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Are apartment reviews usually bad?

Just rented an apartment and casually went to look online at reviews. For the whole place I could only find about 15 reviews and a majority of them were saying how bad the place was. I was wondering if this wasn't normal. I seems like common sense to me that most of the people who write reviews are the extreme end of the spectrum. ( Either their pissed because they don't follow the rules or because they are nitpicky.) Therefor the majority of ratings is low when really it's not that bad of a place. Do you think the bad reviews overshadow what the place is really like because people tend to exaggerate?

Public Comments

1. I do take things with a grain of salt when someone writes a review. Its their opinion. Now if the reviews were the fact that the managers or land lord was not doing their jobs, I would worry. But if the people are too picky or not following the rules they will write in their frustration trying to find someone else to blame but themselves.
2. when people have a difficult time, they will make the effort to slag an apartment complex. when things go smoothly, they rarely if ever take the time to compliment them. this is human nature.
3. I don't think that's necessarily true. The apartment complex I'm currently living in has 4.7 star rating out of 5. The majority of the reviews are recommending the complex to other potential renters. It has an 86% recommendation rating with a large amount of reviews. Of course there are some with complaints as no place is perfect. You're right in thinking some people do exaggerate their complaints when they're upset or even angry, but a way to weed that out is if there are several bad reviews all with the same general complaints. That's a red flag, as it means it's not just a personal issue or someone not following the rules. Sometimes you just have to use your own judgment when reading reviews but you also have to be willing to see the red flags for what they are. It’s always up to you in the end though. Check out http://www.apartmentratings.com/. It's a nationwide apartment ratings site that gives people the ability to give thorough reviews and ratings for the apartment complex. Hopefully they will have your new apartment place on the site. I wish you luck in your new home! Brit
4. most bad reviews center around "they don't do anything", which really means the renters felt ignored a time or two, so are vindictive. If you get a bad vibe from the property mgr that shows you an apartment, and you don't like the way an apartment looks, stay away.