Setting up appointments with Prospective Tenants and showing the rental is the “peanut butter and jelly” method of renting homes. It is not the best flavor but does fill you up. It is also an incredible waste of time and energy. Prospective tenants are routinely 15 to 30 minutes late or do not show up at all. You find yourself waiting at the property frustrated because it is a beautiful Saturday afternoon that you could be spending with your family.
Ninety nine percent of the time, our Property Management Company does not meet prospects to show a rental. The only time we will show a rental is when we are renting out a high rise condo and must be there to get the prospect past the front desk.
We operate on a lockbox system. Each rental has a lockbox on the front door with the front door key inside. The box opens with a 4 digit code and allows tenants to view the property 7 days a week at a moment’s notice.
How do we prevent vandalism or people stealing our appliances and AC units? That is the million dollar question. You should do a thorough screening process over the phone. Essentially, the prospect calls after seeing a sign or another form of advertising. You immediately want to seize control of the conversation. Do not allow the tenant to ask more than 1 or 2 questions before taking control. Many tenants have no idea what they intend to ask and tend to ramble on and on asking questions that are answered right in the advertisement where they found your number. It can become extremely frustrating when a prospect is looking at your ad but instead of reading they ask you questions they would already have answers to.
You should initially give a brief overview of the features and benefits of the home. It doesn’t have to be very lengthy. Just paint a nice picture of the rental home and then move into the rental qualifications. I tell them the owner is looking for someone with good rental history with no evictions or money owed to another landlord for any reason. The tenant must have a job or some sort of verifiable income. We also run a credit check and criminal background on every adult and do not want to see anything in the last 5 -7 years.
I then ask the most important question, “Do you have any problems with the qualifications I have mentioned?” If the tenant pauses or starts telling me a long story, the tenant is not qualified. Here are the most common story lines:
1) My previous landlord was horrible so I broken the lease or I was evicted (poor rental history).
2) I was not on a lease because I always rented from friends or family (no rental history).
3) I do not have a job but I am receiving unemployment (no stable verifiable income).
4) I have some criminal charges but I was no convicted, it was someone else’s fault, or I just need a chance (I do have recent criminal background and you should feel sorry for me).
If you hear any version of these stories, you should let them know politely that, “the owner has very strict guidelines and unfortunately I would be unable to approve your application.”
By conducting this type of screening process, you will be able to filter out the unqualified prospects. They will say the wrong things and pause or stutter at the wrong time which will tip you off. We do not provide the lockbox code to anyone who we do not feel is qualified. If we question their answers at all, we require the prospect come to our office first and fill out an application and get a copy of their driver’s license.
By allowing people to tour the rental when it is convenient for them, you will triple the amount of qualified traffic in your rental. In the 8 years we have been using this method, we have never had anything stolen or vandalized. Today’s society is all about instant gratification. Many prospects see the advertisement and want to view the property that moment. By the time you set an appointment and show up, half of the prospects have already seen and rented something else from a landlord more readily available. You will save a ton of time an energy by implementing a similar system in your Tampa Property Management Company.
The author, David Lowrey, owns and operates a successful property management company in Tampa, FL. He also is a very successful real estate investor purchasing more than 60 rental properties over the last 12 years. In 2004 and 2005, one of David’s companies, Apartment Express Corporate Housing, made Inc Magazine’s Inc 500 List for the 500 fastest growing privately held companies in America.
Please feel free to visit his website and Tampa Property Management or http://www.novacancynow.com