Top 10 Questions Prospective Residents are Asking
Congrats! Your SEO is paying off and you have a steady flow of traffic leading potential new leads to your property’s website looking for a place to live. But, now what? It’s crucial to make sure you are capturing this momentum by gaining the contact info and move-in details of all potential new leads visiting your website to be able to add this new lead info to your CRM and sales pipeline.
Having a live leasing agent available to attend to prospects in real-time and find availability, or even recommend sister properties as an alternative if nothing is available where they are searching. One leasing consultant is capable of working with up to 30 properties at once depending on your properties, marketing, and leasing workflow.
In this article we will address the top 10 questions new prospects are asking when reaching out to Multifamily Communities. We didn’t pull these questions out of thin air - these are the actual questions we receive each and every day while representing Multifamily Communities just like yours. Some neighborhoods or cities may vary, but across our user base these questions are the most common.
You may find this provides some interesting insights into how an effective leasing process should operate.
1. What is your availability?
The most obvious and important question a prospect will have right away is about unit availability. “Do you have a 2 bedroom available on June 1st?”, “Is the studio I saw online still available?”
2. What are the qualifications required to apply?
There are a number of different questions related to the qualifying process for a new lease that may hold back a potential new resident from applying. Being able to answer these questions quickly and clearly for prospects will make the leasing process more smooth and efficient for everyone involved, while prioritizing qualified leads and sending their info to property offices as quickly as possible to follow up.
We are able to pre-screen prospects to assess whether or not they meet the standards your company requires, based on things like Income, Employment, Previous Housing, Eviction, Credit Score, Background Check, Co-signer, and more.
3. Can I see additional pictures or videos of this apartment?
Photos are a great way to help prospects visualize themselves living in your rental property and may convince them to make the move without even seeing it in person first. Beyond well curated photos of each unit, a video walk through or 3D representation of the unit is extremely helpful.
Having a live leasing agent available when a prospect comes to your website can ensure that more prospects see these marketing materials and understand what they are seeing, by providing explanations and clarity for any uncertainties a prospect may have.
4. What are the Move-In Costs?
Prospects will want to know what the required costs are to be able to move in. A live agent can calculate the estimated move-in costs, accounting for the prospect’s individual circumstances like pet fees, prorated rent costs, etc. to help them understand what is financially required to move in.
5. Specific application related questions
There are many application related questions that prospects will have. General questions, like “What documents are required to show my income as a self-employed individual?” Or, more technical questions like, “Where do I upload my employment paystubs in the application portal?”, or “How do I add an additional roommate to an existing application?”
Our leasing agents assist applicants with these questions, and depending on the application process for your company, we can also directly help the applicant by uploading files for them, or helping them add information where needed.
6. Deposit Information Requests
When calculating the cost of a move, prospects need to know the deposit amounts for their individual case. Many communities adjust deposit costs based on unit size and renter history, as well as additional deposit costs for pets and parking. Our Live agents can explain a company’s deposit policy so future residents are clear on what is expected to be paid.
7. Utility Information Requests
Common questions include, “ What utilities is the resident required to pay each month?”, “Are there additional monthly fees?”, “What internet providers are available in the area?”. Leasing Chat keeps details on more than a dozen utility related questions on hand, so we are ready to respond to your prospects without needing to borrow time from the front office.
8. Additional Charges for Pets, Parking, insurance, or Dues
Understanding all the costs of moving to and living in a new apartment community is a big concern for prospective tenants. Being up front and clear about all costs is vitally important for the experience and satisfaction of your applicants.
Pet fees, late fees, parking costs, Association dues, Insurance Surcharges, and more are all common costs, but new applicants need to be aware of them prior to the application process. Our leasing support team explains all costs and potential fees as part of our pre-screen process before green lighting a prospect to your leasing offices.
9. What amenities does the apartment and the community offer?
Amenities are one way your communities can separate themselves from the competition. Highlighting information to prospects about the best amenities on your property can be the difference between a prospect deciding to apply or continuing their search.
Discovering the needs and desires of new prospects is part of our process for selling them the amenities and activities your communities offer.
This can range from simple details about washers and dryers, to bigger bonuses like a gym, pool, bike parking, and more. As part of our onboarding process we will collect answers to all these questions about each of your communities to ensure we give accurate and detailed information to your prospects.
10. Neighborhood Information Requests
These requests encompass a wide variety of information, such as driving distances to certain locations, school districts, public transit routes and schedules, proximity to emergency and health services, etc.
There are 25 data points we collect about every property we work with that allow our team to quickly and accurately respond to these questions. We store essential information at our fingertips to satisfy the requests of all prospects. It’s our job to know and inform your prospects so they can make a decision that is right for them.
Conclusions
What do all of these 10 questions have in common? They are all clearly and effectively answered through live chat messaging and do not require email or telephone to resolve. In fact, instant chat responses can resolve all of these questions faster and to a higher degree of satisfaction than traditional leasing methods.
In addition, our proprietary property data management system allows us to not only answer these questions faster, but provide more complete and consistent answers, as well as direct links to files such as; Video Tours, Floorplan Images, Lease Agreements, Driving Directions, and many more.
Live chat is the customers preferred way to receive this information, and is quickly becoming the industry standard within Multifamily communities.
Please read about our full list of services on our services page, or find more information and guidance in our resources section. If you have questions or would like more information please just send us a message, or use the chat box below.