Apartment confused! Need a little help. (Phoenix, Surprise: apartment complex, renter, home) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

Jaribu2000 · 05-03-2009, 04:34 PM

We are moving to AZ this summer so we started looking for apartments to rent first before we buy our house. Since our jobs will be located in Surprise we started to look there first. Based on our internet research we have come across nice apartments like Harmony, Village @ west point, La Borgota, Park Place, Wyngate and many more. But then apartmentreviews.com came across and left us more confused than ever

. The reviews are made by tenants living in these apartments and tell all about there experience with the complex. I understand we are all different to satisfy, if you don't own a dog you will not like to see you know what on the grass, if something in your apartment is not to your expentations and you want things fixed rightaway, than maye you should look somewhere else. And lets not forget the management attitude in the complex, if you are a royal pain to them ALL the time, don't expect royal treatment in return. There are also good comments but more negative than positve, Should I take these reviews in consideration??? Any advise on these or other apartments?

THANKS!

Howard Roark · 05-03-2009, 04:46 PM

I had the same issue about the apartment reviews. Until maybe two years ago, someone was able to post multiple reviews per apartment. That biased the positive side or negative side. You could tell the biased posts because they seemed to be in clusters of days. Now someone who has a bone to pick or some manager who wants business has to go to all the trouble to register under different e-mail accounts in order to bias the posts. I think that is a strong deterrant and the ratings are pretty much honest since a couple years ago.

So I advise to look for reviews since 2007.

I rented at my same apartment complex since 2005. I've seen good and bad. I've seen a renter claim some guy broke in and molested her, but she actually set it all up and there was no one who invaded her apartment after all - she even cut herself with glass - she had "issues." She had the whole neighborhood in a lot of worry for a year since she claimed she was molested in the neighborhood a year before it. Her mom even posted bills all over warning of a serial rapist or molester. This had bad effects on people evaluating the neighborhood, whether prospective home buyers or prospective renters. It still left a bitter taste.

The apartment management at my place is good for the most part but I just had an issue with them. They are partly to blame, but a third party is also partly to blame. I have to hustle on Monday and make sure things get solved, and I need to get it all in writing from the management.

Jaribu2000 · 05-03-2009, 05:09 PM

Thanks for the advice! It is a shame that no matter where you go there will always be a bad apple. I just tell my husband that is a risk we have to take, and if its not for us we move along. At this point anything is better than living in NY!! I can't wait to be in the sun. We are actually going next week to look at apartments, I rather do this personally . Any advise on negotiating prices??? I see that the same complex has different prices in different websites. What should I question about that?

thegirlinaz · 05-03-2009, 05:38 PM

You know, when I lived at an apartment that I was happy at I didn't bother to go online and write a good review. However, when I was at an apartment that had problems and I didn't like, of course I wrote bad reviews. So even if there is a few bad reviews there might be many more good ones, but no one spends the time going online to write them. Just a thought.

Jaribu2000 · 05-03-2009, 05:53 PM

Thanks, you are absolutely right. I figure there are about 400 tenants, and I see only like 10-20 reviews. I'm sure not all 400 have something negative to say. But you are right, if someone asked you to recommend them a good restaurant, the first thing out of you would be "Don't go to this one because the service or food is bad!" instead of focusing on a good one.

Howard Roark · 05-03-2009, 06:36 PM

I never really negotiated for prices. So no experience.

On the other hand, an apartment I'm renting in LA dropped its rent 20% and I renewed that lease another 6 months promptly! I did not expect that. My apartment in Phoenix is advertised on the corporate site at 25% below what I currently pay. The lease is coming up for renewal in the Fall. I'm having second thoughts of renewing the lease, partly because of the hassle I'm currently getting from management. But 25% less is a great thing. It's a very quiet apartment complex.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaribu2000

Thanks for the advice! It is a shame that no matter where you go there will always be a bad apple. I just tell my husband that is a risk we have to take, and if its not for us we move along. At this point anything is better than living in NY!! I can't wait to be in the sun. We are actually going next week to look at apartments, I rather do this personally . Any advise on negotiating prices??? I see that the same complex has different prices in different websites. What should I question about that?

MaxPower123 · 05-04-2009, 09:10 AM

Ignore apartmentreviews.com

QuirkyBound · 05-04-2009, 10:43 AM

One thing I've learned when using apartment reviews sites (anywhere in the country) is to focus less on the individual anecdotal reviews (although I read them) and more on the 'trend' of the reviews.

For intance, when I see that there is a general approval rating of 30% with 80+ reviews in the last couple of years and another building has an approval rating over 70% with the same number of reviews, chances are that I'm more likely to have a better experience with fewer problems with the better reviewed one.

Nothing's a guarantee wither way but you can help stack the odds a bit in your favor. Also, some of the reviews have good notes like "management has changed in the last 6 months and there have been issues since." things like that can be red flags.

Hope that helps.

sablebaby · 05-04-2009, 11:49 AM

No apartment complex is perfect. I've had my fair share of crappy ones (even though I always lived in luxury ones). They can't please everyone, there's always a loud neighbor that they can't quiet down.

I did take some reviews into consideration though. I'd look for some important things that I needed to know about, like maybe parking. If there are numerous complaints of no parking then I will take that to be real. Things like that.

Jaribu2000 · 05-05-2009, 08:42 PM

Thanks everyone for the reply. I guess like all I'll have to take my chances. My main concern is to find a family friendly complex.