How many tenants make it to a showing ?

[Matthew Paul]

I have a 2/1 SFH up for rent . Listed on Zillow and Marketplace . Now I am not running there every time someone wants to see it . ( too many no shows ) . So when I get a message , I answer their questions , that knocks out 1/3 . ( yes I need the whole security deposit ) . So I tell them if they are interested , get back to me on Saturday and I will give you the time and address for the showing on Sunday . So out of 30 people left , 6 get back for the info , two of them dont like my showing times and want later in the afternoon . ( sorry , no , I have plans ) . Then on Sunday , 3 show up , the first wants to know if I am the owner , I tell them I represent the owner , they insist on talking with the owner , I tell them that you talk with me and thats it . They leave very mad . ( oh well ) . The second couple shows up , I introduce myself , and hand them a list of the requirements , they want to know why I wont take someone with a previous eviction , they claimed it was due to covid , not their fault . " Sorry thats the landlords policy no exceptions " . Third couple shows up , with their kid , I give them the requirements and show the house , they want a better school district . They say the house is too small for the money , they can get an apartment twice the size for the same price . And I ask them " Are they in good school districts ? " They say no . So I give them an application and tell them if they are interested fill it out and mail it to me .

Its amazing how many people "want " to rent it until they find out that they need a 690 credit score , verifible income , and a credit and criminal background check will be done .  Then the hard luck stories , not my faults , and I am a great tenant . 

And Sunday morning I get to do it again . 

[JD Martin]

We batch showings to eliminate having to constantly send someone to show. Typically space them 10-15 minutes apart, and if we can have something for the "show-er" to do while they're there all the better - take care of a minor issue, trim a shrub, etc. Works great and pretty typical that we have 3-10 qualified applicants within the first couple of days to pick from. No-shows are approximately 50% of all appointments, though that number has been dropping over the last two years as housing has become tighter around here. We try to have 2 showing times during the week and one on the weekend, and if you can't figure out how to make one of those you must not seriously need a place to live.

As for platforms, we started using Marketplace the last two vacancies but the biggest bunch of deadbeats and no-shows came from there. Both our successful applicants came from Zillow.