Posts about Community

StoneGate Sweeps Ratings Awards

For the 4th consecutive year, StoneGate Apartment Homes has received awards from two online reputation platforms: Top Rated by ApartmentRatings and Elite 1% ORA award with impressive stats. We’ll take a look at both in today’s blog post. 2019 Elite 1% Properties for Online Reputation by J Turner Research StoneGate Apartment Homes received an ORA score of 95, #2 in all of New York State, and #98 OVERALL nationwide! So what does that mean? The ORA™ score, based on a scale of 0–100, is an aggregate compilation of an apartment’s ratings across 21+ review sites and ILSs. The national average score is 63.05. The ORA™ score is the multifamily industry’s standard to measure and benchmark a property’s online reputation. Being recognized among the Elite 1% properties in the nation with the best online reputation for 2019 is a much-appreciated accolade. The Elite 1% ORA™ Power Ranking is an annual ranking developed by J Turner Research . Based on monthly online reputation research of over 116,000 apartments across 21+ review sites and Internet Listing Services (ILSs), J Turner assigns an independent Online Reputation Assessment Score (ORA™ Score) to each property, and this score determines a property’s rank. J Turner Research is an independent market research and online reputation management company exclusively serving the multifamily industry. 2019 Top Rated Award Winners With 54 reviews* and a 100% recommendation score , it’s easy to see why this is the 4th year StoneGate Apartment Homes has earned this award. Apartment Ratings.com , founded in 2000, is the largest online rating community for rental housing, and is among the top five most-visited apartment hunting sites in the world, and is the largest source for renter reviews of apartment communities. Only about 5% of the total properties listed on the site qualify for an award. To receive the Top Rated Award , properties must fulfill the following criteria: 10+ total reviews, 5+ reviews in 2019, and a 70% or greater overall recommended score. Working Together We are pleased to be named by both ApartmentRatings.com and by J Turner Research Elite as an apartment community with a stellar online reputation. We recognize it takes teamwork to make these awards possible. We are incredibly grateful to our residents for taking time out of their busy lives to acknowledge our efforts online by leaving reviews . Here’s to another great year together. * Properties must have recommended scores over 70% at the time of award calculations. Recommended scores can change over time

StoneGate Earns ENERGY STAR Certification

We are excited to announce that StoneGate Apartment Homes has earned the ENERGY STAR® certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 2019! We’ve worked hard to attain this designation – it represents proven, verified superior energy performance over a 12-month period. In fact, ENERGY STAR certified buildings perform in the top 25 percent of similar buildings nationwide! Energy Star Certification means meeting a high bar, and by meeting these strict standards, StoneGate Apartment Homes is saving energy, saving money, and helping protect the environment by generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings. For more than 20 years, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has been America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment – today, thousands of facility owners and managers use ENERGY STAR to improve the energy performance of their buildings. We are committed to going green and being an environmental leader. We credit this success to the efforts put forth to install energy-saving low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets. Additionally, we have installed new energy-efficient LED lights in each apartment and around the community. Finally, energy-efficient thermopane windows will continue to be the standard at StoneGate Apartment Homes. On average, ENERGY STAR certified buildings and plants use 35 percent less energy, cause 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and are less expensive to operate than their peers — all without sacrifices in performance or comfort. To date, tens of thousands of buildings and plants across all fifty states have earned the ENERGY STAR. For more information about ENERGY STAR for Buildings and Plants, visit www.energystar.gov/buildings . Here at StoneGate Apartment Homes in Williamsville, NY, we care about our community and our carbon footprint. What suggestions do you have about other ways we can go green? Let us know in the comments.

Come Sail Away with Me

There are plenty of things to do in the summertime here in WNY. This week the StoneGate Apartment Homes Blog is highlighting several opportunities residents may want to look into from sailing classes to bird watching to attending the theatre. Sail Buffalo Living in Williamsville means water is nearby and sailing is a heady adventure. If it’s not something you’ve done before, you can change that. According to their website, Sail Buffalo offers a nationally ASA accredited sailing education, a boat share program, and unlimited access to their sailing community. Their goal is to “train people to be safe, confident sailors, and provide on-water access, continuing education, and social networking to our Sail Buffalo Community!” Visit their website for more information about available classes and sailing opportunities. Buffalo Ornithological Society For 90 years, the Buffalo Ornithological Society (BOS) has been promoting the study of birds native to the Niagara Frontier Region. The BOS region covers Western New York and parts of Ontario, Canada. The society is a great resource for anyone who is interested in birds, from “ the backyard feeder- watcher, the avid lister or the environmental activist, to the dedicated citizen scientist or the professional ornithologist.” There’s something for every skill level and interest. Regular society activities include programs, field trips, bird counts, research opportunities, and more. Review the website for more information and to become a member and check out the calendar for upcoming events. Theatre Alliance of Buffalo If you enjoy going to the theatre without making a pilgrimage to a New York Broadway show, the Theatre Alliance of Buffalo (TAB) is the resource for you. Representing more than 20 theatres, TAB is “a consortium of more than 20 diverse, professional theatres that strongly believe in the power, relevance, and continuing importance of live theatre in our hectic, modern world. The WNY region features some of the finest talent that we're sure will entertain, surprise, educate and engage theatergoers of all ages.” Take some time to explore this informative website and choose some shows to go to this summer! What do you like to do in the summertime here in WNY? Let us know in the comments; we love to get the scoop on what’s happening in the area.

Evaluating Reviews

Welcome back to the StoneGate Apartment Homes Blog! Reviews have become a part of our life, and when you are in the market for a new product, a new venue here in Williamsville, or a new service, chances are you take a look at the online reviews before you commit to a financial outlay. But reviews can be a confusing landscape, which is why we are following up our post about writing effective reviews with this post about how to evaluate reviews. Evaluating Reviews If you’ve ever taken time to read through a multitude of reviews, you know they can range from being helpful to being laughable, so here are some tips on how to evaluate reviews. Take the extreme reviews (both good and bad) with a grain of salt. In fact, consider tossing them out of the equation completely. Look for common themes among multiple reviews. If several people are saying the same thing, it’s more likely to be legitimate. Read the overall tone of the reviews — are they mostly positive or negative. Keep in mind that reviews only cover one person’s experience, and yours may be vastly different. Focus on the reviews that are most relevant for your concerns. For example, if the reviews are about amenities for pets in an apartment community, and you don’t have pets, you can disregard that review. Be aware that there may be fake reviews among the legitimate ones. Take some time to learn about the red flags indicating a false review as presented by Reader’s Digest. We hope these tips for evaluating reviews are helpful the next time you are looking at something new. We hope everyone in our apartment community is enjoying our New York summer! What do you have planned for August? We hope it’s something fun. Thanks for taking time to read our post today.

Writing Effective Reviews

Thanks to our residents of StoneGate Apartment Homes in Williamsville, New York, we enjoy a host of positive reviews . We’d like to thank those of you who have taken the time to write out thoughts and experiences of living in our community. We understand what a difference reviews can make — not only for prospective clients but customers of any product or service. We’re inviting all of our residents who haven’t yet written a review of our community to do so. We’re hoping that we can continue to identify areas where we can improve for our residents. Why Reviews are important. In this day and age, reviews are the name of the game. Whether you are looking for the best pizza in town, a reliable mechanic, or a reasonably priced photographer for your next event, reviews are a helpful tool in the decision-making process. What to Include in a review. When you write your review, do your best to remain balanced and neutral. Present the pros and cons and let the experience speak for itself. Stick to the facts, be specific, and strive to be objective. Take time to think about what you want to say and focus on sharing the experience. Include relevant details and keep your review fact based. There is no need to identify people by name in your review. Just describe the incident/experience and lay out what happened as objectively as possible. Take care to use correct spelling and writing conventions. Your attention to detail (or lack thereof) will affect the credibility of your message. Write in complete sentences and refrain from using more than one exclamation point per sentence. Make clear that this was your individual experience, and that others may have had different experiences. Let your thoughtfully written words validate what happened. A final note. If you’ve had a poor experience, the best avenue for resolving issues is to speak directly with a manager or decision maker. Polite, insistent requests for a win/win solution are your best bet. Have evidence to back up any assertions or complaints and have a positive attitude. How to Write Genuinely Useful Reviews Online from Life Hacker is a great source for additional tips when crafting effective reviews. Thanks for reading our post today!

Summer-Themed Movies to Watch in June

StoneGate Apartment Homes is excited that we have so many amenities for members of our apartment community to enjoy. This month we want to invite you to check out our Book and DVD Lending Library! We have a selection of DVDs and a sizeable number of books for you to choose from. Whether you borrow a DVD from our library, stop by a nearby Redbox location, or stream via Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu we hope you get to relax and enjoy some movies this month. We are sharing some summer-themed movies you may want to watch this month on the blog. We hope you are enjoying the summer here in Williamsville, New York. Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Think Groundhog Day meets Independence Day — an alien race is assaulting Earth. Major William Cage (Tom Hanks) finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop-forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over. Almost Famous (2000) One of the best films ever, in our opinion. High schooler William Miller lives every rock-obsessed kid’s dream and gets to tour with up and coming rock band, Stillwater. (It starts in the school year, but finishes on the summer tour.) 12 Angry Men (1957 and 1997) The jury box is a sweatbox, and eleven jurors have let the soaring temperature go to their heads. Thank goodness for juror number eight (Henry Fonda). Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation James Stewart plays Mr. Hobbs, an overworked businessman who tries to take his family on a relaxing seaside vacation. What he gets instead is a rundown beach house, nosy neighbors and bored children who want nothing to do with him. Heading to a local theater for the movies is also an option. Check out Movie Insider to see what’s currently on the big screen. We’ve heard good things about Ocean’s 8 , The Incredibles 2 , and the documentary about Fred Rogers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor . We hope you enjoy one of these summer-themed movies this month. Last fall we shared a post with Fall-Themed Movies , which can also be enjoyed any time of year. We hope you enjoy one of these this month!