What todo when you get a TON of Calls on a Rental Property? (Or how to Organize/Scale your process of tracking peoples interest in your property)

Question

My Goal:

• To create a process to handle Rental inquiries and to cut down the time it takes for me to respond. I need a process that allows me to document my interaction (for legal reasons), track who I responded to and be able to see who to follow up with.

My Problem Summarized

• I get a ton of responses from multiple sources (i.e.      Signs, Zillow/Trulia, CL etc)
• I have to manually enter their information into a database      (Name, Phone#, Property Interested, Looking to Move etc)
• I do not have an effective way to track applicants in      the process so I can follow up with them.

I know my solution lies with using a CRM (Customer Relationship Software).

Please let me know:

• 1.What CRM do you use
• 2.Any Additional Software you use to minimize inputting/transferring data into the system
• 3.Any Software that automatically logs phone calls & emails and assigns them to a contact (that would be a big plus!)
• 4.How you connect the applications with the CRM
• 5.Rules/Guidelines you use to keep the system humming and to increase response time
• 6.Any other things I should know/think about when designing this system

Thank you in advance for reading this post and for any advice you’re able to share. I am sure that I am not the only person with this issue and any advice you can give will help the BP community be more productive!

Account Closed · Answer

Having an Open House is the answer and a good voice mail box phone system.

Because I had a lot of properties, I received a ton of phone calls when I had several vacancies at one time.  I couldn't possibly answer every phone call that came into the office for every property that had a vacancy, so I purchased Vonage (an Internet Voice Message and phone service) that allowed for me to have several voice mail boxes.  (I still have it today.

Let's say I had 3 vacancies going on.  Three different locations.  When someone called my office I would say the following.

Thank you for calling Maple Leaf Properties.  If you are calling regarding 1234 Lincoln Street press 1 now, if you are calling regarding the property located at 5678 Glendale Street, press 2 now.  If you are calling regarding 1010 Sunnydale Lane then press the 3 now.   (For each number they pressed, I gave a description of the home, where it was located, a brief summary of the qualifications, and what day and time the home would be shown.)

Foot Note:  At one time I answered every call, and it always amazed me at how many people would call and try to tell me their sob story about why they needed a place right now.  Even though they disqualified themselves most of the time when I took the phone call, due to their sob story of evictions...good grief), and saved time that way, it wasn't worth it to spend all day at the phone when I was a jack of all trades and just didn't have the time, nor want to hire a girl to just answer the phones.

Open houses I found solved  the problem.   Realtors use it, and landlords should too.  If you just make appointments and take your time  to show just one interested applicant at a time, you waste your time, most of the time.  They rarely show up. Sometimes they do, but then they don't qualify.  By having an open house, you generate interest, competition between the group competing  for this home.  It's like a sale at the Department Store.

As far as software is concerned, of course I recommend QuickBooks.

Nancy Neville

Mike F. · Answer

Not sure what the reasoning is behind your desire to do all this, maybe as you hinted for legal reasons has something to do with it. But like most of the answers you got hinted at, really nobody goes down the road you're going.

In reality, inquiries are really worthless, only qualified showings really matter. Like some here, we book multiple prospects at the same time. Usually anywhere from 3-5 people booked to see the property at the same time. Not everyone shows up to a showing so booking multiple prospects avoids wasting your valuable time waiting around for someone who never shows. I personally wouldn't spend any time mining inquiries, with the right property, priced correctly and advertised correctly you should be aiming to make the phone ring with qualified prospects not just trying to get the phone to ring as many times as possible. I'd much rather spend my time with 5 qualified prospects than 50 unqualified ones.

Steve Babiak · Answer

They aren't applicants until they fill out an application; until then, at best they can be called prospects, but usually they are really just suspects.

The prospects and suspects are entered into my phone, where I can also add notes. The applicants are given much more attention :)

Entering them into the phone helps when they call back at some future time and you have all the notes (so you know you don't even want to show them a unit ;)  ).

George P. · Answer

1. raise the price

2. charge for application

Dawn Anastasi · Answer

I don't make it this complex; I just track information in a spreadsheet.  Most people who call don't turn into applicants and most applicants don't turn into tenants for me.

Steven J. · Answer

I like Account Closed 's approach with the phone calls. Although I'm not renting I am advertising a mobile home as a rent to own. I did an open house and was frustrated by how few people turned out. Its not as popular of a strategy but so far I've had a high percentage of highly interested parties as opposed to mediocre numbers.

Something I'll plan on my next one is to set up a lengthy phone message. In this message I describe the home, the condition, needed repairs, the amount needed, the application process, and a vague description of what it takes to qualify. The message itself may very well eliminate many parties who are on the fence or are those I wouldn't want to sell to. And, if they stick around long enough to listen to a 5-8 minute long message to get the phone number to see the home then I can assume they are leaning more towards being a serious buyer as opposed to just looking.

Jesse T. · Answer

Does your broker have a CRM system?  It seems you would want one for managing potential buyers and sellers.

I think notes on your phone is a good idea for initial contact.  Some people might not work for one property, but be great for another.  After initial contact, I think the goal should be to get things written as soon as possible.  I would do the pre-screen over email(automatic written record) and ultimately the application is the record of their interest.

You want to work out with your landlords the criteria for the property in advance and send the same pre-screen email to any potential applicants.  I think open houses are a great idea for rentals.  Have a hard-copy pre-screen so you have an equivalent process.  If you get multiple applications(with application fee) be sure to order them so you can process them until you find a suitable applicant.  If you have good applicants you can't process, you can let them know about other properties you have listed or even help them find a rental from another agent.

Johann Jells · Answer

Also recommend the open house. Last very desirable apt I listed on Craigslist I didn't write anything down, I simply email responded that I would be scheduling an open house and would let them know when. When I held it, the 1st couple in saw the next couple very enthusiastic, so they quickly filled out an application and wrote on the bottom that they were willing to pay up to $130 more than the listed price! My soft hearted wife insisted we split the difference.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

1. Set the right price. (If your price is too low, you will be flooded with calls. If your price is too high, you won't get enough calls.)

2. Be up front about your rental criteria. (This reduces the amount of calls from those who clearly won't qualify, as most will self-eliminate if they know they won't meet your minimum criteria to rent.)

3. Inquiry: Note inquiries in a spiral notebook, as it's quick, easy, and the pages don't get misplaced. A notebook is easy to keep and the pages are easy to rip out and shred after it is no longer necessary to keep them. Note these: (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How)... Who - their name & contact information; What - what kind of place are they looking for; When - date/time of inquiry and date they want to move; Where - which property are they looking at and from where are they moving; Why - why do they want this particular property and why are they leaving their previous place; How - how did they find out about this property ... also, how effective is the advertising in drawing good applicants.

4. Interview: Record interviews on an interview sheet. The interview sheet has the same questions I ask of all prospective renters. Keeps my questioning consistent and non-disciminatory.

5. Application: File applications and secure their storage for the protection of the personal information they contain. Save only as long as necessary.

6. Tenant File: Create a tenant file for each tenant that will include documents such: application, tenant screening information, rental agreement, correspondence & notices during the tenancy, move-out documentation. Archive in a secure manner after tenant move-out.

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I used to field 100 inquiry calls before finding a good applicant. Now about 10 inquiry calls will net a good applicant. I only process one application at a time and only after I have interviewed them and pretty much know they will qualify. This has cut down on how much I need to organize and how much information I need to store.

What todo when you get a TON of Calls on a Rental Property? (Or how to Organize/Scale your process of tracking peoples interest in your property)

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