Blog Series: Growing Your Residency One Tour at a Time
When it comes to Property Management, tours are one of those things that can’t disappoint. That disappointment leads to an unlikely chance that the prospective resident will ever come back again.
No matter the current condition of the tour, any property can elevate the experience to have the prospective resident leaving better than when they first arrived.
A New Way to Tour
Since the beginning of the real estate industry, live and in-person tours have been the foundation of selling units. Seeing a place before signing up to live there for a year or more is simply the smart thing to do. However, with the world moving at such a rapid change pace in the last 20 years, tours may be in the way of change too. In recent years, due to time constraints, heal concerns, or others, there has been an increase in prospective residents who would prefer to see a property without making a scheduled visit. Thus enters the virtual tour. Whether or not a management company creates and offers a virtual tour of their property is still a choice of budget, integration ability, and priority but for consideration of thought, here’s what to know about virtual tours.
The first thing to consider in the virtual tour process is to decide what kind of style to follow. A property can show a 3D tour which is created through a series of images and the user can move through the unit as they feel. They can show a simple video walk through or can give a more literal virtual tour with a leasing agent giving description and details along the way (either prerecorded or as a scheduled walk along. Whatever the format, be sure that it is smooth and clear, as if the tour were just the prospective residents’ eyes in person.
Next, be sure to be as thorough as if the tour were in person. Keep things clean, stage the units as if it were in person, and have all information on the prospective resident, including application and leasing details. This also includes the tour including every part of the unit. Showing the closet, or the pantry may seem too small a detail, however, to the resident, every detail is important to their ultimate decision.
Lastly, follow up with questions and photos. Prospective residents will have several things running through their mind as they tour and if they don’t feel they have the time to ask their questions during the tour, there should be space afterwards to answer their questions. Depending on the tour method, the follow up question method may change. Either through internet correspondence or through a video calling option. Whatever the method, be sure to be thorough and allow the prospective resident to feel heard and have all their concerns covered. It is also important to add in your own thoughts and questions for the prospective, so they know there is equal interest from the property management. Photos can also be helpful to keep thoughts on the unit flowing, following the tour.
