So, here’s the thing. I’m going to be apartment hunting next month with the help of an organization that specializes in helping individuals with mental health issues. I’ve mentioned this before, but this time I’m ready to do it.
The issue with apartments are they are one size, don’t fit all. Which I can understand, but it makes searching for apartments tough. I typically don’t like looking at reviews because I don’t want to be swayed into something or out of it. Because in the end my opinion is the only thing that matters. The problem is that apartments are given a star-rating as most things, because of that it makes apartment hunting tricky.
I’m looking at an apartment that I actually visited which looked nice and lovely. The issue is that looks can be deceiving. The reviews talk about how bad the place is and what it lacks and has that makes it terrible, even though some reviews say that it is a great place. But with 2.9 stars I’m sure the negative reviews outweigh the positive ones. But the place is so nice and it sucks so much, which is why it is so tricky. Before the 2.9 stars review, I thought the place was amazing and great. That changed a bit when I considered the review, thinking the place had to have great reviews. Boy was I wrong.
I’ve found other apartments which are good, but it is rather difficult to choose when the time actually comes. I got till September this year to look, but honestly it is such a struggle to find a place that has great reviews or decent reviews. The places with better reviews are more expensive or too far away.
I know what I want out of an apartment, but the reviews make it hard when I am searching for one. Plus I want an apartment that I can stay at for a long time.
I may not be the best person to ask…in fact, I know absolutely nothing about apartments, but in cases like this where I’m at a loss, it seems the best thing to do is go with your gut. Maybe make a list of the things the reviews complain about so you can ask the landlord about them when you inspect the place, but if it really is lovely you could be missing out on a great place if you let yourself get swayed by maybe a handful of people who got their panties in a twist when they weren’t allowed to throw a loud party or something and decided to get even with a bad review. I dunno, though, so don’t listen to me. I don’t know what their story is, so they may have a point for all I know. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯
That’s the thing. I’ve been in and out of the apartments. I even live in an apartment that has quirks.
So, I’m positive that the apartment that I am in now has plenty of bad reviews.
The only gripe that I have are the bad reviews are at times either a mixture of “this apartment is not to my liking/apartments sucks” or “this is what I went through/my terrible experiences”. There are also people who will tell you that it is a bad place and a person should not move there.
I don’t know! I’m just wondering what I should do.
Could be a low rating just because not many people have lived there? And those who have were like “meh” or didn’t care to give honest ratings? Or they had bad neighbor or landlord experiences? Or they were the problem (but can’t face the truth)?
I’d rather go and look at a place than read reviews by people who may or may not be trolls. If the place has the stuff you want and need, maybe you need to go with your gut? Or ask the organization outright, why this nice place has such bad reviews? If they’re supposed to be helping you, you can probably get an answer out of them.
I’m saying this but remember that I live in Japan and have never hunted for apartments in the states
Related story: There’s a haircutting place I use and like. They have three bad reviews on Google, but I’ve never, once, experienced whatever those people were yapping about. I didn’t even read the reviews before going and I had a good experience. Maybe those reviewers are trolls, or bad people, or snobs, or they didn’t match well with the ladies working there. Who knows. I’m going to keep going
Pretty much people state what they experience living in the apartment, good or bad. They talk about the things they love or hate about the apartment as a whole, along with little things here and there.
The problem with what you stated is that I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea because the reviews don’t go too much into detail about it unless it’s a positive.
I won’t know till I start living there and actual experience being there.
check the date they were made. A review from 2016 is outdated and there’s a good chance the issue has been resolved since then.
check whether there are multiple reviews mentioning the same issue (e.g. 3 people talk about cleanliness issues)
determine whether the complaint is about something you feel comfortable dealing with. You have experience living in apartments, so you know what matters to your living experience.
I lived in an apartment with a 2.9 rating. I liked living there, it was quiet, the landlord/maintenance were reasonably responsive, but, there were also crackheads in the stairwell for the first year and my heat had issues (which is a huge deal in saskatchewan), and none of that is stuff I would have known just from the first walk-through.
