Apartment Showings Strategy (Do people No-Show?)

[bizaro86]

Hello,



My wife and I recently rented our first investment property (a condo here in Calgary), and are working on a plan for securing a tenant for our next condo, which closes in mid-June.



The consensus seems to be that a significant percentage of tenants who book a showing never show up for it. Now, I was showing a reasonably desirable unit, but I was also asking a premium-ish price, and got a few comments to that effect on the phone from potential tenants. (I told them it was firm, since if they can't afford it now...) It took about 15 showings to find a suitable tenant, but every one of those 15 people showed up for their appointment.



So my questions for the group:



1) Was I just the recipient of some statistically-improbably beginners luck, or are people who rent higher dollar apartments more likely to keep their commitment to show up? That interests me because my next unit isn't in as good a location and lacks the underground parking of the first, so we're expecting/planning to ask for a lower rent rate.



2) What do you think of the strategies in the thread of scheduling showings at the same time and/or requiring an application before a showing? Does a slower market impact your decision on whether to do that? (In my last rental, I scheduled the showings about 30 minutes apart, so that I only came once every day or two, but far enough apart people had time to look)



Thanks for any thoughts!



Michael

 

[brentdavies]

Does your dentist office call a day or two before your appointment to remind you? Mine does. Many people are scared to death of dentists and are quick to forget their appointment.

Yes, tenants have a habit of not showing up for appointments especially if you do not get a name and phone number, and call then back the day of appointment to confirm your appointment.

Sometimes the tenant will have found another rental and "forgot" to call you back. Maybe he lost your phone number.

My showing policy is simple, no phone number or confirmation, no showing.

I happy to hear you no issues. Use the same procedure on your next rental.

 

[CarrieKoch]

I had considered doing the no confirmation, no showing...but most of the time I am managing 30 coming vacancies and I don`t have time to follow-up leads let alone confirm showings. And no time to answer the phone to confirm a meeting either.

I am becoming to realize that it is much easier to create a "buying frenzy". I only do open houses now. I`ll be here from 12 to 12:30. If you are serious bring your completed application, copies of id and paystubs, plus your deposit of one months rent. That way they know our requirements and come prepared.

I had a property that I used to drive to anytime any one wanted to see it. To me it wasn`t a big deal because it was 10 minutes from my house. I then realized I was making 19 or so trips per unit which you can imagine really would add up. Most of the time people would just drive-by and not show.

I really don`t go out of my way to meet one person now unless they are very qualified and really are serious.

 

[tsokalski]

Let me tell you, it amazes me how many inconsiderate people are out there that do not show. I have had applications sent and confirmed showing by them calling me 1 hour prior to viewing and still no show.

However, you can screen them prior to see if you even want them as a tenant, have them send in an application and most important have them call you 1 hour prior to confirm, no call then you do not waste your time going to the property. Also, I have found that if you set a time like Sunday from 12:00 to 3:00 and set appointments based on this time frame, you are not going to the property several times and if there are no shows there hopefully will be some that will show. Get people`s names and phone numbers this personalizes it a bit.

 

[terri]

I like doing the "open house" thing. It really cuts down on the amount of time that I have to be there and if there is currently a tenant in the apt, I find that they will clean and tidy more for an "open house" then one showing, they will also leave for an open house, but not for every single individual showing.
I don`t usually ask for a completed application form in advance and I don`t want a deposit cheque the same day. I ask people to take the application away, fill it out and get it back to me. I find that the "getting it back" to me part of the process is a good filter. If it takes too long to get it back, then it may take a while to get post dated cheques in future.

For one apt, I handed out over 100 application forms, I only got back 40, that helped me weed out a lot right there.

The other thing that I like about not accepting cheques on the spot is that I want to give people time to think about it and make sure that my apt is the right fit for them. I don`t want them to have to make a quick decision on the spot and perhaps regret it later. I think that I my apts are top quality and I`m not afraid that they are going to find something better or change their mind.

oh, and even with the open house I still get names and numbers in case for some reason I have to cancel or reschedule, then I make notes next to their names like which ones have pets, need parking, how many people, etc so when they show up at the open house I can remember which features are important to them and I can make sure to point it out.

and I still ask them to call and confirm 1/2 hr before (this is another filter).

good luck!

Terri

 

[housingrental]

1)



A)For me I've found there is some randomness to this. I find there is some correlation between if the property is on a long street (ie "we thought it was 10 minutes closer than it really is"), if the property is really ugly, but most importantly the length between potential renter contact and the viewing date - so someone who books a week in advance might show up 30% of time compared to someone who books one day in advance might show up 80% of time, etc.. There's lots of randomness though.. I have days where I do viewings at the same location and 19/20 show up and days where (again exact same location..) where only 5-10/20 scheduled show up...



B) I've not noticed ANY corelation between unit price and no shows.. quality and demands of applicants yes.. no shows no...





2)



A)Scheduling showings near the same time (every 15 mins, etc..) can be great because it saves you time but also creates the impression to viewers that theres lots of interest and more time pressure to make a decision (if thats something you want ? ! ) BUT it's not always ideal to force this.. Your best applicant might only be able to view it on

weekdays after 6pm and you'll need to accomodate some at other times or have less viewings.



B) Requiring an application before a showing is not the best way to go - and an outright bad idea unless your the type of market where you can get tons of interested viewers - many viewers won't bother viewing your place if they have to fill out paperwork in advanced - And not just ones who know there's an issue with the information they'd be providing on their application - Look at it like this, next time you goto futureshop if you have to spend thirty minutes filling out forms before you can buy something, or even look at something, would you do it or just go to bestbuy down the street ? If futureshop had something expectional that you couldn't find elsewhere maybe... most of the time you'll goto bestbuy and not bother with the hassle..














QUOTE (bizaro86 @ May 27 2009, 06:21 PM)
Hello,



My wife and I recently rented our first investment property (a condo here in Calgary), and are working on a plan for securing a tenant for our next condo, which closes in mid-June.



The consensus seems to be that a significant percentage of tenants who book a showing never show up for it. Now, I was showing a reasonably desirable unit, but I was also asking a premium-ish price, and got a few comments to that effect on the phone from potential tenants. (I told them it was firm, since if they can't afford it now...) It took about 15 showings to find a suitable tenant, but every one of those 15 people showed up for their appointment.



So my questions for the group:



1) Was I just the recipient of some statistically-improbably beginners luck, or are people who rent higher dollar apartments more likely to keep their commitment to show up? That interests me because my next unit isn't in as good a location and lacks the underground parking of the first, so we're expecting/planning to ask for a lower rent rate.



2) What do you think of the strategies in the thread of scheduling showings at the same time and/or requiring an application before a showing? Does a slower market impact your decision on whether to do that? (In my last rental, I scheduled the showings about 30 minutes apart, so that I only came once every day or two, but far enough apart people had time to look)



Thanks for any thoughts!



Michael

 

[terri]

QUOTE (housingrental @ May 28 2009, 01:31 PM) 1)

A)For me I`ve found there is some randomness to this. I find there is some correlation between if the property is on a long street (ie "we thought it was 10 minutes closer than it really is"), if the property is really ugly, but most importantly the length between potential renter contact and the viewing date - so someone who books a week in advance might show up 30% of time compared to someone who books one day in advance might show up 80% of time, etc.. There`s lots of randomness though.. I have days where I do viewings at the same location and 19/20 show up and days where (again exact same location..) where only 5-10/20 scheduled show up...

B) I`ve not noticed ANY corelation between unit price and no shows.. quality and demands of applicants yes.. no shows no...


2)

A)Scheduling showings near the same time (every 15 mins, etc..) can be great because it saves you time but also creates the impression to viewers that theres lots of interest and more time pressure to make a decision (if thats something you want ? ! ) BUT it`s not always ideal to force this.. Your best applicant might only be able to view it on
weekdays after 6pm and you`ll need to accomodate some at other times or have less viewings.

B) Requiring an application before a showing is not the best way to go - and an outright bad idea unless your the type of market where you can get tons of interested viewers - many viewers won`t bother viewing your place if they have to fill out paperwork in advanced - And not just ones who know there`s an issue with the information they`d be providing on their application - Look at it like this, next time you goto futureshop if you have to spend thirty minutes filling out forms before you can buy something, or even look at something, would you do it or just go to bestbuy down the street ? If futureshop had something expectional that you couldn`t find elsewhere maybe... most of the time you`ll goto bestbuy and not bother with the hassle..

Adam,

love your future shop/best buy analogy.

and I agree that you are right about the no-show vs advance schedule correlation. I find that that the further in advance I book the viewing the better the chance of no-shows. I`m not sure if that`s because people forget or because they`ve found something else already. I think perhaps the later.

Terri

 

[Dan_Eisenhauer]

I have only rented two apartments in Vancouver: one had an in house manager, the second is owned by an investor who lived near by.

However, the Open House method seems to be standard operating procedure in the Vancouver area. I could always tell when a building across the street from me had a vacancy because a few days into the month, several couples would begin to gather outside it just before a given hour. The landlord would show up, and usher the viewers through. I don`t remember seeing him make more than one visit for showings.

It seems to work well here, where good suites are few and far between.

 

[mlwilliamson]

Hi Terri,



I have TH in Hamilton that I am seeking to rent for July 1. Do you post that you are having a open house in your ad? Do you invite them to contact you for further information ie, screening and providing exact address.



Thanks,



Michael