5

Leasing Pandemic

During the Coronavirus

- Author - Roxxie Eggert

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Multi-Housing industry has reinvented itself and pivoted to some very unique ways to continue helping people find their new homes and retain current community members. At the same time, owners and managers have leasing goals they must meet.

Prospects who were previously interested in the community may no longer be able to move forward with leasing due to: job loss; being placed on furlough; or, helping family members with finances. If they were relocating from out of state, the States’ Stay at Home orders may hinder their being able to move or the position they were relocating for may no longer be offered.

Also, community members who submitted their sixty day Notice to Vacate may rescind their notices so they can stay in place. They may find it difficult to hire moving companies and other people that would have helped them are not able to do so during this time.

Here are some solutions and new processes the Multi-Housing industry is implementing:

Virtual Leasing During this coronavirus pandemic, most Multi-Housing community leasing offices are closed so there are no on site/in person tours being conducted. Going fully virtual had been gaining momentum in the Multi-Housing industry; the coronavirus pandemic has effectuated a quicker transition. Platforms being used include: leasing over the phone; FaceTime tours; Zoom; sharing 3D virtual tours/ renderings, property videos and sending virtual tours of exact apartments.

In order to be successful, it is important to keep in mind the comfort level of the person you are communicating with as some may not be as knowledgeable about technology. Being able to customize your approach with prospects that want more one on-one-discussion vs. information in emails or videos online will result in more leases.

The goal is to have enough information available via phone calls, online and videos so the future community member will have full confidence to move forward with applying and moving in to the community without an in person tour of the community or the apartment.

Self-Guided Tour The self-guided tour has gained popularity and during this pandemic, a prospect can visit the community without leasing staff and have access to pre-determined apartments that have hardware installed for entry. There are systems usually in place where the prospect has to scan the front and back of their ID and take a selfie before the door access code will work.

Either during the tour or after the tour, any questions can be answered by the leasing professional so the lease may be closed.

During the Coronavirus

Occupied Apartments on Notice For the communities that have apartments with scheduled move outs, being able to enter someone’s home to tour may not be possible. A creative way to resolve that is to ask the current community member to send photos and videos of their view(s) of their apartment so the leasing agent can re-lease the apartment.

Maintenance Requests During the pandemic, unless a request is an emergency, the maintenance staff is usually not entering occupied apartments. If they do have to enter for an emergency, there are processes in place which include wearing protective gear.

This is an example of a circumstance that presents an opportunity for posting/sharing videos of how to complete basic maintenance requests for your community members to learn.

Community Member Retention Since resident retention is more important than ever, be sure to communicate with your current and future community members to let them know how they can accomplish everything they need online.

Since the majority of the community members may be staying in their apartments, now is a great time to interact, including the following ideas: Zoom Happy Hours; Virtual Bingo; Electronic Gift Cards to a delivery service and/or to a local restaurant so they can help the neighborhood businesses; and place a “Care Package” outside the apartment doors with new/originally wrapped toilet paper, hand sanitizer, candy, Lysol® wipes, or anything else that may needed in a large quantity but possibly not on hand. And don’t forget about the pets!

Make sure your community members continually feel a part of your community with consistent engagement. Through social media, emailing and your website, you can keep them well-informed on what is happening. It would be beneficial to schedule a regular “Check In” so they know their thoughts and concerns are being heard.

After all, we want our community members to feel at home.