I'm in a dilema on an apartment shop!

I did an apartment shop today, easy shop no target, not recorded close to home...the problem for me is that on the report there is a question that states? Would you have rented this apartment? HECK NO! Another question is would you recommend this building to one of your friends? Only if I didn't like them!

The apartment was in the back of the building next to a graffiti scrawled building, it had windows that opened up to the alley where the guy was sleeping. I'm not a snob, I don't think that I am better than any one else but I am really wondering why they even shopped this complex and now I don't know how to fill out my report.

Have any of you ever had this experience?

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Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

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I'd fill it out honestly, Pammie. The owners could be out of state or absentee owners and not understanding why their vacancy rate is growing rapidly.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2013 01:13AM by bestofbothworlds.

I did one recently and I just put an honest answer, without the emotion. For my reason I put that the apartment was too small, the kitchen and bathroom looked dated and the area did not feel safe. I also wondered why they shopped the apartment complex. The service was also terrible...

Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die. Sorry, it just comes to mind. Many times, there are things I cannot believe are not asked and I do not get to report. How about a grossly and severely undercooked rotisserie chicken. Or, an apartment with broken windows, bugs dead and alive, and paraphernalia under the sink.

Shrug it off, collect your pay. On the bright side, negatives take so much longer to report.

Mert Wrote:
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> Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and
> die. Sorry, it just comes to mind. Many times,
> there are things I cannot believe are not asked
> and I do not get to report. How about a grossly
> and severely undercooked rotisserie chicken. Or,
> an apartment with broken windows, bugs dead and
> alive, and paraphernalia under the sink.
>
> Shrug it off, collect your pay. On the bright
> side, negatives take so much longer to report.

Thanks you all, and Mert you are right negatives take longer to report but good grief, this was bad, maybe I am being snobbish. I'm going to have to rethink this.

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Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

If you owned that complex, wouldn't you want to know there was a guy sleeping in the back? And that the building had major tagging/graffiti on the structure?

The companies that hire us to go over there, likely never visit the places they ask you to visit.

I did an apartment shop a while back and was asked if I would rent the apartment, etc. The paint on the building was peeling and I sprained my ankle walking down the stairs because a step fell through - not a good day for me! I reported that I would not rent an apartment for obvious reasons. I think it is best to be honest and state the facts in reports.

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What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. -Henry David Thoreau
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Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out. -Frank Clark
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SunnyDays2 Wrote:
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> If you owned that complex, wouldn't you want to
> know there was a guy sleeping in the back? And
> that the building had major tagging/graffiti on
> the structure?
>
> The companies that hire us to go over there,
> likely never visit the places they ask you to
> visit.

You are right, I would want to know, I am always honest in my reports but I just hate it when I am honest and an editor comes back to tell me to 'pretty it up'(paraphrasing).

****************

Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

For many reasons, I would advise shoppers to not include facts that are not a requirement or part of the report. It is not up to us to decide what the client needs to know, outside the scope. We are not being paid to make that determination.

After you have submitted the report according to guidelines, if there is something especially noteworthy, in your mind, email the scheduler. Let the MSC make the determination.

****************

Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

I'd be honest, and I think I'd even mention the guy sleeping in an alley. We get paid to MS, not to necessarily give glowing reports all the time. I had a recent apartment shop that was for the worst apt community I've ever visited. It wasn't as bad as yours, but it's one I would never have considered in the first place were I searching for an apartment and definitely wouldn't have moved into after visiting it (smoking community with the smoke smell embedded in the apartments and urine smell in the general grassy area between buildings). <-- Did I mention this stuff? Yes. While I"m sure the owner knows about the smoke smell, the owner might not know about the urine smell and want to get a closer look and find out why in order to improve the community. A report without the negatives that are encountered aren't going to help the entity paying for that report. OTOH, I've never had the MSC come back to me and mandate I "pretty up" my report as some others here have experienced (correct grammar and format but never take out my negative observations). I think the day that happens is the last day I work for that MSC.

Mert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For many reasons, I would advise shoppers to not
> include facts that are not a requirement or part
> of the report. It is not up to us to decide what
> the client needs to know, outside the scope. We
> are not being paid to make that determination.
>
> After you have submitted the report according to
> guidelines, if there is something especially
> noteworthy, in your mind, email the scheduler.
> Let the MSC make the determination.

I get it Mert.

The report should read something like this, "After I stepped over the 3 scurrying cockroaches on the floor of the laundry room, we walked over to the outdoor pool. The water was the color of moss green, with a foamy residue sitting on the top surface. The lights flickered as we headed back to the main office and the agent said, "Just ignore that. We have poor electrical wiring in this old building, I always pray nothing bad happens."

It's just the standard one-form fits all report. They ask the same questions regardless of whether you're visiting the Taj Mahal or a property to be condemned. Just be honest, objective and don't overthink it. And while they might care what the condition of the building is, they really mostly care about what kind of job the agent did selling it.

Since 2005 I have probably done more apartment shops than any other type. On the one hand, I have never been asked to "pretty-up" a report. On the other hand, almost every question about whether or not I would rent specifically asks if I would rent from THAT leasing associate, based on his/her presentation, , disregarding my reaction to the location and/or quality of the unit.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Why would you not answer those two questions honestly? No, and No.

If the report asks you to elaborate, state the bare facts without editorializing. We as shoppers are being paid to report facts and sometimes give our professional opinions based on our observations.

Most large apartment complexes don't have on-site owners, and some apartment managers are less than diligent. If I were an owner, I would want to know what needed improvement so I could make even more money!

As someone else said, if any MSC ever asks me to pretty up a report, it'll be the last shop I do for them.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

BirdyC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why would you not answer those two questions
> honestly? No, and No.
>
> If the report asks you to elaborate, state the
> bare facts without editorializing. We as shoppers
> are being paid to report facts and sometimes give
> our professional opinions based on our
> observations.
>
> Most large apartment complexes don't have on-site
> owners, and some apartment managers are less than
> diligent. If I were an owner, I would want to know
> what needed improvement so I could make even more
> money!
>
> As someone else said, if any MSC ever asks me to
> pretty up a report, it'll be the last shop I do
> for them.

Good morning, I think that you may have misunderstood. It is never good to be dishonest and I never am, I was just concerned about this particular report because I would not want to live in that apartment, it didn't seem to be a safe place to live, but I didn't want to seem like I was a snob or that I thought that I was better than. However I took my personal opinion out of it and based my report on the way that the apartment was presented to me which was very good in spite of the flaws.

****************

Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2013 02:28PM by pammie8223.

If the MSC is EPMS, you could put the fact that you saw someone sleeping in the alley in the part of the report where they ask if anything out of the ordinary happened while you were there. I think they use this question to verify that you were actually there, but I also use it to add things that I don't particularly want to put in the report. It's for EPMS only, and if they read it, they can decide if they want to tell the client. Once I wrote that a pest control company truck was parked outside the leasing office. LOL

DanceMom Wrote:
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> client. Once I wrote that a pest control company
> truck was parked outside the leasing office. LOL

Did you consider that a bad thing or just a random observation?

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

pammie, I think I did misunderstand your motivations, but I don't think it would seem at all snobbish to be concerned about safety. A guy sleeping in the alley and graffitti on the walls of the next building would give anyone cause for concern! It would me, anyway.

If the report asked why you wouldn't rent the apartment or recommend to a friend, as long as you report objectively, which it sounds as if you have, then I can't think it'd be a problem.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

BirdyC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> pammie, I think I did misunderstand your
> motivations, but I don't think it would seem at
> all snobbish to be concerned about safety. A guy
> sleeping in the alley and graffitti on the walls
> of the next building would give anyone cause for
> concern! It would me, anyway.
>
> If the report asked why you wouldn't rent the
> apartment or recommend to a friend, as long as you
> report objectively, which it sounds as if you
> have, then I can't think it'd be a problem.

Thanks Birdy! I think that I did okay I didn't mention that the window opens to an alley and the back of another apartment though. I will never understand why architects design some things that way. Who want to open their window to an alley?

****************

Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

bgriffin Wrote:

>
>
> Did you consider that a bad thing or just a random
> observation?

Both!!

Why? I wouldn't live in an apartment complex that didn't have pest control.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

It may be where you are located. In the south many complexes are sprayed on monthly basis. Back in my apartment days in St. Louis it was probably once a year. Now if you see them hauling out rat traps or something, that would be different

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

Interesting, I didn't realize the need was different in other places. Here people will ask how often the building is sprayed and if it's not often enough that will actually be a factor in if they rent or not.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Maybe it was because I was in an upscale neighborhood

Cold weather and hard freezes make a big difference.

The last apartment complex I lived in was at the top level of midrange, they were sprayed every 2 months and it wasn't enough. Makes sense that the cold weather is the difference, here the winter is worse because the roaches all try to come in out of the cold!

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I think if I owned a 300 unit apartment complex, I would want to know if there were dead bodies in the alley or cockroaches as big as dogs walking around

These are all such good points. I guess I didn't think of it as a good or necessary service. I haven't lived in an apartment building in so long, and back when I did, I don't remember them getting sprayed.

In one of my similar apartment shops, I did say that I would not rent it nor recommend the complex to anyone for the reasons given in my report. I guess the owner ought to know the drawbacks.

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