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APARTMENTS.COM ASKS AMERICA TO VOTE FOR ROOMMATE OF THE YEAR

National Online Video Contest Heats Up As 12 Finalists Compete

For A Chance to Win Free Rent for One Year Plus $10,000 in Cash

CHICAGO (June 21, 2011) – Apartments.com today unveiled 12 terrific roommates who have been chosen as finalists in the third annual nationwide Apartments.com Roommate of the Year Contest. After receiving entries from around the country, Apartments.com is now inviting America to weigh in by voting for their favorite roommate at http://www.roommateoftheyear.com. The voting stage is open now through July 31, 2011 when the votes will be tabulated, narrowing down the competition to the top five standouts. From those five, one lucky—and outstanding—roomie will be named the Apartments.com Roommate of the Year and win the grand prize of free rent for one year plus $10,000 and a one year membership to freecreditscore.com. The four runner-up winners will each receive $500. When casting their vote, the public is asked to judge the finalists’ videos with equal weight on originality and creativity, overall wow factor, persuasive argument and style and production.

According to a recent Apartments.com survey, 45 percent of renters currently live with a roommate or plan to move in with one, which makes this contest applicable and appealing to almost half the renters out there. Tammy Kotula, public relations and promotions manager for Apartments.com, says, “Due to socio-economic factors, finding and being a good roommate is a concept that’s really important to renters today. This year the videos we received across the board featured more creativity and higher production values. Choosing 12 finalists was not an easy task, and selecting just one winner will be even more difficult.”

Last year, 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 “Da Best” and securing his title as the Apartments.com Roommate of the Year.

“As our 2010 Roommate of the Year can attest, this contest can be life changing,” Kotula continues. “Andrew Prestler has been interviewed on national radio programs in addition to making appearances on national TV and on more than 40 different TV stations across the country during his tenure. This, combined with the valuable grand prize, means there will be heated competition among our finalists getting out there to drum up public votes and support for their entries!”

The public can view videos and vote for their favorite roommate now through July 31, 2011 at www.roommateoftheyear.com. Visitors to the website can vote for their favorite video once a day every day until the end of the voting stage. Upon conclusion of the public voting stage, one grand prize and four runner-up winners will be determined—by a combination of public vote (60%) and a third-party judging panel (40%).