Frequently Asked Questions About ORA®
ORA® helps renters understand what it is actually like to live at an apartment community, based
on real renter feedback.
This page answers the most common questions about ORA®, The ORA Score, strengths and opportunities, and how to use ORA® during an apartment rental decision.
Reviews are the raw input. ORA® is the standardized monthly interpretation.
How ORA® Works
What is ORA®?
ORA is a tool designed to help renters understand the resident experience at apartment communities.
It is designed to reduce decision fatigue and help renters avoid unpleasant surprises by making resident experience patterns easier to compare.
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Frequently asked questions
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The ORA Score
What is ORA®?
ORA is a tool designed to help renters understand the resident experience at apartment communities.
It is designed to reduce decision fatigue and help renters avoid unpleasant surprises by making resident experience patterns easier to compare.
Is ORA® a listing site?
No.
ORA® does not provide pricing, floor plans, or availability. ORA® focuses on resident experience patterns reflected in real renter feedback.
Do I need to read reviews if I use ORA®?
Not every time.
ORA® is built to reduce the need to scan multiple review sites by summarizing real renter reviews into a single score and resident experience signals.
Reviews can still be useful as an optional verification step in specific situations, like:
A close call between two apartment communities with similar ORA® Scores
A score near the national benchmark where you want more detail
An opportunity area that connects to a personal deal-breaker
Reviews are the raw input. ORA® is the standardized monthly interpretation.
What is The ORA Score?
The ORA Score is a 0–100, monthly-updated, unbiased resident experience metric for an apartment community.
It is based on real renter feedback from 13+ review sites and related sources and evaluated across 22 operational categories renters mention most.
Example:
ORA Score: 88 (February 2026)
A monthly-updated resident experience score based on real renter feedback, designed to help renters compare apartment communities with more confidence.
What does The ORA Score measure?
The ORA® Score is a 0–100, monthly-updated, unbiased resident experience metric for an apartment community.
It is based on real renter feedback from 13+ review sites and related sources and evaluated across 22 operational categories renters mention most.
Example:
ORA® Score: 88 (February 2026)
A monthly-updated resident experience score based on real renter feedback, designed to help renters compare apartment communities with more confidence.
What does The ORA Score measure?
The ORA® Score measures resident experience patterns reflected in renter feedback about day-to-day living topics.
It captures consistency over time across categories such as maintenance, communication, cleanliness, noise, billing clarity, and other resident experience topics renters mention most.
Is The ORA Score the same as star ratings?
No.
Star ratings reflect average opinion. The ORA® Score reflects structured resident experience patterns across key categories, organized into a standardized monthly score.
Two apartment communities can have similar star ratings but very different resident experience consistency.
What does a strong ORA Score mean?
A strong ORA® Score indicates avoidance of sustained negative reviews in critical resident experience categories within the last 6–12 months and suggests a more predictable resident experience relative to the National Average ORA® Score benchmark.
Even strong scores can have opportunity areas worth verifying.
What does an ORA Score near the national average mean?
An ORA® Score near the National Average ORA® Score benchmark can still represent a strong match.
Use strengths and opportunities to understand what is driving the number, then verify what matters most to you before signing.
What does a lower ORA Score mean?
A lower ORA Score may indicate repeated friction patterns across the resident experience topics renters mention most.
It does not automatically mean a community is a poor choice. It means you should slow down, review strengths and opportunities carefully, and verify the areas that matter most to you.
Strengths and Opportunities
What are strengths?
Strengths are the areas where resident experience is performing best right now.
They reflect consistent positive patterns in renter feedback and can help you confirm fit based on what you care about most.
What are opportunities?
Opportunities are the areas where there is the most room to improve right now.
ORA® uses the word opportunities intentionally. It provides renter-friendly clarity without harsh labels.
Opportunities are not meant to scare you. They are meant to help you slow down, verify, and decide what tradeoffs you are comfortable with.
Can strengths and opportunities change month to month?
Yes.
ORA® updates monthly, so strengths and opportunities can shift as resident experience changes over time.
Using ORA® When Comparing Apartment Communities
How should I use ORA® during my apartment search?
Use ORA® when you have a shortlist of realistic options.
Start with the ORA® Score and the month and year. Then compare strengths and opportunities side by side to understand what is driving the scores
What if two apartment communities have similar ORA® Scores?
Use strengths and opportunities to see which community aligns with what you value most.
Similar scores can reflect very different resident experience patterns, especially around maintenance, noise, communication, cleanliness, and policy clarity.
What should I verify before signing a lease?
Use strengths and opportunities to guide your verification.
For example, if an opportunity touches a personal deal-breaker, ask about it directly and respectfully before signing.
A helpful question format is:
I noticed residents often mention (topic). What has the team done recently to improve that experience?
Methodology And Transparency
Is The ORA® Score based on real renter feedback?
Yes.
The ORA® Score is based on real renter feedback from 13+ review sites and related sources. ORA® weights recent reviews more heavily and accounts for review volume, lifetime star ratings, and review content.
Which review sites are included?
ORA® is based on real renter feedback from 13+ review sites and related sources.
ORA® is designed to stay renter-friendly, so it does not require renters to understand every source site to use the score well.
Is ORA® transparent about how the score works?
ORA® is transparent about what it uses and what it returns: real renter feedback from 13+ review sites and related sources, 22 operational categories, a monthly ORA® Score, and strengths and opportunities for context.
The scoring approach is designed to keep The ORA Score unbiased, reliable, and reflective of a property’s performance.
Updates and Timing
How often does The ORA® Score update?
The ORA® Score is monthly-updated.
Why does the month and year matter?
Resident experience can change over time.
The month and year provide timing context so renters can compare ORA® Scores using the same period.
The ORA app shows the most current ORA® Score and whether it is trending up or down. It does not display the month and year.
The National Average ORA® Score
What is the National Average ORA® Score?
The National Average ORA® Score is a benchmark that provides comparison context for a specific month and year. This can be found in the ORA App.
It helps renters understand how an apartment community’s ORA® Score compares to broader resident experience patterns during the same period.
How should I use the National Average ORA® Score?
Compare ORA® Scores from the same month and year.
If a community is above the benchmark, it reflects stronger overall resident experience signals relative to broader patterns.
If a community is near the benchmark, it may still be a strong match depending on priorities.
If a community is below the benchmark, it may reflect patterns worth verifying before signing.
Indepence and Bias
Is ORA® influenced by payment or marketing participation?
No.
ORA® is designed to be unbiased and not influenced by marketing participation or payment.
Do property management companies control ORA®?
No.
ORA® is built from real renter feedback patterns and is designed to remain independent.
Scope And Coverage
Does ORA® cover every apartment community?
ORA® evaluates apartment communities where sufficient renter feedback exists to generate a reliable ORA® Score.
Does ORA® evaluate single-family rental homes?
No.
ORA® focuses on apartment communities. It does not evaluate single-family rental homes.
Rankings And Awards
What are ORA® rankings?
ORA® rankings recognize apartment communities based on resident experience patterns reflected in ORA® Score performance during a defined month or year.
Rankings are not promotional placements. They are structured comparisons tied to a specific time period.
Are ORA® rankings paid placements?
No.
ORA® rankings are not influenced by payment or marketing participation.
Do rankings replace checking the ORA® Score?
No.
Rankings reflect performance during a defined period. The current ORA® Score provides up-to-date resident experience context.
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