Tons of people asking to see an apartment, how to handle this?

[Cody F.]

We have an apartment available, but there's about 1 in 10 applicants that ask to see it before applying. I don't want to drive all the way there just to show the apartment to someone who I'd never rent to anyway.

How do other landlords and property managers deal with this?

We live 30 minutes away and self manage the property because we have maintenance and security covered.

I'm only there a couple days a week right now. Long term we plan on being more remote so we'll probably hire a leasing agent for these instances but I would still not want to waste resources on meeting with people who we would never rent to anyway.

[Luke Palamara]

@Cody Furman one way I’ve seen this effectively handled is offering open house times. This way you control the window. Also, multiple people seeing the property at the same time creates an atmosphere of high demand which can help you

[Tim Herman]

@Cody F. pre qualify them. Tell them your criteria to be considered. Do you allow evictions on their records. No criminal history or non violent convictions. Myself I set up an open house. I get their names and look them up on Facebook. My rental is 2 1/2 hours away. They come and tour the property I look at there car and see if it is messy. All people over 18 i send them to rentprep and they pay for the credit and criminal background check. I also take pictures of there drivers license so that they don't misspell their names on application. After I get the reports I compare and choose the one I want. I met with them again at the property to collect the deposit and rent and go over the lease and walk through.  

[John Underwood]

2 words. Open House.

Schedule everyone to come see it at same time to minimize wasting your time. I only show to an individual if they complete the zillow app online and everything looks good.

[Toby Chandler]

Schedule an open house time for all that show up. It also gives you a chance to meet them so you can pick the best of the bunch.

[Account Closed]

I do an open house.  It’s just easier and helps promote the price as a legit price.

 I don’t want to listen to someone try and haggle with me about a rental that is set at 25 dollars under market value.  I’ve actually told someone I’d raise the price if they wanted to haggle.  I also don’t have the time to show it to one random person when only 1 out of 10 will qualify.  

[Wesley W.]

@Cody F.

Here's my process for eliminating wasted time, which I did a fair amount of early on before I established an onboarding process.

It all starts with online ads, within which are several questions I request be answered in their response to my ad. Here they are:

1.) Your first and last name, email address and phone number

2.) Total number of people that would occupy the apartment

3.) Proposed pets (size/breeds)

4.) Monthly pre-tax income for household 

5.) Date you wish to move in

6.) Do you currently have enough funds to pay first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and a security deposit?

Next, here's a canned email response I use for everyone who answers my ad with the aforementioned questions answered. If they don't answer my questions, I know they have not read the ad and are just clicking and "tire kicking" or they lack the intellectual focus for me to have any business relationship with them. 

I market on both Craiglist and Zillow and get great leads from both in my market. Problem with Zillow is they have this annoying "1-click reply" where people can just click on your ad without reading it and you get an automated message "Joe is interested in your apartment at 123 Main St." To these responses I just cut/paste the ad narrative into an email reply. This is a waste of my time, but until Zillow wishes to change their process, I am stuck with that if I want to market through them.

Anyhoo - here is the email response to people whom answer my pre-screening questions in the ad:

Thank you for your interest. We have a minimum income requirement to qualify for this unit (3 times monthly rent); based on your email, it appears you meet those qualifications.

Regarding pets, we allow cats and most dog breeds except for the following:

• -any breeds/mixes known under common parlance as “Pit Bull”
• -Rottweiler
• -Doberman Pinscher
• -German Shepherd
• -Alaskan Malamute a.k.a “Husky”
• -Chow Chow
• -Great Dane
• -St. Bernard
• -Akita
• -Wolf hybrids

Unfortunately, these are prohibited for insurance reasons. We require a one-time nonrefundable pet fee of $200 (per pet) that is good for your entire length of residency. We do not charge any “pet rent” beyond this initial fee. We typically like to meet your pets at some point in the process, too.

Our tenants’ safety and the peaceful enjoyment of their home is important to us, so we do a credit/criminal background check on all applicants aged 18+. Big concerns are bankruptcies/repossessions/evictions and crimes against people/property. If you don't foresee any major stumbling blocks (or, if you do, and would like to discuss confidentially - we can certainly do that), I'd be happy to set up a showing for you. Let me know what you think.

As a matter of information, smoking/vaping is prohibited inside our rental units.

If you decide that the apartment would meet your needs and wish to proceed with the application process, a “deposit to hold” binder equal to a month’s rent would need to be collected at that time. This holds the unit for 5 to 7 days until the lease signing, and once the rental agreement is signed this becomes the first month's rent. At the lease signing, you will need to put down another $1550, which will be the security deposit ($775) and last month's rent ($775). So, the total move-in costs (not including pet fees, if applicable) would be $2325, all paid prior to lease signing.

Also, we would need copies of the two most recent pay stubs and photo ID for all applicants aged 18+ (I can scan at the showing) to begin the verification process, which only takes a few days.

Since choosing a place to live is a very personal decision, please feel free to do a “drive by” of the property, located at X, so you can get a “feel” for the neighborhood. (I will ask that, out of respect for our current tenants’ security and privacy, to please wait until your showing appointment before walking the property.)

If everything above is agreeable to you, let me know your availability and I'd be happy to take you through the apartment.

Thank you, and I look forward to meeting you at the showing!

Note how I reiterate the qualifying criteria as well as itemizing what the move-in costs will be. 

I also suggest a drive-by so they are not unpleasantly surprised by the neighborhood when they get to the showing and just keep on driving by anonymously as I wait outside. This email gives people yet another opportunity to self-select out of the application process based on my expectations and criteria before an actual showing in scheduled.

If they do request a showing, I send them this email:

Hi Janet,

How about Thursday at 7 pm? If that works for you, please reply to this email to confirm and I will add you to my showing appointment book.

Also, as a means of courtesy to both our busy schedules, please confirm via text or phone call at least 2 hours prior on the day of the showing to my cell phone (area code and number).

I’ve also attached our rental application. I will have hard copies at the showing, but if you print and fill them out prior to the showing, this would save us both some time should you want to expedite your application in the process.

I look forward to meeting you on Thursday!

If they have not confirmed an hour prior to their appointment, I send this text to their phone number (which was required as part of their contact information I required in the response to my ad; I do not offer showings to anyone who has not provided that info):

As I had requested in my email, you have not yet confirmed your apartment showing for this evening, scheduled for 7:00pm. If I don’t hear from you in the next 10 minutes, I will assume you aren’t attending and I will move on to my next appointment.

Using this system as dramatically reduced any wasted time I used to endure as part of the showing process as well as giving me data about their timeliness/responsiveness/respect for others' time.

I schedule showings about 15 minutes apart to make my time more efficient as well as guaranteeing that the applicants see that there are other people that are interested (which helps me close on quality candidates).  I usually do one or two evenings during the week and one day on the weekend, based on demand.

At the showing, I collect their completed application (sent via PDF prior or filled out on premises), scan their photo ID and last 2 pay stubs.

Then, I do some digging around online (social media, court records, Google) and if it looks like they are representing themselves to me accurately, I contact them to set up a "contract to hold" meeting - usually the day after the showing since qualified applicants need to be "closed" ASAP. (During this whole time I continue to market/show the unit. I continue to funnel people into my process until a lease is signed.) Note that I do not put a lot of time into due diligence until the "contract to hold" meeting, when they put some skin in the game.

At the "contract to hold" meeting, I collect an amount equal to one month's rent. I ONLY accept cash or a check drawn on a local bank (so I can walk it in and get cash that same day). We sign an agreement that commits their non-refundable payment for a brief period (usually 5 days), during which time I call landlords, employers, and run background checks. If there is anything untoward, I have a 7 day right of rescission and I give the money back. I absorb the background check fee as it is a small price to pay for dodging the bullet.

Once background checks are complete, we meet again for a lease signing, at which point I collect the rest of the move-in fees. I only give them a short time (about 5 days) to meet for the lease signing before they lose their exclusive rights to the unit, so this prevents someone from dragging their feet after they've signed the contract to hold.

Once the lease is signed, I take down the ads and send out emails to people in mid-marketing flow letting them know that the apartment has been rented but I will reach out if something falls through.

Good luck!

[Scott P.]

I've had multiple units 2.5-3 hours away.  I NEVER showed without an application - but I didn't charge a fee for those applications either.  I politely explained that I'd never had a no show for a showing from anyone who took time to fill out the application.  

[Jonathan W.]

@Cody Furman set a day for all the potential applicants to meet. Set them about 30 mins apart and bring a something to read while you wait in between.

Otherwise the only advice is prescreen the crap out of your tenants on the phone.

[Gil N.]

@Cody Furman

We have had similar situations

What we did was have a day on a Saturday or Sunday and had somewhat of an open house

We funneled everyone into a day. We set the the time and allowed all the realtors with there clients come on the one day. If they couldn't make it so be it but we controlled the situation

Much better than driving out every time and having no shows wasting your time etc.

also helps with people that are serious knowing we had other possible tenants

I'm the past we would set up individual appointments and had many no shows etc

And this was with realtors setting up the appointments. We always go thru realtors and never put an ad or sign out front for different reasons. Good luck

[Jim Hern]

Wesley: great message....that process works the best (in my opinion). Thanks for taking the time to detail it!

[Dennis M.]

Once you have their names look them up on Facebook and check out their profiles . You will know who the good ones are and who to screenshot fairly quick this way . Pick the top three or four and schedule a Saturday showing a half hour apart

[David Stone]

Screen the potential applicants over the phone before ever showing them the property. Respond to Craigslist / Zillow / Facebook inquiries with a general message such as "Thanks for your interest, please call me at XXX for pre-qualification and to schedule a showing." Run through your pre-qual questions on anyone who calls you back (most weed themselves out at this point which is great!), for those who pass your pre-qual questions, invite them to a showing/open house/group showing, whatever you want to call it - just group multiple people together so you're not wasting your time (about 50% will no-call no-show).  Good luck! 

Pre-Qual Questions:

RENTAL

>> When are you looking to move? __________________ >> Are you in a lease? ______________________

>> Where are you living now? _______________________>> Monthly rent now? ______________________

>> Why are you vacating current residence?___________________________________________________________

>> How many people on lease? __________ Who/Related? ______________________________________

INCOME / EMPLOYMENT

>> Do you have a STEADY source of income? _______________________________________________________

>> Where do you work right now (all jobs)? __________________________________________________________

>> What is your total monthly income (from all sources)? $___________________ + $ _____________________

>> How long? ________________ >> Other Income Sources? ___________________________________________

>> Can you verify it later with pay stubs or bank statements? YES / NO (at least 3x monthly rent.)

PETS/SMOKING

>>Any pets? YES / NO Type _________________________________________ Deposit _______________

>>Smoker? YES / NO No Smoking Policy

CREDIT / CRIMINAL

>>We perform a credit check, criminal background check, employment verification and rental history verification on every applicant. (Major crimes, felonies, evictions are automatic disqualifiers)

>> Is there anything we should know about ahead of time?_______________________________________________

>> What is your Credit Score? _____________________________________ 600-675 = additional deposit, 650+ OK

>> Do you think we would receive a positive referral from your current & previous landlords? YES / NO

>> How many evictions have been filed/started on you? ____________________________________________

MONEY NEEDED TO MOVE IN

>>If you are able to rent a house from us, would you have any problems coming up with the first month’s rent and security deposit?

$__________________ 1st month’s rent due before move-in. (pro-rated for the month) (after 25th = next month also)

$__________________ Full security deposit (1x rent with good credit, 2x rent with bad credit)

$__________________ Additional security deposit, if credit is an issue

$__________________ Pet deposit due before move-in.

$__________________ TOTAL REQUIRED AT SIGNING TO MOVE IN

[Rob B.]

A lot of great recommendations already mentioned above. I might note that in addition to suggesting a possible slot of open house times, there are some software options out there which allow you to schedule showings immediately after you've listed the unit, and it allows you the ability to also auto-request applications (keeps everything easy and in one place - so listing, tenant screening applications, leases and other tools like rent collection and maintenance tracking just to keep the process seamless); would be happy to share more info. 

All of that said, open houses are a great way to get group buy-in as mentioned above (can be a sign to potential renters of just how competitive your rental unit is). @Cody F.

[Corey Thompson]

Raise the rent.  

[Michael Lee]

Set an open house time and meet them face-to-face, in this way you can know more about your potential tenants. 

[Hal Fitzgerald]

Agreed with others and you should set an open house time for sure. Remember that you should have your own criteria in mind before that open house. 

[Sam Leon]

I find an "open house day" but I set specific appointment times for each 20 minutes apart.  I don't just have an open window for anyone to come by in case they all come around the same time and parking is limited.