Apartment Reviews
How Do You Tell the Real Apartment Reviews from the Useless Apartment Reviews?
Apartment reviews are funny things. Just like everything else on the Internet, you have to take them with a grain of salt. Some apartment reviews are clearly written for the benefit of others by an unbiased Good Samaritan. Other apartment reviews are obviously the vitriolic spewings of a dissatisfied tenant or possibly a competing apartment complex.
You’ve probably seen apartment reviews like the ones at the sites we mentioned in our earlier blog about apartment ratings. But how do you form a valid opinion from the apartment reviews you’ve seen? Can you pull valid information from apartment reviews that are angry and biased? Can there be misinformation and propaganda in helpful apartment reviews?
Here are some apartment review tips we’ve collected:
Look for a Common Thread in Apartment Reviews
If one apartment review talks about the sparkling cleanliness of the complex’s pool, that’s a good thing. If five reviews, written in different styles, laud the pool’s condition and the apartment maintenance, you’re probably looking at some factual information.
Throw Out the Best and Worst Apartment Reviews
There are always people who will love or hate an apartment complex, and apartment reviews reflect that. Since you’re working on finding an apartment that will work for you, not for the extreme optimists and extreme pessimists, try to ignore the most extreme comments that you see.
Fake apartment reviews will often appeal to your emotions by mentioning rats, roaches, bad attitudes and slow service – or on the positive side, flowery friendly encounters with residents or an apartment manager who may or may not exist. Control your reactions to these apartment reviews. They may be true; they may be false. If you scare at the first mention of an apartment’s pest problem in a review, you may be walking away from a great place.
Certainly, if you spot an apartment review that lays it on thick, complaining of rodents, fleas, noise and bad service, you are probably reading a fake apartment review. Read the other reviews for the apartment complex and see if they confirm or contradict the original review writer.
Inspect the Apartment Review Writer’s Facts and Style
If someone is trying to spread bad publicity about a competitor through fake apartment reviews, he or she probably has a lot to do. Not only are there many competing apartment complexes in every neighborhood, but there are at least three major apartment review websites. That means the fake review writer has little time to do a lot of writing. As a result, fake apartment reviews are often short, sloppy and light on details.
Real apartment reviews sound like a letter from someone you know. They often cite facts, dates, locations and most importantly, details about the specific apartment complex. A fake apartment reviewer probably doesn’t know the apartment complex as well as a true resident.
Keep an Eye Out for Apartment Review Dates and Authors
It’s common sense, but if you see a lot of strong apartment reviews – whether negative or positive – posted during a short span of time, that should raise your eyebrows. Also look for strong reviews that appear on different apartment rating websites by the same user or people with similar usernames.
Consider Renting a Place with ApartmentSearch Apartment Rewards
This tip isn’t really apartment review-related, but not many people know that you can earn a substantial apartment-search reward by finding a place at ApartmentSearch.com. All you have to do is find it here, mention us to your leasing agent when you apply for the apartment and then claim your apartment reward! With all the cool apartments you can find at ApartmentSearch.com, why not do it online and earn some cash at the same time? The extra scratch might make a nice dent in the security deposit!
Hopefully these tips will make it a little easier for you to find an apartment that fits your needs! Good luck searching, and don’t forget your moving checklist!
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