Here is my system that I have shared on the forums previously:
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 and a security deposit?
(I used to collect last month's rent as well, which I highly encourage, but it recently became prohibited in NYS.)
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 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 I am stuck with it if I want to market through them.
Here is the email response:
Thank you for your interest. We have a minimum income requirement to qualify for this unit (4 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. Keeping pets requires a one-time nonrefundable pet fee of $200 (per pet) as well as an additional $20 monthly rent for each approved pet. As pet lovers ourselves, 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. We can provide a complete list of our qualifying criteria upon request. If you don't foresee any major stumbling blocks (or, if you do, and would like to discuss further - 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 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 $1650, which will be the security deposit ($825) and last month's rent ($825). So, the total move-in costs (not including pet fees, if applicable) would be $2475, 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 123 Main St, 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 over the next day or so 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. Since my units are a C-class, I also suggest a drive-by so they are not unpleasantly surprised by the neighborhood when they attend the showing, and just keep on driving by anonymously as I wait outside. (This has happened a few times to me.) 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 is scheduled.
If they do request a showing, I send them this email:
Hi Joe,
Please read this entire email.
How about a showing on Thursday at 7 pm? If that works for you, please reply to this email within 24 hours to accept this appointment and I will then add you to my showing schedule.
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 (insert your phone 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!
I typically bundle showing appointments consecutively for my own efficiency as well as to minimize the disruption of our current tenant. I book appointments 15 minutes apart, and based on demand, usually 2-3 times per week. Often it is 2 weekday afternoons, and late morning on a weekend day. Unless they are absolute rock stars and I have no other strong prospects in the onboarding flow, I will not deviate from this. If they have enough interest in the unit, they will rearrange their schedule to accommodate me. If I have someone that is marginal that expresses interest, I will book them last minute in between two showing slots of strong candidates to fill up the schedule, but more importantly to create demand pressure on the strong candidates. They will see someone leaving the unit right before them and someone else showing up as they are leaving.
If they counter with a day/time that doesn't work for me, I usually just tell them that I don't have any showing slots available, to capitalize on the scarcity mindset and incentivize them to get in and see it ASAP. This is not really a stretch; my available units usually garner HUNDREDS of inquiries, and I usually get a dozen or two that actually get in for a showing.
If they have not confirmed an hour prior to their appointment, I send this text to their phone (which was required as part of their contact information I required in the response to my ad):
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.
NOTE: I've gotten away from this a bit, since I am more keen on renting to functioning adults and I find this is a bit enabling. I will do this, however, if it is the first or last showing of the day. But honestly, if they are marginal to begin with I will just blow them off and not be there. Again, this demonstrates to me how responsible they are. Almost always, their behavior never gets better after the the application process; this is when they are presumably showing you their best.
Using this system has dramatically reduced any wasted time I used to endure as part of the showing process as well as giving me empirical data about their timeliness/responsiveness/respect for others' time.
Good luck!
