I am trying to fill a vacancy. This is my second year with this property and both years I used Zillow to advertise it. I’m curious if you guys think this is a good customer dialogue to go with.
Generally on Zillow, the first question, the customer would ask is “is this property available for a showing at this time?” After that I just cut and paste from my notes this response:
Hello, before we continue do you meet these requirements?
1. Combined gross income for all tenants must be greater than $4000 (I will require three paystubs for verification)
2. Security deposit equal to one month of rent.
3. No animals.
4. Good renting references for past three years of renting history.
5. No felonies
6. No smoking
7. Must have $2,700 at time of lease signing for first months rent and deposit.
If you do, please send in an application through Zillow (one application per adult). If your application comes back clear, then we can schedule a showing of the property and sign a lease.
I’ve only gotten about 1 out of 10 queries to respond after I send that. Is that okay? Am I doing something wrong? I figured the reason they don’t respond is because they don’t meet the requirements.
I have them fill out a prescreening form. I have about 20% of folks fill it out. Here's an example of the email I send (and the link to the form I use).
Hello <Name>,
Thank you for your interest in the property on <street name>! Our first step in the process is to have all potential renters fill out a free, prescreening Google form. It does not ask for any sensitive info (no birthdays, socials, etc).
Putting the requirements for tenancy in your listing is a good idea (hopefully people will read them). The issue I see is you are requiring that potential tenants complete an application prior to seeing the property. I have never done this (as a landlord or as a tenant). If I was a tenant, I am not going to apply before looking at the property.
If it was my property, I am going to list the requirements, speak to the potential tenants on the phone, and then have them verbally confirm that they meet the requirements. Once they confirm, and if they sound somewhat professional on the phone (you get a good feeling); I would then schedule a showing. If you don't get a good feeling; tell them your property manager will be in touch to set up a showing within the next 48 hours.
Putting the requirements for tenancy in your listing is a good idea (hopefully people will read them). The issue I see is you are requiring that potential tenants complete an application prior to seeing the property. I have never done this (as a landlord or as a tenant). If I was a tenant, I am not going to apply before looking at the property.
If it was my property, I am going to list the requirements, speak to the potential tenants on the phone, and then have them verbally confirm that they meet the requirements. Once they confirm, and if they sound somewhat professional on the phone (you get a good feeling); I would then schedule a showing. If you don't get a good feeling; tell them your property manager will be in touch to set up a showing within the next 48 hours.
Good point! I thought it might be a waist of time to show a property before getting an application because if they don’t meet the requirements then they can’t get a lease anyway. If I show it then they might be more sold to follow through with application and signing.
Seeing the property could create better follow-ups on the application. There is also a lot of window shopping on Zillow. The last apartment I rented, I looked at about 7 properties and spoke to probably 15 different landlords before moving forward with one.
Totally depends on your market, if I provide my phone number on the listing in my market, my phone would ring non-stop all day.. and they all want to see the space and swear they can afford it.. truth is, if someone is in the market to rent, they will submit the application; besides, Zillow applicants can submit unlimited applications within 30 days of paying a one-time $35 fee
Totally depends on your market, if I provide my phone number on the listing in my market, my phone would ring non-stop all day.. and they all want to see the space and swear they can afford it.. truth is, if someone is in the market to rent, they will submit the application; besides, Zillow applicants can submit unlimited applications within 30 days of paying a one-time $35 fee
I just discovered this about being able to send the same application multiple times. Makes a big difference in my thinking.
Hey John, I'm a local Cedar Rapids investor as well and have several single family houses we rent out. Between my experience and in talking with other local investors, the rental market seems to be softening for reasons no one knows. This may be some of what is attributing to your low inquiries. What I've noticed is most ~80% don't read the requirements before they reach out. The 3 big things that get more traction are: 1) good pictures 2) good pictures and 3) competitive rent. Good luck!
I have a handful of properties in the Iowa City area. I love that you're having a conversation about requirements prior to prospects reaching out. I struggled with having prospects fill out an application prior to viewing with our most recent acquisition. I would set up a showing with prospects and they wouldn't show or if I told them they needed to fill out an application prior to viewing I wouldn't hear from them after. Overall, a very frustrating few weeks to get it rented. My thoughts are that your prospects are not liking that they need to fill out an application prior to viewing the property. You'll need to have a conversation with yourself about how much your time is worth and if you're willing to show without having an application in hand.
I have them fill out a prescreening form. I have about 20% of folks fill it out. Here's an example of the email I send (and the link to the form I use).
Hello <Name>,
Thank you for your interest in the property on <street name>! Our first step in the process is to have all potential renters fill out a free, prescreening Google form. It does not ask for any sensitive info (no birthdays, socials, etc).
You should try FB market place. It's just as much fun!
But real talk you're going to have 80-85% tire kickers on either site. 10-15% that actually want a showing, and even less that meet the requirements and sign a lease.
Pictures are worth a thousands words. If the quality speaks for it's self you'll weed out people naturally.
Hey John, I'm a local Cedar Rapids investor as well and have several single family houses we rent out. Between my experience and in talking with other local investors, the rental market seems to be softening for reasons no one knows. This may be some of what is attributing to your low inquiries. What I've noticed is most ~80% don't read the requirements before they reach out. The 3 big things that get more traction are: 1) good pictures 2) good pictures and 3) competitive rent. Good luck!
Thanks for the advice! If I message you the address would you critique the pictures and price for me?
I think this may work in a high demand area. If your market is not high demand, I would put the requirements in the ad, reiterate requirements again when they inquire, invite them to complete prescreening, ask them to apply with their Zillow application if they already have one and invite them to the already scheduled Open House.
Anyone who wants to see outside of Open House will have to complete application AND qualify for me to show one on one. Even then, I will convert the second half of their showing to an Open House.
You are asking for too much before the test drive and maybe is a lower demand area.
Zillow charges for applications and I have no issues renting on there. I have some properties in Coralville.
Have group showings or showings back to back. This reduces your time commitment. Also Cedar Rapids has many different types of neighborhoods similar each has different demographics and demands.
Plus the have all those requirements in the application and you will get to see those after the showing. If you are trying to save time with these requirements then you should realize now that you seem be to making more work for yourself. Reducing the amount of potential showings before you start is hard to overcome. If you seem intense before the showing the how is 12 months going to go for a renter who isn’t as invested?
You are asking for too much before the test drive and maybe is a lower demand area.
Zillow charges for applications and I have no issues renting on there. I have some properties in Coralville.
Have group showings or showings back to back. This reduces your time commitment. Also Cedar Rapids has many different types of neighborhoods similar each has different demographics and demands.
Plus the have all those requirements in the application and you will get to see those after the showing. If you are trying to save time with these requirements then you should realize now that you seem be to making more work for yourself. Reducing the amount of potential showings before you start is hard to overcome. If you seem intense before the showing the how is 12 months going to go for a renter who isn’t as invested?
You are asking for too much before the test drive and maybe is a lower demand area.
Zillow charges for applications and I have no issues renting on there. I have some properties in Coralville.
Have group showings or showings back to back. This reduces your time commitment. Also Cedar Rapids has many different types of neighborhoods similar each has different demographics and demands.
Plus the have all those requirements in the application and you will get to see those after the showing. If you are trying to save time with these requirements then you should realize now that you seem be to making more work for yourself. Reducing the amount of potential showings before you start is hard to overcome. If you seem intense before the showing the how is 12 months going to go for a renter who isn’t as invested?
Have a similar process for listing using zillow to pre-screen, but have had better success wit slightly different approach.
in actual listing as part of property description l include parameters.
"No Pets, No Smoking, Maximum Occupancy 4"
(as part of title & knowing these restrictions will limit my applicant pool)
At end of description I list screening expectations:
Screening Company will be seeking excellent background/credit/employment/landlord histories and a Gross Verifiable Income (GVI) of 4xRENT.
Zillow common application is used to pre-screen for tour only. Additional in-house application process is required ($50/FRP & $25/AddOcc18+)
When a prospect responds or applies, i send a saved response with questions:
Thank you for your interest in renting our property.
1) How many people in your household? #Adults(over18)/#Children 2) How soon are you seeking to relocate? 3) Do you have any pets? 4) Are any in household Smokers?
If they answer these & all match my criteria, I send a second set of questions:
5) Is combined Gross Verifiable Income approximately $7175-$8200/month or more? (3.5x-4xRent) 6) Do the financially responsible persons have positive credit/employment/landlord/background histories? 7) Where are you relocating from? 8) Any additional information you wish to share?
By creating this message conversation, I can collect the information I need, create a document history, be consistent in my responses, confirm this is an actual prospect, not just someone requesting a tour of every property listed.
If they are a possible fit, I use saved responses to invite them to apply )for tour pre-screening purposes) or use a saved response to tell them why they do not qualify ( no pets, too many people for max Occupancy, etc.)
I hope this helps!😁 Don't let fear or desperation rush you into a lease you will regret. A bad tenant costs far more than another month with an empty property!!!
ALSO... verify EVERYTHING!
-when you get an application require multiple years details ( i require 5 yr) on residence/employment
- Always require copy of government issued photo ID to get full legal name & DOB with full application
-Reverse phone number search, address search, name search (fastpeoplesearch.com gives a decent amount of info free & sponsored paid background checks, not all info is reliable, but can show aliases, previous addreses,phone #s, etc enough to se red flags or inconsistencies to require deeper investigation or confirmation.)
- civil court records with applicant names as plaintiff/defendant ( shows history of slow/no-pay or evictions that never show on zillow screening),
-check civil/criminal public records every city /county/state listed on credit report previous addresses ( veriy race/gender/dob to insure same person)
-verify business name/address phone, (paystubs created by applicant),
- In my experience, any local move with urgency is a red flag for someone in eviction process. Usually the applicant with the story has history in surrounding counties under several name variations for eviction or warrant-in-debt filings by previous or current landlords.
We use Zillow for all of our marketing. We have learned over the 4 years to list the qualifications, also. Your listing seems to be very clear about who should more forward. However, I will say that if you want tenants to apply prior to showings, you MUST provide comprehensive pictures. I recommend spending a little extra money to provide quality photos, both inside and out, so that prospective tenants feel as though they are getting a realistic representation of what to expect before they actually visit. This may encourage more applications!
I have done something similar however I have gone to a google form they can fill out I call my prescreening questionnaire. I have found zillow does not like when you post a link to google in your conversation so I give people the option to apply on zillow or have me email them over the link. 1 in 10 in my area is about right. Lots of lookie lous, lots of people that know they won't meet the requirements and lots of people that dont want the minor inconvenience. All of these are a waste of time to deal with
I agree with the comments above. I would try to make your Zillow listing appeal to most people then do the phone and on site vetting. Get more interested and you can soon see who is serious and qualified.
For LT tenants I always use a property manager. There is just too much that can go wrong in my opinion. Placement, legal, leases, evictions etc. They can also look into the criminal background check, which we as realtors can too. For the 10% property management fee I feel it is worth giving me back my time to I focus on my real estate sales and other investment projects I have going. I do however self manage my short term rentals as the management fee is 20% so to cash flow I need to do it myself right now.
If you want to self manage and just use a property manager to acquire tenants there is usually that option which is a one time placement fee. Mindy
Well it's a numbers game! I've been a sales manager for years and for every 50 you may get 2-4 qualifiable applications. I also use Zillow for my rentals and have been for 3 years. Sometimes I think Zillow test us to see if we are using their app correctly and within guidelines. I'm not positive, but it does keep me aware making sure I'm responding correctly and avoiding unnecessary negative responses. Sometimes applicants don't read the description and ask questions that have already been answered. This is frustrating because my time is limited and my thoughts are if you aren't willing to read the description and be aware of what you are applying for then you most likely won't be a good fit for me anyways. I also live 4.5 hours away from my rentals. Because of this, on the description there is a breakdown of the criteria that advises them to read before they apply. I'm looking for quality not quantity. Something I tried to impress upon my sales reps. Hope this helps!
I personally don't make a point to apply for something as serious as a credit check or a contract without reading what I am agreeing to. On my Zillow listing the criteria requirements are very simple and doesn't overload the reader's mind with pointless information. It should make them stop before applying and read the criteria for approval. My desire is to gain a quality tenant. Been renting homes for over 30 years and have experienced the worst and the best of tenants. I spent my career as a Finance Manager. before that a Sales Manager for a major corporation. My experience has been that those who take things lightly with regards to contract signing, tend to be less inclined to make payments on time.
