epIQ Just Got Even More EPIC!

The ApartmentRatings team has improved the ability for renters to find the epIQ Grades of the communities they’re interested in. Additionally, they’ve provided more ways for renters to share their experience with a community to help their fellow renters get the most honest, authentic representation of a community before making their final renting decision.

Find out what’s new with epIQ:

Dynamic epIQ Badge:

Apartment communities can now display their epIQ Grades on their company and/or community websites with a dynamic epIQ Badge. If you’re browsing community websites and see the epIQ badge, head over to their page on ApartmentRatings to check out their reviews and review responses to make sure it’s the best community for you.

Legend Management Group

11 East Forsyth Apartments with WRH Realty

Rate the Manager Response:

Renters can now rate a community manager’s response to a review. When a response is submitted by the manager, the original reviewer will receive an email that there is a response and be given the opportunity to rate it. Additionally, other potential residents checking out reviews will be given the opportunity to rate responses as well. A visitor must create an account or sign in to their current account on ApartmentRatings in order to rate a response.

There are 2 purposes for this new feature:

1. We have seen over the years that renters notice canned/templated responses. In fact, 79% of renters from our 2021 Online Renter Study said they believe they can recognize one. And when asked how they feel about a templated response vs a response that acknowledges and addresses specific details/complaints in a review, renters responded with a very negative 2.2 sentiment to templated responses vs a 4.4 very positive sentiment to acknowledging specifics in responses.
2. Much like visitors of products and services on Amazon, Etsy, etc., it’s important for customers to rate the helpfulness and quality of the products they plan to purchase to help other buyers in their decision making process. The ultimate goal of ApartmentRatings is to do just that; provide renters with the best and most authentic information to help them in their apartment rental decision.

Review Reply Time:

In order to make sure all apartment communities are responding to reviews based on renter expectations, we are updating the Manager Review Reply Time. In our latest Online Renter Study, we found that 74.4% of renters expect a response to their review within 2 business days. Therefore, starting November 2022, in order for a community to receive an A+ for the Manager Review Reply Time component of their epIQ Grade, they must respond to all of their reviews within 1.99 days. For an A, response time must be at least 2.99 days, and 3.99 days for an A-. As renter preferences change, it is our job at ApartmentRatings to ensure we are educating communities on those expectations and adjusting our epIQ grade parameters accordingly.

If you’re wondering what the epIQ Index is and how you can determine how it is factored for apartment communities on ApartmentRatings, visit our “What is epIQ” page.