How a 9 month rent up period was accomplished in 2 months.
For those of you who are not familiar with the Davis's rental market, I am going to start by explaining why it is extremely unique. Here in Davis, California, we are a college town with the majority of residents between the ages of 18-24. Being in a college town means that almost everyone is a student. Most apartment complexes run 12 month fixed-term leases that begin early September and end the following August. What makes it even more special is that almost all the apartments start pre-leasing in January, which means renewal notices are posted in December, 3 months after a tenant commences their previous lease. You might be thinking to yourself that this sounds absurd and that it is unfair to the tenant, but due to the undergraduate quarter schedule, it would make no sense for the management company to run month to month leases because the city is a ghost town over the summer. And with a limited availability, everyone tries to secure housing by March for the following September.
With that being said, when I was hired last summer, I came in during month 7 of the leasing season. They have tried everything and were in a stage of chaos. They had no leasing agent, an outgoing manager, and a relatively fresh assistant manager. I came into a complex that was running out of time to rent up. Within those two months before the big move-in day, we were able to pull teeth and rent up but we told ourselves that we did not want to have to go through that again. So how did we manage to pull off a 9 month rent-up in a short 2 months?! 1. ORGANIZATION
I can not stress enough how important it is to be organized. Once the tenants moved-in, we were already planning for the next leasing season. Not a day was wasted and we knew exactly what we wanted to do and ended up reconstructing a lot of policies, paperwork, and organizational systems. Everything had it's place and that made leasing much easier because there was structure and a process that soon became muscle memory.
2. COMMUNICATION
Last year, they went through 3 leasing agents and a manager switch but this year, the 3 of us knew what systems we wanted in place. We constantly connected and made sure we were all on the same page at the beginning and end of each work day so that we had a strong consistent front. Even on the days I did not work, I would sometimes catch myself up in the group chats because I needed to know what was going on and what I needed to do. Being able to clearly communicate left every lead hot and no one got brushed under the rug.
3. CONSISTENCY
This year we decided to do everything virtually which helped with communicating not only with each other but with our clients. A big part was having working computers that would send more than 1 email every 30 minutes. With a structure set up, we were able to target each and every individual lead and keep our office consistent. Sometimes some would slip through the cracks and I'd double email someone but at least the emails were exactly the same!
4. CUSTOMER SERVICE
A majority of the apartments we rented this season were renewals. Every interaction, from the first handshake and greeting to the last key return, everything was presented with energy and care. We couldn't have rented up this fast if it wasn't for our renewals and strong referrals from our renewals. Once you connect and respect a person beyond business, they will open up their networks and then you can access a gigantic web of potential clients.
5, ACTIVE LISTENING
Everyone has opinions and wants to be heard. We tried really hard this year to not only push the sale but to hear honest feedback from everyone. We constantly asked tenants and prospects for suggestions and feedback and really implemented their ideas. We want the tenants to see that we see them past their business and really try to improve their living.
6. TIME MANAGEMENT
We prided ourselves in the speed of our follow-ups and the speed of our services. We were able to get most of the planning done before leasing season began so once it started, we hit the ground running. We got all our systems in place before most places even had their models ready. This gave us a huge advantage in being so ready. We allocated all our time to help our customers and even though it was a lot of work in a short time, it was worth it.
All of these points could not exist without each other. The most important aspect we had was confidence. We not only had confidence in our product but we had confidence in ourselves. We knew what we wanted and we pushed for it. Being transparent was important because when product meets value, we didn't have to beg for leads, because our phones never stopped ringing! Our service and speed was the just icing on top of our beautiful apartments. A home is more than just the walls and the roof, it is your community as well. Connect and Respect.
