There has been a few comments on this site regarding the construction and locations of apartments. I realize apartment living is the option many have to chose. I too was an apartment dweller more than once. Yet it appears that many apartment complexes (like neighborhoods) have a life cycle. In the first few years of their life cycle things go well. But in many cases many apartment complexes fall to neglect for various reasons. If you'll notice many, many crime stories featured in the evening news will often come from locations where neglected apartments are located.

With this in mind if you were a homeowner would you buy property which was located near an apartment complex?

Not just no but hell no. Maybe it was just bad luck, but I've already lived on property that shared a fence with an apartment complex, and if I had a nickel for each piece of trash their residents threw over the fence into my yard I could have bought the complex and torn it down.

As a current apartment dweller I agree. While most residents are courteous, when you group so many people in close proximity the odds are you will end up with several bad apples. The same is true for neighborhoods, but there are fewer people so fewer bad apples, generally.

Oh Good Lord. It all comes down to the people managing the community. In St. Louis, I know of many apartment complexes that cater to those who are very professional and happen to be in specific life situations (divorces, job transfers etc) There is nothing inherent in apartment living that says it has to be “awful.” It’s just about setting a very high standard and living up to it.

Where in town are you talking about. Being next to an apartment complex at May and 63rd is different than being next to an apartment complex at 30th and Shartel and both are different than being by an apartment complex at Memorial and May.

There are factors to take into consideration such as anticipated length of stay and/or ownership, age of neighborhood/apartment complex, local amenities.

I have no problem living near an apartment building. I'm not sure I'd want a maywood 2 in my current neighborhood and I certainly wouldn't want to have a an older complex of detached buildings surrounded by parking lots, fences, etc in my neighborhood either. SOmething like what can be found in the paseo or other neighborhoods like it around the country i'd be happy to have nearby. Someone is considering building an apartment complex in my neighborhood as we speak. Many of my neighbors are against it - I'm for it but want to see the plans as I want it to fit in to the context of the neighborhood.

I've been involved in investing in multi-family complexes. If the owner wants to keep a high quality of resident, regardless of the socio-economic level, it is possible to do so. Rule setting and enforcement is essential. High security (lights, cameras, common area surveillance, especially in the parking lots), and REAL background checks on applicants. Then maintain the property and offer a fair value so the best residents refer their good friends and family whom will help create a sense of community. You have to create a community of residents who want to monitor and enforce the rules themselves.
And, maintaining exteriors and perimeters not only helps the neighborhood aesthetics, it creates a sense of pride with the tenants. All this costs money, of course.

Stand alone apartments in reasonably nice areas can do this and maintain high standards. However, if they are surrounded by other property owners who let their developments (either single family or multifamily) deteriorate, then it is a losing battle. For the most part, apartments, if built with reasonable standards and with reasonable owners, will reflect the attitude of the neighborhood.