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CHICAGO (February 9, 2010) – Renters are in the mood for love as more than half are celebrating Valentine’s Day this February, according to a national Apartments.com survey of more than 900 renters. There is also good news for those still searching for love as their next romantic encounter may be only a few doors away. While 53 percent of renters surveyed said they have never had a romantic relationship with their roommate or neighbor living in the same apartment community, 32 percent have and 21 percent have made those relationships last anywhere from a few months to over a year. Three percent are either engaged or married.      

Renters believe in true love and when Cupid’s arrow does strike, they would not object to a relationship with their roommate or neighbor. Nearly 45 percent of survey respondents said they believe in love at first sight and 40 percent indicated they would get romantically involved with a roommate or neighbor living at their apartment community. Nearly 40 percent are open to the idea.    

For those renters who have experienced romance living at their apartment community, the most popular meeting spots are the pool and laundry room. However, renters are also feeling their hearts skip a beat while attending resident social functions, walking down the hallway and going to and from the parking lot. One renter told Apartments.com they dated a new neighbor for four years after meeting him at a safety council meeting and another renter said his neighbor invited him over for a drink after he returned a package that was accidentally delivered to him. Car trouble brought two Houston renters together. “One day I had car trouble and he came out and ‘saved’ the day. To thank him, I made him a cake and took him a good size piece.”       

Once a new romantic connection is made, some renters revealed they can get a little frisky on a first date. Nearly 10 percent of renters surveyed said they always kiss on the first date, 38 percent consider it and more 35 percent said it depends on how the date is going. Regardless of whether or not you kiss and tell meeting that special someone may be easier than you think if you rent an apartment. According to Sarah Preston Gorenstein, the managing editor of Playboy.com, apartment communities are highly conducive for falling in love. Gorenstein offers the following five tips to renters looking to date someone living at their apartment community:

• Apartment communities have great mixers that make it easy to socialize with existing friends, and meeting new ones. Don’t ditch out too early though; if you want to casually “bump” into someone you’ve had your eye on, make sure you stick around till the last sugar cookie is served. And don’t be shy: If he or she is at the mixer, then it’s likely that person has the same agenda as you. Find a common topic to talk about—perhaps a new rule in the building, a neighbor everyone hates, or the dog that won’t stop barking—and use that as your conversation starter.

 

• Common areas, like the laundry room, also make for great social settings. Just be careful not to sort your soiled undergarments in plain view of the person you’re trying to meet. Your luck, he’ll be using the laundry machine one over from you. Of all the common areas that are great for meeting people, though, everything else pales in comparison to the pool. Think about it: Those UVA rays are known to pump people up with positive energy, and the fact that everyone’s already scantily clad just makes flirting that much more natural. Doesn’t hurt to have some sunscreen on hand ready to lend out, or help a neighbor with.

 

• Apartment communities are by and large probably the best places to fall in love. It makes dating not only easier but cheaper—and in this economy that’s totally acceptable. If you don’t own a car, you can pick the girl up without anyone having to take a cab or use public transportation (bonus!). And don’t be afraid to invite her to dinner at a restaurant around the corner. Location, location, location? How about convenience!

 

• The number one rule to live by if you’re looking for love where you live is to always—always!—make sure you look your best, even when you’re just picking up the mail. You never know where or when you’ll run into a prospective partner, so you have to be ready at all times. Yes, that’s a lot of work. And yes, it can be very stressful. But whoever said love was easy?

As part of its monthly “What Renters Want” research series, Apartments.com surveys renters on various topics. For more information on these surveys or to receive a copy of additional survey results, please contact Tammy Kotula at tkotula@apartments.com.

About Sarah Preston Gorenstein
Sarah Preston Gorenstein spent almost a decade as the nightlife and dating columnist for Chicago magazine, but life has settled down for this professional party girl: Now Sarah writes about the trials and triumphs of marriage and mommyhood for parenting.com, as The Cosmo Mom. When she’s not trying to master the art of parenthood, Sarah works full-time as the managing editor of Playboy.com, the number one men’s lifestyle and entertainment magazine-website.

About Apartments.com
Apartments.com is a leading national apartment Internet listing subscription service with more than 50,000 unique addresses representing millions of rental units from managed properties, newspaper classifieds and for-rent-by-owner properties. By incorporating the most relevant products to reach renters including personalized searches and highly visual ads featuring live chat, real-time rent, online video walk-through demonstrations, professional photography, a mobile website and iPhone and Android app, Apartments.com creates easy access to its listings. Providing unmatched exposure to its advertisers through an intuitive name, strategic search engine placements, featured partnerships including Yahoo! Real Estate, Univision and more than 120 newspaper websites and innovative emerging media, Apartments.com reaches millions of renters nationwide, driving both qualified traffic and highly-engaged renters to leasing offices nationwide. Apartments.com is a division of Chicago-based Classified Ventures, LLC. The Apartments.com network of apartment rental websites includes Apartment Home Living, a leading social media apartment website distinguished by a "live for fun" community experience, proprietary lifestyle matching and local living guides to help renters find their perfect place to live.