Why are leasing agents so aloof, inaccessible? (apartment, lease, tenant)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In my apartment searches over three states, vacancies are described in detail on the usual sites: Zillow, Trulia, Apartment.com, etc and when I email or call the agent, there is no answer. They often don't return the call and ignore my request for information. I don't get it. If the apt. is not available, then why is it listed available? The agents working for me also receive slow or no responses.
What would cause agents to ignore me? I am a senior with a very high credit score, no problem
This has happened so many times I lost count. Frustrating and a large waste of my time.
some agents are very nice and talkative (usually women) others barely say anything at all.
Right at the moment, in most places there are over 100 replies to every ad for a rental. 99 out of a hundred are not qualified and are wasting everyone's time.
Many inquiries do not get answered because they will not follow the directions for applying for the rental. Be careful to follow the directions and do not ask questions that are already answered in the ad (how many bedrooms are in that 3 bedroom house?). No one is going to reply to you if all you send is note that says nothing at all except "is it still available?"
OP, you are a senior. Things have changed. Many landlords do not want to speak to applicants or have any contact with them until after the applicant has pre-qualified. That means answering some questions. If the answers are OK, then the applicant gets to view the rental, often alone. Next, if you want the unit, you fill out the complete application. After that, if you are approved, you meet the landlord and get to ask questions and fill out a lease.
Almost all of it is done online. For a few places, 100% of it is done online, even the lease signing, and you never meet a real person.
It evolved that way because there are so many unqualified people who think that if they can only get face to face, they can talk and bs their way into a rental and landlords get really tired of dealing with them and listening to all their excuses and all their begging, so try to head them off.
Right at the moment, in most places there are over 100 replies to every ad for a rental. 99 out of a hundred are not qualified and are wasting everyone's time.
Many inquiries do not get answered because they will not follow the directions for applying for the rental. Be careful to follow the directions and do not ask questions that are already answered in the ad (how many bedrooms are in that 3 bedroom house?). No one is going to reply to you if all you send is note that says nothing at all except "is it still available?"
So true!
If all we do is answer a ton of inquiries, we have no time to show the rental--which is most important to our client, the landlord. So all we can do is reply to several at a time, show the rental if interested and move on to the next batch if not. If there's interest, now we get to the application process, which can be time consuming, etc. etc. - rinse and repeat...
Oh, and in our area, most landlords use a Realtor, because the tenant pays the fee; no reason for the landlord to do the work if the agent will.
why should I pay the application fee before even seeing the place? That is the reverse of common sense. When the apartment is not right for me. It is set up always to benefit the owner. I like to know how many buildings in the complex, the floor of apt. and exterior details. Never mentioned in the description. Tired of wasting my time. I have excellent credit.
In very competitive markets, like Denver, renters walk through the door, as I did, and there are many takers, some who sign leases online without actually seeing it. That is very risky, especially if you plan staying there indefinitely.
My agents are going through the motions, indifferently, because I am a small fish to them.
So frustrated. I flew to Florida twice, Denver twice, studied the Nashville area, now an empty market in Illinois. My budget limits my choices and COVID makes it worse. Well, at least my funds have increased.
Back in the late 1990s, I was looking for an affordable apartment - I stopped by one complex and the front office told me that they did not have any units available, but they were prepping one and it'd be ready in a few weeks. I insisted on being shown the unfinished apartment - then I went ahead and signed a lease. Risky strategy, but I got the unit by getting my paperwork in before any advertising took place.
Today's market is probably even more crazy, and prospective tenants have to deploy inventive strategies to get their applications in quickly.
Now I manage a small portfolio of my own rentals. Every vacancy, I hire a Realtor to find a tenant. I view the fees as part of the business, just like paying for yard or plumbing service. The agent spares me from all the pressure of phone calls and e-mails to make a decision quickly. The last vacancy, we did not even advertise it. The agent had a list of pre-qualified people hoping to find a house in that neighborhood.
In my apartment searches over three states, vacancies are described in detail on the usual sites: Zillow, Trulia, Apartment.com, etc and when I email or call the agent, there is no answer. They often don't return the call and ignore my request for information. I don't get it. If the apt. is not available, then why is it listed available? The agents working for me also receive slow or no responses.
What would cause agents to ignore me? I am a senior with a very high credit score, no problem
This has happened so many times I lost count. Frustrating and a large waste of my time.
some agents are very nice and talkative (usually women) others barely say anything at all.
Quite honestly it’s because there is a huge shortage and they receive hundreds of inquiries. They are likely processing a qualified applicant who inquired before you and will remove the ad once they have been approved.
It is tough out there for tenants when so many landlord’s don’t want to take the risk of being landlords anymore due to the government taking their rights away this past 18 months.
Some of those websites send the inquiry to their " preferred agent" that paid to advertise with them. They want sales leads, not rental leads, so ignore the rentals.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
