How to Appeal to Relocating Renters

There are multiple ways local renters might arrive at your community. For example, your apartment building might be located along their commute to work, or perhaps they know someone who lives there. After seeing your apartment community or hearing about it, they may stop in to take a tour. Or maybe they found your listing online and decided to drive by and check it out. Since they live in the area, they have the luxury of time and distance on their side. Overall, the search process for local renters goes something like this:

1. Decide to move.
2. Search for apartments online to look at photos and videos and read reviews.
3. Call or email properties for more information if they need it.
4. Narrow down the apartments and schedule some tours.
5. Decide on an apartment or return to step two.

Most local renters can repeat the above process several times before choosing an apartment. After all, they live nearby and can visit as many apartment communities as they want. But when renters are looking for an apartment in a different city or state, the process can be a little more challenging. These renters are often unfamiliar with the area and likely face time constraints, especially if they're moving because of a job change or for the military. This can be a much more stressful situation since they can’t drop by an apartment community to take a tour whenever they want. In fact, many renters moving to a new city will have to squeeze the entire apartment search process into a weekend visit before they move.

To appeal to out-of-town renters, you’ll want to provide as much information as you can in your listing since these renters will do most of their searching online. Because they have such limited time for tours, they’ll narrow down their choices before ever seeing the apartment communities in person. If time and distance are a major concern, some renters may skip the tours completely and rent an apartment sight unseen.

You can help these renters out and increase the likelihood that you’ll be on their tour list by showing them what your community is like in your listing. Include plenty of high-quality photos and videos on your website and in your ads to set your community apart and give prospective renters a full picture of what life would be like if they chose an apartment in your building. Showing them the interior of the unit will help them determine if their furniture will fit in the living room or bedroom.

Make rent prices and availability easy to find

Renters who are planning to move to a new city are busy, and likely experiencing a lot of different emotions. They have to pack up their apartment, find new doctors and other care givers, wrap up things at their current job, and say farewell to the friends and family they’re leaving behind. It can be a time filled with excitement, stress, anticipation, and even sadness. If they have to call a long list of apartment communities to find out about rent prices and availability, it just adds more to their to-do list. But, if you include these items on your website and ads, it will help these renters narrow down their options. Including rent prices and availability isn’t just beneficial to them, it helps you out, too. By making this information easy for renters to find, you know that the people who do call you are truly interested in your community, not just calling to inquire about rent and availability.

Include community reviews

When consumers are shopping for anything, whether it’s a new home, a new phone, or lunch at the new café around the corner, they want to know about other people’s experiences. Reviews are crucial during the discovery phase of any search. According to Apartments.com research, listings with at least one review receive up to 33 percent more leads. Listings with up to 40 reviews see an even bigger boost. Reviews are more important for renters who are relocating, since they likely don’t have friends or family in the new city who can recommend neighborhoods and communities. By including reviews on your ILS ads, you’re giving relocating renters all the information they need in one place. Remember: if they can’t find what they’re searching for on your listing, they’ll likely leave and go find that information elsewhere. Once they’ve left your listing, they may not make it back.

Follow up quickly

Since most relocating renters are searching for a new apartment on a tight deadline, such as needing a new apartment before starting a job with only a few weeks to spare, they’ll likely move on quickly if they don’t hear back from you. When responding to inquiries, do so as soon as possible, or you run the risk of these renters crossing you off the list in favor of communities that are more responsive.