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What Does America Think It Takes To Be Roommate Of The Year?CHICAGO, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Is it cleanliness? Fiscal responsibility? Social cred or serious cooking savvy? The 10 finalists in the 2012 Apartments.com Roommate of the Year Contest have these roommate skills covered and then some. Now, Apartments.com unveils the top candidates in the fourth annual Roommate of the Year Contest, inviting America to weigh in on what makes the best roommate by voting for their favorite entry at www.roommateoftheyear.com. Voting is open now through July 6, 2012 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 fourth annual Apartments.com Roommate of the Year and win the grand prize of free rent for one year plus $10,000. 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. Last year, Jesse McLaughlin, who is a resident of Arlington, VA and a security analyst at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, bested video entries that came in from across the country to be crowned Roommate of the Year by Apartments.com. McLaughlin earned the title and the grand prize with his sports parody video entitled Roommating MVP!, which provided a play-by-play breakdown of his superior roommate abilities. "Winning the coveted title of Roommate of the Year has allowed our past three contest winners to pursue life-changing opportunities," said Tammy Kotula, Apartments.com spokesperson. "By not having to pay rent for a year, our first winner, Keaton Davis, was able to spend a summer as a television production intern in New York City. Andrew Prestler, our second winner, paid for college, and last year's winner, Jesse McLaughlin, used some of the savings to get engaged. Each year, the entries get more creative and the variety of quality roommates out there is truly awe-inspiring. We look forward to seeing what America thinks of this year's finalists and finding out what he or she will do with the money they save from having their rent paid for a full year!" The public can view videos and vote for their favorite roommate now through July 6, 2012 at www.roommateoftheyear.com. Visitors can vote for their favorite video once every 24 hours 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%). Meet the 2012 Apartments.com Roommate of the Year Finalists: One of these fantastic finalists will become the Roommate of the Year, winning the grand prize of free rent for a year plus $10,000. Four other loveable roomies will take home runner-up prizes of $500 each. The 2012 finalists for Apartments.com Roommate of the Year are: The All-Star Roomie Category This category celebrates all-around roommate greatness for those roomies whose special qualities don't fit into just one category. Title of Entry Description The All-Star Roommate Musical This movie musical by Dan Bakst brings his jaded roommate around to the conclusion that Dan as a real roommate is better than a robot created at home. Cast a vote for human interaction by voting for this video now. Submitted by Dan Bakst of Tampa, Florida. I Haven't Always Been the Best Roommate... Scott Wilson shows while he may not have started out as the best roommate, a mysterious accident that changed his roommate's human attitude to more of a canine nature meant Scott had to step up. Give Scott kudos for his improvement by voting today. Submitted by Scott Wilson of Salt Lake City, Utah. Roommate of the Year '12 Silence is golden in Arnold Molano's video as this drifter finds a roommate-wanted sign and proves without words that he can take care of the spiders, make dinner and pay the rent on time. Click on his video and cast a quiet vote. Submitted by Arnold Molano of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Roommate Techno Serenade A jack-of-all-trades makes for a creative roommate. Ryan Fitzpatrick showcases his apartment painting skills, his use of tools to build projects using a sparky thing and silly sander not to mention his talents as a Techno song writer. Vote today by going online and pressing the button-like thingy to say yes to techno greatness. Submitted by Ryan Fitzpatrick of Austin, Texas. The Singing Roommate How does Jake Tomko provide support to his roommate every day and through life's ups and downs? By providing a soundtrack to his life. From waking up his roommate with a gentle tune to lending a helping voice during a date gone wrong, Jake's roommate skill of music makes everything ok. A vote of yes will be music to Jake's ears. Submitted by Jake Tomko of Manassas, Virginia. The Son She Never Had In this slice of life video, a more than 40 year age difference between these roommates shows how Matthew is more like family to his roommate than just a person sharing rent. Submit a vote for this video. Submitted by Matthew Cooper of Brooklyn, New York. The Purr-fect Pet Owner Category This category showcases the love and fun between human and animal - a great roommate combination. Title of Entry Description Charlotte & Ivy Charlotte and her dog, Ivy, are best friends and best roommates. Charlotte is a great roommate to Ivy because she's taught her how to play games including poker (Ivy has a great poker face), lets Ivy choose her own meals and even drive, though driving may not have been the best idea since dogs, um, can't really drive. Ivy's going to vote for this video so join her in saying yes to it. Submitted by Charlotte O'Brien of Oviedo, Florida. Lights Camera Roommate Jasmine Green clearly loves her cat and showcases everything she does for her furry roommate in a musical rendition. From letting her feline friend wear her clothes to checking her Twitter account, Jasmine sings as to why she's the Roommate of the Year. Vote for this cat-friendly chanteuse. Submitted by Jasmine Green of Albany, Georgia. The Loveable Compulsive Category In this category, the finalists explain and demonstrate all the traits that make them the perfect roommate. Title of Entry Description A Happy Home In A Happy Home, Sharod Bell's life is like a sitcom, complete with laugh track, as he takes care of all the lawn care and household chores in superhuman speed while his twin roommate pretends to study but instead plays videos games to the delight of the studio audience. Tune in to vote for this video. Submitted by Sharod Bell of McDonough, Georgia. One-Uppers James Rockett and his girlfriend are roommates, and in this video James provides all the great reasons why he's the best roommate, though he has competition from his girlfriend and their dog, who almost steals the show in its pink tutu! There is a lot of competition, but a vote for this video will help James one-up the others. Submitted by James Rockett of Plano, Texas. To view the finalists' videos and cast a vote for the Apartments.com Roommate of the Year Contest, visit www.roommateoftheyear.com. About Apartments.comApartments.com (http://www.apartments.com) is a leading national apartment Internet listing subscription service with more than 50,000 unique addresses representing millions of rental units from managed properties, newspaper classifieds and for-rent-by-owner properties. By incorporating the most relevant products to reach renters including personalized searches and highly visual ads featuring live chat, real-time rent, online video walk-through demonstrations, professional photography, a mobile website and iPhone and Android app, Apartments.com creates easy access to its listings. Providing unmatched exposure to its advertisers through an intuitive name, strategic search engine placements, featured partnerships including more than 120 newspaper websites and innovative emerging media, Apartments.com reaches millions of renters nationwide, driving both qualified traffic and highly-engaged renters to leasing offices nationwide. Apartments.com is a division of Chicago-based Classified Ventures, LLC. The Apartments.com network of apartment rental websites includes Apartment Home Living (http://www.apartmenthomeliving.com), a leading social media apartment website distinguished by a "live for fun" community experience, proprietary lifestyle matching and local living guides to help renters find their perfect place to live. SOURCE Apartments.com |