Apartments.com Seeks America's Most Talented And Terrific Roommates To Share Their Stories And Win Free Rent For 1 Year + $10,000!

CHICAGO, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Apartments.com is looking to crown America's best roommate in its third annual Roommate of the Year video contest with a grand prize of free rent for one year plus $10,000 in cash and a one year membership to freecreditscore.com. According to a recent Apartments.com survey, 45 percent of renters currently live with a roommate or plan to move in with one, so finding the right person to live with is an important decision for a large number of renters. In 2010, Andrew Prestler of Kokomo, Indiana and a student at Ball State beat out stiff competition to be named the 2010 Roommate of the Year by Apartments.com. To capture those unique qualities that make a great roommate exceptional, Prestler composed an original rap and created an eye-catching video, singling him out as the "Da Best" and securing his title as the Apartments.com Roommate of the Year. Beginning April 25, 2011, renters can view last year's winning video for inspiration, enter the contest and get details for submitting their own entries at http://www.roommateoftheyear.com.

Finding the ideal roommate can be tough, and with recent census data illustrating that people are holding off on marriage until they are older, people may find themselves living with a roommate for longer than they originally planned. Meanwhile, apartment rents have steadily risen since 1980 and are likely to continue that trend this year with experts projecting that rents will rise by 3.5-4.5 percent each month in 2011.

A recent Apartments.com survey reveals that 77 percent of respondents have never lived with a roommate they would consider "the best," – up 17 percent from last year's survey – and more than half are not planning on living with their current roommate when they move. The Roommate of the Year Contest seeks to find those roommates who do qualify as" the best" and showcase them for America to see.

"Most people take choosing a roommate very seriously and put a lot of thought and time into making the right selection. This contest gives people a fun and creative outlet to express their feelings about their living situations," said Tammy Kotula, Apartments.com spokesperson. "It's always fun to see what people really think makes a good roommate. The video entries that we receive are as varied and unique as roommates themselves."  

Prestler continues to prove his claim as 2010 Apartments.com Roommate of the Year, as one of his current college roommates has already signed up to live with him again for the 2011-12 school year.

"I say a lot of over-the-top things in my video about what it takes to be the best roommate and be named the Apartments.com Roommate of the Year," states Prestler. "But in reality, a big part of being a good roommate is being respectful and treating people the way you want to be treated."