Let’s Talk Online Leasing

With Steve Lefkovits

By Leah Etling on Mar 29, 2012 in News

There’s so much talk in the property management industry right now about the future of leasing that we wanted to dive deep into the topic with the help of Steve Lefkovits, Executive Producer of the Apartment Internet Marketing Conference coming up in Arizona next month. Steve is the author of this interesting piece in this month’s Units magazine called Customers as Kings. He agreed to answer some trending questions from us on the apartment industry’s next big thing: marketing and leasing that’s online, mobile and more efficient than ever.

TBS: What do you think is more important – mobile friendly property websites or mobile specific apps, and do you need to create both?

SL: I think that mobile web sites are more important for attracting residents and mobile apps have more possibilities for long-term engagement with existing renters.  Right now 10-20% of web page views during a search come from mobile devices. Some property management companies report even more, depending on how they’re optimizing their lead flow and how many touchpoints they have.  It’s obvious that few people are going to install an app in the middle of their search, their far more likely to use their phones on the fly as part of the search.  On the other hand, the possibilities are endless for meaningful engagement in a property-level application.  The easy things to think of relate just to the property – paying rent, maintenance requests and tracking packages.  I think smart companies are going to start focusing more on lifestyle elements in an app that encourage healthy living and neighborhood engagement.  If I built an apartment app today it would have neighborhood services and discounts, recipes, exercise information, attractions and events, holiday information and some type of game that made it fun.  Plus payments, maintenance requests, and – oh yeah, requests for online reviews.

TBS: What do you think consumers are demanding from mobile platform functionality when looking for rentals?

SL: When it comes to apartment searching mobile platforms, I think people are looking for the same things they see on Google maps – what else is in the area, and where their friends are.  And reviews.  That’s why the Yelp app is so powerful in urban areas.  It’s a way to call 5 friends when you’re standing outside a store.  Someone who delivers that for apartment searching will have the killer app.

TBS: What would you say the widespread adoption of tablet-based leasing look like? How is it different from today’s practices?

SL: What does the widespread adoption of tablet-based leasing look like?  We’re not there yet.  Tablets seem like an individualized behavior right now, with the physical ergonomics being a big factor.  Personally, I only use an iPad when lying down.  It’s not comfortable for me otherwise.  I think when the tablets offer a clear, compelling user experience for renters that’s as good as or better than the way people lease now, we’ll see adoption go overnight to 75%.  It’s coming, but not here yet.

TBS: What changes for prospects in an online-leasing world as they go to view properties, and then rent and remit?

SL: In an online leasing world, there’s still a disconnect between what happens online, and they paper process of leasing.  Right now you can have a great experience looking for a home online, going through an ILS or Craigslist to a property website and getting a knowledgeable leasing agent or call center agent on the phone.  That part is terrific.  A lot of work has been put into training and uniform pricing around revenue management so that’s working too.  but the clunkiness of the application process is still a big issue at many communities and for many renters.  It’s something to be endured, not something slick and seamless.  Today I can order my lunch sandwich online and pay by card and just go in and pick it up without visiting the cashier.  I hope that someday soon I can do leasing paperwork online at home and submit it, and just come in and pick up the key.  Heck, anyone with a last name like mine that’s hard to spell just hates repeating it over and over as you fill out form after form.

TBS: How far out are we, timeline-wise, from a pervasive site-unseen, online only leasing reality?

SL: We’ll get to online-only leasing when most lawyers are comfortable with electronic signatures and understand the 10 year-old e-sign law.  Until then, paper processes will be a big component of industry practice.  It’s amazing how much time is saved by using something like Echosign or Docusign – particularly in distributing and archiving contracts.  The vendors clearly get it at this point, but owners don’t.  It’s a hidden area where tons and tons of time, frustration and effort can be saved, but no one owns that type of process improvement when it runs up against legal departments.  It’s still going to be a while.