How Remote Leasing Apartments Can Generate Results in 22-Minutes
Leasing teams need technology solutions that actually make their day-to-day operations smoother, more efficient, and have real results like a signed lease in 22 minutes – site-unseen (this is a true story!). Video can generate more qualified leads and reach prospects in other states.
Continue reading below to learn more about how remote leasing can improve your leasing efforts. If you found this information helpful, subscribe to the Realync newsletter to learn more!
Remote Leasing
In a virtual world, it is important for property managers and leasing agents to leverage a diverse set of resources to reach prospective residents. Today, there are many people who are looking to find a new home without physically visiting the community. This has contributed to the rise in remote leasing. Remote leasing is the process of prospective residents finding a home in a multifamily community without having to take a traditional, physical tour. And for property managers and leasing agents, remote leasing provides numerous advantages.
The biggest advantage of the remote leasing process involves allowing property managers to exponentially increase their prospective resident reach. The primary goal of property managers and leasing agents is to increase and maintain the highest occupancy rate possible. To do so, leasing agents have to reach as many qualified prospective residents as possible. By only targeting local prospects who are able to take an in-person, physical tour, lead numbers will drop and bottom-out conversion rates. Therefore, it is important to find ways to increase reach by targeting prospective residents who are not local. The greater number of qualified leads, the greater conversion the leasing agent will enjoy and thus helping drive occupancy rates.
There are numerous ways to approach remote leasing, and it is important to ensure that your approach is multi-faceted and comprehensive. Therefore, there are a few important points that everyone should keep in mind in order for property managers to maximize remote leasing endeavors. We cover several of these approaches below and more content can be found on our Resources page.
Apartments For Rent
When it comes to apartments for rent, prospective residents often first turn to the internet.
Prospective residents often leverage search engines and other websites such as Zillow to view potential homes in the local area. Because the vast majority of people start on the internet when looking for products and services, the first step in the remote leasing process is to make sure your multifamily community has a strong online presence. This includes everything from your website to ILS listings to social media accounts. It is critical to have a strong presence at the top of the sales funnel to garner as much initial interest from prospective residents as possible.
At the same time, solely relying on an internet presence will not increase occupancy rates. For a high-risk purchase or decision such as signing a lease, prospective residents look for a transparent relationship during the remote leasing process. After all, humans want to buy from other humans. Therefore, it is critical to have a firm strategy in mind to move prospective residents down the sales funnel. Add strong pillar videos to your website, create self-guided tours, and provide other opportunities for prospective residents to see what their potential home truly looks like even if they are unable to visit the building in person. These tools help leasing agents maximize their digital marketing strategies.
How To Find An Apartment Out Of State
Many prospective residents wonder how to find an apartment out of state.
Leasing agents need to tailor responses to prospective residents who might be wondering, “can I rent an apartment in another state?” Leasing agents need to find ways to meet prospective residents who are wondering how to rent a house in a different state and provide clear examples and guidelines on how to do so.
Property managers need to understand that there are many prospective residents who are going to be going through the remote leasing process for the first time. Therefore, they need to make sure that all of their questions are addressed. For example, it might be helpful to include videos that take a prospective resident on a tour of some of the open units. It is also critical to include a tour of the common area and amenities as well. This might include the pool, the gym, and the lobby. Leasing agents have to make sure that they demonstrate to the prospective resident what their life will be like if they decide to live in that multifamily community. This will help him develop a strong connection with prospective residents that will increase the number of leases that are signed.
Long Distance Apartment Hunting
When it comes to long-distance apartment hunting, it is critical for all property managers and leasing agents to understand that there are going to be some challenges that come with this process. Therefore, it is a good idea to think about a few virtual leasing ideas. For example, property managers could start by making sure they have a strong presence on social media. They need to advertise the unique features that come with living in that multifamily community and showcase different community events such as pool parties, gatherings around the grills, or even taking community outings to local museums, breweries, and other local businesses. This will help increase the level of interest that prospective residents have in the community.
It is then important for property managers to try to find ways to duplicate the benefits of an in-person tour in a remote manner. When possible, leverage virtual leasing software to take prospective residents on a live tour of a vacant unit. This will help prospective residents picture themselves and their families living in an apartment home in that multifamily community. Videos can also be leveraged on the website to further interest top-of-the-funnel leads and generate more interest in the community.
Virtual Leasing
The virtual leasing definition has evolved as the world has gone virtual. Today, virtual leasing refers to the entire resident leasing lifecycle from initial interest to touring to signing and finalizing the lease. Virtual leasing often starts online with social media accounts and websites that generate early interest among potential residents at the top of the sales funnel. From there, prospective residents request more information — virtually — and connect with property managers and leasing agents. Virtual leasing continues as leasing agents are able to connect virtually with prospective residents and build the rapport and relationship needed to sign a lease.
Virtual leasing apartments oftentimes include virtual tours and self-guided tours. Especially in the age of social distancing, there are varying comfortability levels that leasing agents need to account for. For instance, a prospective resident may be willing and able to tour a building themselves but not have direct contact with your property team. Alternatively, hosting live video tours or live video sessions enable your prospects to view information about the property and have their questions answered live by a leasing agent. Simply put, remote leasing simply refers to the entire leasing process but taking place virtually and online.
Virtual Leasing Systems
In a virtual world, leasing agents need to use strong virtual leasing systems to help connect with as many potential residents as possible. Virtual leasing tools are critical. There are lots of virtual leasing tools that are available to property managers and leasing agents today. For example, some of the most straightforward leasing tools include strong, dynamic websites as well as active social media accounts that are used to interact with potential residents on a personal level. Of course, one of the most important remote leasing tools is video leasing software.
Today, there are many people who are looking to find an apartment out of state. For various reasons, they might not be able to tour the physical building. At the same time, they still want to take a thorough tour of the building to make sure they are happy with their new home. This is where remote leasing software is important. With video leasing, it is possible for property managers and leasing agents to provide protective residents using a thorough, dynamic tour that will develop a strong relationship with prospective residents. This will help boost conversion rates at the bottom of the sales funnel.
Virtual Leasing Tours
When it comes to virtual leasing tours, there are a few virtual leasing tips to follow. One of the most important virtual leasing best practices is to make sure the speech lines up with the video screen. Remember the resident will only be able to see what the camera is pointed at. Make sure the speech matches what is being shown on the screen. Second, try to turn the ceiling fans on low. This creates the illusion of motion, making the space feel bigger. Finally, ensure that lighting is optimized. The room is going to look different to the naked eye when compared to the video screen. Thinking about these tips ahead of time will help property managers get the most out of their virtual leasing tours, increasing their conversion rates through remote leasing.
Ready to Get Real?
Accelerate Leasing
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Speed Up Lease Up
by providing construction updates and showcase your space without having to do hard hat tours.
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PRE-LEASE OCCUPIED UNITS
by ‘showing’ them without having to physically tour the space by sending pre-recorded videos.
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CONVERT A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF YOUR LEADS INTO LEASES
when you receive notifications when prospects are viewing videos to cater your follow up.
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SPEND LESS TIME TO CLOSE EACH LEASE
by removing roadblocks and barriers in the leasing process.
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INCREASE SIGHT-UNSEEN LEASING
by making it a breeze for out-of-market leads to choose your community.
Improve Community Engagement
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PROMOTE YOUR PROGRAMS BETTER
via pre-recorded videos by linking via social media or internal apps.
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DECREASE MAINTENANCE REQUESTS
by creating maintenance videos.
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REINFORCE COMMUNITY RULES
by receiving notifications when residents are viewing videos to know who has seen a message and who hasn’t.
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REDUCE REPETITIVE QUESTIONS
because consumers retain 10% of a message when reading it via text, but 90% of a message when viewed in a video.
More Than Software
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Virtual Training
is available for every property utilizing Realync.
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Make your video efforts consistent
with one set, standardized process and platform.
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TRACK ENGAGEMENT And Usage
across your entire portfolio.
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Partner with the Realync Team
to create a personalized training program to be rolled out across all properties.
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Are you Ready to Get Real?
Talk with us today to see how Realync’s platform can 4X your lead-to-lease conversion!
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