Hundreds of Dollars, Thousands of Dollars
Remember, Trosien says, “whether they will be leasing for a few
hundred dollars a month in rent – or a few thousand – signing a lease
is a major investment. You need to treat it like that no matter what Class
property you work at.”
Even though your amenities are closed, show them. They will be
using them at some point. If it’s difficult to do, make sure you have a
recorded video that highlights the amenities to show them or to send
to them. (For recorded tours, make sure to do them shoeless. There is
nothing worse than the distracting echo of footsteps. And please: Put
the toilet seat down), she says.
Finally, it’s tough, Trosien says, but at the end of the tour, you must
ask the prospective resident: Was there anything you didn’t like?”. This
is mandatory because, “again, you have no idea what they are thinking
because you weren’t able to see their reactions to things,” she says. “And
if they say something was not right, be ready to respond to it.”
A Word About Privacy
Privacy for leasing professionals is an important aspect of this
process. Onsite staff do not want their personal cell phone numbers
made available to the public. One benefit to Zoom is that it doesn’t
capture or display cell phone numbers or other contact information.
Technical Diffi culties
Most technology needed to do a strong virtual tour is surprisingly
a ff o r d a b l e .
Communities should absolutely buy tablets or smart phones for
their properties specifically for this use, Trosien says. “Matterport
(cameras) are great, great products, but you don’t absolutely need one
to do these tours well.”
Virtual leasing must be accessible across all types of devices,
browsers, operating systems, and technologies so as to not alienate
anyone from joining those experiences because of the device that they
do or do not have.
Leading virtual tour companies include Tour24, SmartRent, Rently,
Power Pro, Virtual APT, LCP360, Show My Property and Engrain.
Following is more advice from Trosien:
• Some older devices don’t have webcams. But you do need one.
They are about $25.
• Get a gimbal and attach it to your camera. It will improve the
production of your video, such as allowing you to zoom in. (not
Zoom, lol). A gimbal is a pivoted point that allows videographers
to rotate an object along a single axis and helps it to capture
incredible images from various angles. They are priced from
approximately $40 to $160 and are mostly used while making
videos, but also can help to capture amazing still photos.
• Make sure the battery on your phone, tablet or laptop is charged.
• Don’t fail the Wi-Fi strength test. Make sure the connection will
be there at all points on the tour. You can determine this during
practice runs.
• Add a My-Fi device to help improve your signal, especially in highrise
buildings where the connection could be susceptible to thick
walls or while you are in an elevator or a stairwell. You don’t want
the connection to fail. What does that tell the resident about your
Wi-Fi abilities onsite?
• Don’t go out on a windy day, if you can possibly avoid it. Ideally,
these tours should take place on sunny days (for recorded tours,
there’s no excuse), but that’s not always possible. Buy extra floor
lamps to use to help light the apartment home if you must conduct
the tour on a cloudy day.
Paul Bergeron is a freelance reporter
who covers the apartment industry.
Reach him at pbergeron333@gmail.
com or 703-434-0280.
www.aamdhq.org
JULY 2020 TRENDS | 23