The bottom line is you don't want to lease up someone whom is not completely thrilled about your place, but at the same time I have realized that if I don't do a certain amount of "selling/pitching" to applicants, I will never rent my place out.
I think a certain amount of "scarcity" will also tip people towards following through.
I always hold showings of pre-screened prospects in consecutive, 15 minute intervals. That way, they see the people leaving before them, and see people showing up as they leave. I hold showing "clumps" every few days, so I have that "critical mass" for efficiency, but also for the perceived competition. If the docket is light, I will also add folks who meet the minimum qualifications in between the stronger candidates to fill my dance card.
Right after the showings while the experience is still fresh, I sit down and fill out a T-chart for all the prospects I would consider. Afterwards, I have a pretty good idea whom is my "ideal" candidate, and I go after them. Every response in my marketing funnel is boiler plate, but I try to make every communication for the strong candidates personal.
I send every good candidate that did not apply at the showing this email:
It was very nice chatting with you and your husband Steve during the viewing this afternoon.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about our application process or if I can be of further assistance to you in your search for housing.
Every good candidate that submitted some materials at the showing I send this:
It was very nice chatting with you and Molly during the viewing this afternoon. Your dog, Winston, sounds adorable.
In order for your application to be complete enough for consideration, I still need the following:
· Name, address, and phone number of current landlord
· Supervisor work email and work landline
· Previous employment, including supervisor name, work email, work landline, salary, and dates of employment
· Etc
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about our application process or if I can be of further assistance to you in your search for housing.
If a strong prospect has completed an application at the showing, I start doing some preliminary due diligence to find any major red flags (I don't get too deep as it turns out to be wasted time unless they put down their cash.). If I don't see anything, I reach out with this:
It was a pleasure meeting you this evening, and I again thank you for your interest. Your application appears to be complete and we are prepared to proceed with the process if you are interested.
The next step would be for you and I to cross paths in the next day or so to sign a binder agreement. This "contract to hold" gives you exclusive rights to enter into a rental agreement for the apartment for the next 5 days with your non-refundable binder payment equal to one month's rent ($xxx, including pet rent) as consideration, which I would collect at our meeting. At that time we would begin our business due diligence (background and reference checks). Please let me know your availability if your desire is to proceed.
As a matter of information, the binder payment must be in cash or a personal check from your own account that is drawn on a local bank. I’ll provide you with a receipt in either case. Third party checks are not accepted.
If you have any questions about the process, or if you would like to proceed with your application, please reach out. As a courtesy, I’ll wait approximately 24 hours before making this same offer to other qualified applicants.
Note how I create the "scarcity" with the last sentence, even though they might be the only candidate I would even consider.
I continue doing these showing batches until I have collected a deposit to hold. During due diligence, I continue to set up showings (for a date after the contract to hold expiration, in anticipation of a lease signing), and once the lease is signed, I cancel any pending showings.
Good luck!
