WHEN THERE’S A LACK OF DIGITAL OPTIONS AND ASSISTANCE, THE HUNT FOR A HOME FEELS MORE ARDUOUS THAN IT SHOULD BE.
Here’s what today’s tenants don’t want to deal with when looking for housing:
Inflexible showing schedules: With the rise of remote work and school, renters are more disconcerted by the need to adjust their schedules for the sake of someone else’s. Relocator Challenge: On a scouting trip, every showing is on a time crunch and affects the ability to seize other opportunities. Without automation or self-tours, every scheduling decision takes at least two schedules into account. With tedious scheduling dialogue to reach a set appointment for a showing, they must also consider proximity to other units on their hit list, as well as safety and efficiency on unfamiliar roadways as they literally map out their day.
Inefficient Communication: Relying on phone calls or in-person visits to communicate with landlords or property managers wastes a lot of time. Crucial information like dates, times, and locations are likely to fall through the cracks and it puts the onus on the renter to retain and keep track of the logistics. Calling and texting also brings up the subject of response times. Nobody likes phone tag, and it’s easy to miss a text or fail to hit send.
Relocator Challenge: These tenants particularly don’t want to carry and keep track of sensitive documentation while traveling. Frankly, they’ll think it’s unfair and outdated that their digital scans aren’t sufficient enough. They likely have another tour scheduled promptly before and after yours, and may not have the time to manually fill out an application on-site. This means they now have to take your paper application with them, keep it clean and uncreased, and either scan the whole thing themselves and email it to you or worse, physically mail it. Paperwork and Manual Applications: Physical rental applications are completely outdated, not to mention an extremely vulnerable and poor form of document and data retention. We all know that if we’re handed a paper application and a pen, we’re likely going to have to manually write out the same information over and over again. Starting the process with a manual step such as this could make your tenant assume you’re behind the times and a poor record-keeper.
Relocator Challenge: As relocators attempt to
maximize the efficiency of their scouting trip, juggling multiple conversations, addresses and appointment times in a short time can be painfully confusing and irritating—and they don’t want to save your number unless you become their landlord.
Lucky for them, there’s a lot in real estate tech aimed to make their lives easier. Lucky for us, the road to less stress and more automation goes both ways.
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