Potential tenants seeing vacant unit unattended?

[Dylan Katz]

Hi BP community, 

I just finished listening to Mike Butler's "Landlording on Autopilot" audiobook, and I found his chapter on showing vacant units very interesting. For those that haven't read or listened, he recommends a lock box system where interested potential tenants can call the landlord and give some ID information, then get the code or sign out a key to access the vacant unit. This lets the potential tenants see it on their own without the landlord having to make the trip over to the property. I am new to rental property management and trying to come up with systems for self-managing with a full time W-2, so I was very intrigued by the potential time savings this could bring. I'm curious to hear if there are other investors out there who have tried this and have any thoughts, advice, or things I need to consider before implementing this sort of system? 

[Eric James]

I'd never let people into my rentals without someone present. What I do to save time is group/open house type showings once or twice a week.