looked at my apartments rating and it's no where near as bad as people say. I'd give it a 4/5 and it's rated at about 2/5. It can be explained by the basic marketing rule of thumb - if a person is dissatisfied with a product they'll tell 10 people if they're happy they'll tell 3.

Yea but if all the negatives keep saying the same thing like thin walls, lazy/slow repairs, etc... then there might be something to it.

I wrote a negative one, but also was fair and pointed out what was good. Some main points were very high bills (no heat pump; single pane windows), very thing walls, etc...
Good was very dog friendly, close to park, etc...

But the negatives were more then the good, at least for me.