Two ISU students have developed a Web site that rates property management companies and landlords in Ames.

Early last fall, David Kaiser, senior in computer engineering, and Keegan Dobson, senior in operations and supply chain management, were hanging out late one night talking about bad experiences with rental properties. A short time later, they decided to give students a voice and created www.rateamesrentals.com.

Kaiser said the Web site follows the same guidelines as www.ratemyprofessor.com, except it’s used as a tool to evaluate apartments and rental properties in Ames.

“The idea is to give students a voice, to give students a way to communicate with one another,” Kaiser said. “We want students to have a better way to research apartments and to know what you’re getting into ahead of time.”

Kaiser said he’s aware students have a variety of experiences with their property management companies. He feels this Web site will be a better way to get information on them than the traditional word-of-mouth method.

“Throughout four years, people have good experiences and bad experiences, and there needs to be a platform where we can communicate to one another,” Kaiser said. “It’s just a better way to research.”

The slogan of the site is “Rate. Read. Rent.” Users can rate the apartment they’re currently living in or one they’ve lived in before. They can also visit the site just to read what others have already posted about the apartment they’re interested in.

Travis Keeney, senior in industrial technology, said he lived on campus during his first two years at Iowa State and is in his second year living outside of university housing. He described his experience off campus so far as been suspect at best.

“My last property management company tried to screw us over and, in my opinion, didn’t practice good business ethics,” Keeney said. “We had maintenance problems, and they wouldn’t fix it for months – and when they did, they sent unprofessional people over to fix it.”

The Web site is currently up and running and available to anyone.

Kaiser said that in order for the site to be effective, it must first be used.

“Something we want to emphasize is that it is brand new,” Kaiser said. “We don’t want people to go on and be surprised if there are not that many ratings right now. It’s a brand-new tool, and it can be a useful tool if people give it a chance. It has to start somewhere.”