I have prospects who are now literally refusing to lease unless we do in person tours.

Is anyone else who's offices are not doing in person or self guided tours facing this issue? I have prospects who are now literally refusing to lease unless we do in person tours. Which, for obvious safety reasons, we are not doing that at this time.

Edit: We're still doing well on occupancy (96%), but we are in Texas, and the governor lifted the stay at home order and opened up certain businesses to 25% capacity. We are not among those businesses, but ever since May 1st, we're getting more and more people who are not ok with just video tours

Self guided or video chats or just sending videos

Are you finding prospects who are literally refusing to even consider leasing because they cant tour in person, though?

Emily Claiborne nope not all, self guided has been working great!

Not having that problem here. Quite the opposite. People are really appreciative that they can see the apartment, but have 0 interaction with anyone else while here during this time.

That's how it was originally. I live in Texas, and our governor has opened up some businesses to operate at 25% capacity as of May 1st. Before that, no one had a problem and everyone was really understanding. But ever since May 1st it's been a battle with some of these prospects. I want to accommodate and give the best experience possible, but I won't sacrifice my safety or disobey my corporate set guidelines.

Exactly, you have to take care of yourself first so that you can take care of others. Don't compromise on your safety.

No the videos work just fine.

We have done videos only. And in April we had 20 move ins

We’ve been getting like 2 or 3 leases a week. Our problem is getting people to renew right now they are afraid they won’t have a job.

Can you open the vacant unit and connect them to be able to view it on their own?

We’re doing self guided and having no issue. It’s peoples home, a video doesn’t always suffice. It is HOME to them, open the vacant leave them a map and lease.

We haven’t had anyone tell us that yet. But we are offering self guided.

I am in TX as well, and I feel like when cases spike in a couple of weeks, people (hopefully) will calm down and be a bit more reasonable.

Is there a reason you won't let them do a self guided tour?

We’re essential. We’re working and doing tours in LA, Ca. Safe and social distancing.

Not having much of this but some. If they aren’t worried for the health of my onsite staff right now, I don’t want them as residents the staff has to deal with In the future. So I’m okay with them moving on the the next one right now honestly. IMHO

We are having the exact same issue. We aren't allowing self guided tours either. The only thing I will allow is for them to look at the physical home after they are approved if they want to see before signing the lease.

Personally I support your choice to opt out of in person tours. They are just not necessary with today’s technology. You may have to budge a little and allow self guided tours in conjunction with technological leasing tools. You will have to find a way to go about it that works for your company, and maybe set it up so that the self guided tour is among the last things to be done just before signing the lease that way you have already filtered out non-serious prospects and may even have collected and verified enough info about the prospect etc. I have done my fair share of self guided tours as a prospect during my own home searches and I actually preferred it. I feel like someone refusing to lease without seeing you in person face to face is a little extreme in their part, but it’s possible that a fair share of people may not want to sign the lease without seeing their specific future home in person.

Sharing the same as others- self-guided tours!

In Indiana we are on a staged re-opening, apartment communities are not scheduled to re-open until June 14th barring no Covid set backs. We are only doing virtual tours and have only had a couple of prospects demand to see a unit or not lease; and only 1 recently.

My company allows us to use our own disrection.

Honestly, IMO, if they NEED an in-person tour, they’re going to be NEEDY the whole time.
We’re in Texas too, 97% preleased, 96% occupied. We’re about to start self-guided tours, probably later this week per company policy.
I’m not having them do in-person tours. It’s not necessary, even though I personally *love* giving tours.
If they have questions, they can call us while they’re in the apt. I’m not having my staff risk their health over someone wanting handholding during a pandemic. If they can’t tell where the kitchen is, they need more help than we can give.

I'm doing self guided tours and dont have any videos, I've leased 4 apts since friday. Its working better than I thought it would.

Kathy Winfrey Chaney do you have prospects sign a waiver statement or anything? I somewhat am contemplating treating this like a hard hat tour...

Johnny Xayamath no. They call, I hand them a map. They call if they have questions. Some have walked away and I never hear from them again. I actually think more like doing it this way than having to listen to our sales pitch! I'm on an older property, so no "bells and whistles" as I call all the extra amenities that newer properties have.

Im in Texas and we never stopped in person tours.

I am in Texas as well. And property management is an essential business. No order ever said we had to close. So using the governor order is not a valid reason. It’s up to your company.

We are conducting virtual , FaceTime , self guided, rently boxes ,
We had 64 tours / 36 leases in April

Emily Claiborne I liked hearing everyone’s thoughts. You and the team have rocked it since March 16th. We have given so many options and to the 1 or 2 people refusing to lease because of not having a personal tour is one we aren’t going to want to deal with even after we open back up. We are starting self guided tours using a lock box soon, keep up the awesome job you are doing! I am proud of you! Remember, you are part of an amazing team that has kept us at budgeted occupancy and above during this time. With that, that also helped me keep all
Maintenance and office at 40 hour weeks versus cutting hours. If you really look at the big picture your leasing success attributes to that and to the Adopting Seniors function we are doing! So pat yourself on the back and raise a glass! We don’t need that 1 difficult lease!

We’re allowed to do in person tours if we want to. Even if we do, we’re only permitted to show certain apartments. We open the door. They go in we must be 6 ft away.

Apartments have never had to shut down per the City/State.
That was the decision of who you work for.

We are in Georgia and chose not to do self guided tours and only do virtual tours. That is Until this week. Our leasing velocity slowed down and was only 2 leases per week. We started our own version of self guided tours this week and have already captured 4 or 5 leases! I’ve found that people just want to see the community in order to commit, but my guess is that’s because we are a mid rise in the suburbs with the highest rents and people don’t feel comfortable spending that kind of money without seeing it and understanding the concept.

We are allowing them to contact us when they are in the parking lot. We then run and open the unit and they go look at it themselves and we watch from the hallway or parking area so we can lock up once they are finished looking. It has been helpful with those who absolutely won't rent without seeing in person. Good Luck!

I am also in Texas. I offer the same, internet viewings and online application and lease. I have not had anyone turn it down. We are at 99% and 100% preleased.

Have you tried self-guided tours? Unlocking the apartment in the morning when you "open" your office and then lock it at end of day. You can stay on the phone with them as they walk if they have any questions. I do self-guided tours. They go walk it and then come back and we step into my foyer and I answer any questions. Best of luck.

We haven't had that problem here in Oklahoma City. It seems like everyone has been very patient and understanding for the most part. Our occupancy hasn't suffered at all from it. You really need to protect yourself, your coworkers and your loved ones by sticking to the policy of your company. Don't make exceptions. For three reasons:
1. Fair housing-if you do for one, you do for all. And
2. You train your residents what is acceptable. If you are making exceptions for prospects and they lease, they will expect you to continue that course for them as residents.
3. It sets your coworkers up for a struggle. If you make that exception, and you aren't there when that resident comes up to the office for something that could have been handled via phone or email or drop box, they will expect your coworkers to do the same. And they may not be as comfortable as you in doing in person meetings yet.
*By the way, I use "you" in the general sense. Not you in particular.
We will get through this!

We have no problem leasing, our numbers are 98.66% occupied and 100% leased. We will not have an apartment to rent at this time until October. Our website is very informative and we have a virtual tour with our ad with apartments.com. People are very understanding in our area. Granted you will have those that want to see an apartment, we actually haven't had that many requests. Really not an issue.

We were offering virtual tours via different venues but few folks actually chose to do them. We had more and more prospects asking for an in-person tour. After a few requests by prospects to view the apt in person, we decided to offer self-guided tours and we have had a good response. We have offered 3D tours.

I'm in NJ. We are virtual-tour only but are making plans to open. Is it possible for you to unlock the apartment and have the prospect self-tour? We've done that at a few sites and it's worked well.

Have you considered self-guided tours?

I usually 15 minutes before the appointment to unlock the door and when the prospect arrives I tell them the property is unlocked and they can go in. If they have questions after they come out then I ask them to email or call me. We are in East Tennessee.

I have that issue too. I have inspectors coming to inspect for section 8 housing. How I handle it; I go to the unit ahead of time with mask and gloves. I stand in the yard and allow the prospective tenants to go through the unit. I have all drawers and closets open and I ask them not to touch anything. If they have any questions they can ask from a safe distance away. All documents and ID are emailed to me in color and leases and paperwork are signed by Docusign. I have maintenance go in and spray down the unit with Lysol spray after each showing. I hope this helps. I am at 100% occupancy since I had the only units available to view in my area.

I don't have a choice but to have in person tours and inspections from the county. We are affordable housing. What I do is go 10 minutes early and open up the entire unit for inspection. I stay in my car or the yard, if big enough and allow the tenant to go in and view the unit. I provide a glove for the tenant to open doors and drawers. All paperwork and payments are done online. On move-in day I go early and put keys on the kitchen counter. I leave when the tenant arrives. I hope that this helps you. I am at 100% occupancy due to my willingness to go the extra mile.

Hi Emily,

My name is Noel and I work for ADT Security in the Texas market.
Crazy times for sure but I wanted to reach out because we offer Self-guided tours that you and your leadership may be interested in.

Self-guided tours is part of a larger smart platform that offers curb to couch offerings.

I'd love to share info if you're interested.

Feel free to email me or call on info below.

Noel Arvizu
National Account Manager
[email protected]
817-776-0301

As a member of the MF regulatory community, we advise tenants and agents to never sign a lease unless they have completed a walk-through inspection. It protects both the tenant and agent. Certainly, in times like these practicing distancing is safe and necessary. Maybe allowing the prospects to enter the unit and inspect unaccompanied, leasing agent staying at the door? I'm sure there are some creative ways to show and inspect a unit while staying several feet away.

Have you considered doing a distant showing? The idea behind this is to ensure your own safety and try to mitigate risk for prospects. This involves (1) getting a copy of the individual's ID (text, email,etc.), (2) set a 20 minute time-frame for a prospect to view the unit, (3) prior to the scheduled time frame, go in and unlock doors and open at least two windows (for air flow) and sanitize switch plates / knobs on your way out, and (4) then stand at least 20 feet from unit to allow the individual to view during the scheduled time frame (to verify identity and ensure security of unit as best you can). (5) Once the showing is complete and prospect has left premises, sanitize door's exterior knob and lock up. (6) Return to unit several hours later to enter unit and sanitize switch plates, knobs, and close windows (wear mask).

This may sounds like a lot of work, but it only takes an extra 10-15-minutes (more if drive time is involved). Some prospects are apprehensive about virtual showings and need to assess the unit prior to signing a contract. As a former renter who had a negative experience renting a unit without viewing it first, I can understand why some prospects insist on viewing the unit in-person. That said, don't compromise your safety if this type of showing is not conducive for your site(s).

I work for a property management company and know many other property management companies here in California. None/Zero are doing in person tours. There is no limit to the amount of lawsuits coming down the road, therefor we abstain. I may never go back to in person tours and stick with virtual tours.
I have spoken with other brokers and attorneys- and this may be the best, less litigious path.

We are doing self-tours of the apartments by installing lockboxes in the vacant units.

Thank you,

I'd be happy to speak with you about leveraging technology to keep all parties safe and healthy as I work for ADT Multifamily Smart Home + IoT. We're the nation's fastest-growing smart tech provider and implementing self-guided tours is easier and more affordable than you might think. Due to the effects of COVID-19, we have some limited-time offerings with $0 down and 0% APR that I'd be happy to share with you.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Suzanne Guillé
National Account Manager, Northeast US
ADT Multifamily Smart Home + IoT
(m) 310.766.8173 l (@) [email protected]

How about offering a satisfaction guarantee? You could also offer Zoom tours. Just thinking outside the box.