Eeeek.

When I first start looking at advertisement for apartments I looks at the pictures in the ad. If all you are showing me is pictures of the pool, the gym and the front office then right away that's a red flag. I want to see pictures of the units.

I want clean, fairly new appliances. I don't want to see an a/c unit that's older than I am in my window. I don't want to see a dishwasher so old that it still has knobs and large buttons on it. I want silent celing fans.

Most importantly I want absolute fairness when it comes to renting to pet owners. One of my biggest pet peeves (no pun intended) is when I see a place listed as "pet friendly" and then you find out that it's cats only. If youre gonna allow pets, allow both dogs AND cats. Speaking of pets, Don't charge pet rent. To me, that's a deal breaker right there. I'll pay the pet deposit for additional pet rent on top of the deposit is just wrong.

I also look at the yard and the way it is taken care of, how clean the pool is and then the newness of the appliances. If a landlord or management co doesn't care enough to put in appliances that are from the same decade we are living in, I won't look any further.

Then the most important thing to me.......the manager. I want a professional. I don't want a sleez, I don't want a teenager and I don't want someone who doesn't speak proper English. I don't want to see the someone who has no clue how to dress or speak and then pretend they are going to tell me how to live. Not going to happen.

I always find out the management company then come home and research them online. You can look up all the apts they own and get the ratings from them and see the "real" story behind their lines. You can also see if they win awards for best complex, best lawns, best maintenance......that is what draws me.

Good question!

Quick maintenance when there's a problem.

Grounds that are landscaped and well maintained.

Appliances in working order and reasonably efficient.

Soundproofing is pretty essential to keep tenants happy. Nobody wants to hear some of the horror noises we read about on this forum. Geez!

That's all I can think of now.

I could care less what nationality they are, I am just looking for professionalism.

In the type of work I do those who do not speak English get hired for postions that do not involve dealing with the public.

Also, a sizable number of English speaking persons are not literate - even those born here. Those people are hired into postions that do not involve paperwork, and hence their lack of literacy disqualifies them from promotion into managerial postions or lateral moves that may garner them higher wages.

No one is saying "Don't hire them! Ever!" but rather, make sure they can handle the position they are placed in, and that may require English skills.

Cleanliness, both in the rental unit, and the grounds.

Adequate parking, both for myself, and for guests.

Being allowed to have cats is a must, at least for me. I'm perfectly willing to pay an extra pet deposit.

As far as appliances, so long as they're relatively new, I'm happy. Dishwasher is a must.

Like angel, I always looked up places online before renting. 9 out of 10 people posting are writing to complain about the place, so you have to take it all with a grain of salt, but you can usually figure out which places are really awful versus bearable.

I own a house now, by the way, and OMG I am so happy not to be in apartments anymore. No more booming bass from the crappy next door neighbor, no stomping around from upstairs, no little kids kicking my door and running away. The only (minor) annoyances I have now are the occasional barking from the dog behind me, and when the next door neighbors have a party with a mariachi band ;)

I want to suggest when placing an ad for an apartment to show photos of the unit and the building. I was recently on vacation and picked up one of those apartment rental booklets out of curiosity and thumbed through it.

I was amazed at the fact that most of the full page color ads did not bother to show photos of the apartments. Instead they showed things like happy couples drinking wine, dogs sleeping on couches, a family sitting on a rock, blue skies, trees, smiling faces. What a waste of advertising space. Show the apartments! A photo of a nice place will bring people in in droves. No photo of the place makes one wonder what is wrong with the place.

Also it is helpful to list not only the starting price of the rentals but the ceiling price too. Nothing more aggravating than going to check out an apartment complex advertising "starting at $800.00/mo" only to find out that, that is the price of the efficiencies at the back of the building, and the one BR start at a thousand dollars more per month and are out of a person's price range.

In the ad stick to the facts about the apartment and avoid wasting ad space with things that are subjective like "Fabulous views!" and "Friendly atmosphere!" People want to know the facts, like if there is a dishwasher, onsite management, balcony, laundry facilities onsite or in unit, carpeting or wood floors, pet friendly or not, parking available, ect. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Whats with the white carpets? And white walls?

2 20 amp counter outlets.

Getting charged for burnt out lightbulbs??? How do i know it didnt burn out when you turned it on?

In unit washer and dryer, only if the place has adequate soundproofing though.

I totally agree with what you said. When we decided we were going to sell and move to an apt I picked up one of those guides. All the high end places are like a secret! I had to literally drive to all of them to physically look. Not that I wasn't going to thoroughly check them out anyway, but geez, some were such a waste of time if they would have just shown the pictures in the books I would have known I didn't like the apt and didn't need to waste my time looking.

I guess they are thinking once you drive out to the property they will lure you in with their bright colored flowers and over the top landscaping and you will be totally blinded by how small the apt is or will not notice there are no lights in the closets!

I like to go to the apt guide's online site. There they have the virtual tours and you don't have to waste so much time.

I have rented for over 20 years all over the USA. I’ve been in residential real estate sales and I collected apartment ratings on my Web site since 1998. I stopped posting those apartment ratings for a variety of reasons but I found that a frequent complaint involved noise. I was also a little surprised to see that two tenants in the same complex at the same time can have completely opposite opinions about their renting experience.

I have to agree with the comments in this thread about the photos in the apartment advertising. The pictures of pretty landscaping, or the pool, etc. don’t help the prospective renter. But you, as a renter, can do something about it. I recently created a special area on my Web site http://www.thelemonclub.com/forums/ for renters to upload their own photos. If there is something special about your apartment you might want to share it with other renters.

Much as with purchasing real estate, my first priority was location. A desirable neighborhood, near where I worked/went to school/the subway or whatever.

After that, I like to be able to scope the place out online as much as possible online. I want to see actual rent for the actual size unit I want. I want to see pictures of the building, units, grounds, ammenities, etc. If it is a multi-unit community, I was okay with floor plans and photos of an interior even if it wasn't to be my interior.

Price was always a major consideration for me, so I wanted to see what was included in my rent (water, heat, AC, cable...).

I wanted a laundry option - either washers and dryers in the building/complex or in the unit or with hook ups.

I was a renter of pretty small places. 3 br flats that I shared with 2 other people or 1 br flats for just me. If I were in the market to rent a house or something involving extra rooms, I might have had a different position re: appliances, etc. For me in a 1 br, I wanted all of my appliances - including a dishwasher and I wanted to be able to do laundry without carrying my underwear across creation.

That's my $0.02

1. Strict quiet rules
2. Large rooms
3. Plenty of closet space
4. Laundry room on the premises
5. Storage area for each tenant in the basement
6. New appliances,including a dishwasher
7. Clean buidling, well kept landscaping
8. NO pest of any kind
9. Ability to paint any color I choose
10. Abiltiy to hang pictures etc. on the wall
11. Up-to-date cabinetry
12. Shower doors ( I hate curtains)
13. Top notch security system
14. Central AC/Heat that I can regulate myself
15. Gas and heat included
16. Exclusive floors for those with pets or children
17. Some form of crown molding doesn't have to be fancy
18. Parking space for each tenant
19. Ability to have a satalite dish
20. Ceiling light in all rooms

I guess I'll stop here although I am sure I could think of more. LOL Where I live now they have an office where you can have a key made if you lose yours or replace the lights in the kitchen or bath or if you need a new toilet seat etc. So that would be nice for all buildings to have.

And yes, I was referring to my forum which I had already indicated in my posting. So your comment does nothing but make incorrect assumptions and restates what I already said. I don’t benefit by offering a place for tenants to post photos because its free. One reason I do it is because I’ve been lied to by unscrupulous landlords and I hoped to help others avoid them.

Most people know that there are dozens of rental-related forums that offer different features. If my motive was as you indicated I would have posted in all of them. The next time you are tempted to criticize someone I suggest you send them a private message and gather a few facts.

I see that your only posting here since you signed up has been this one to promote your website.

I took exception to your "bad forum" comment for two reasons. My post was compliant with the forum rules but apparently not compliant with YOUR rules so that’s your problem - not mine. The issue with recommending products or web sites or anything else is really about full disclosure, and not about how long you’ve been a member. I know that advertising isn’t allowed but it is perfectly acceptable if you want to recommend something where you have a personal interest - just disclose it. That way people can make up their own minds. And if that doesn’t agree with Marcie’s rules then you should send your suggestions to the forum management.

Hey, that site was really cool. That is a great idea for apt dwellers to be able to post pics of apts online and write their "own" discription.

Actually, I just like the pics, that is what wastes my time. I don't care what anyone "says" about an apt because they might have an axe grind so I like to go and look myself, ya know?

Thanks for the very interesting read.